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95 of 108 found the following review helpful:
Before you buy AppleCare for laptops, consider THISAug 03, 2008
By NotTheOnlyFan
I used to work in an Apple Store. We were pressured to push AppleCare. I only took the job with the understanding I would NEVER pressure a customer to buy something they didn't need. They forced me to push .Mac just the same, but I made it clear to customers my heart wasn't in that disappointing product.
But my heart was in AppleCare. For two simple reasons: Apple gave excellent care, and frankly, you needed it. Look at Consumer Reports listings of product breakdowns, and you discover Apples break as much as PCs. As others will tell you, AppleCare is NOTHING compared to paying for repairs out of pocket.
But one day I got a customer who said something mind-boggling to me. He said, "I never buy AppleCare, ever." I'm like, why not? He said, "I unload my Macs on eBay one month before the year warranty runs out. This way, you're always running a new, zippy Mac, with the latest operating system installed instead of purchased." I thought that was a little kooky, but the more I thought about it, it was genius. For iMacs and Mac-Minis, no. because the AppleCare is relatively inexpensive But for laptops?
Brilliant.
Think about it. Like it or not, laptop batteries seem to go lame or dead by year two. Laptop prices also drop a bit each year. With a recession slamming against us, and Apple plainly stating prices will fall (a rarity indeed), put the pieces together.
Suppose you buy an $1100 Macbook on Amazon, right now. Word has it the line is going to be updated in September. So you buy it, and sure enough, new MacBooks pop into existence. Maybe an entry level one at 1050. So you sell your newish MacBook on eBay for $950. That means it will cost you $250 to upgrade to that new MacBook you didn't know you wanted. But $250 is the cost of AppleCare, and now you have a brand new Mac, new battery, and 1 year warranty.
Know what a new battery costs from Apple? Over a hundred. Know what the next operating system will cost, if you bought the box? Over a hundred.
Yes, there are a lot of ifs and buts in this process, and so if you can't sell your MacBook on eBay for a good price, or the price on the new MacBook doesn't drop: buy AppleCare. You have a year to buy it.
22 of 22 found the following review helpful:
 Got a new laptop because of AppleCare PlanMar 05, 2008
By Nancy
My laptop won't turn on after 10 months of usage. I brought it to the store and they shipped it for repairs. After this, I felt uneasy and bought AppleCare protection. I had to phone applecare and fax my Amazon receipt to get the plan bought from Amazon linked with my laptop.
Just after my 1 year warranty ran out, my hard drive died. Since I have AppleCare protection plan, I was covered, and I simply sent the laptop back to repairs. A couple of days later, I got a phone call that they would like to study my old laptop for reasons of failure and sent me a new, most recent model macbook. It comes with Leopard too! They also transfered the AppleCare protection plan to the new laptop for me.
So buying AppleCare was a very wise choice for me. I expect my laptop to last 3 years. After that, it is time for a new laptop anyway. I think I will buy AppleCare again when I buy a new laptop. It gives me peace of mind.
If you are accident prone, buying this might not be a good idea. If they see signs that the laptop has been dropped, spilled water on and so on, it is not covered by AppleCare. I don't think the accidents are covered by the initial 1 year warranty either. So if you are accident prone, and within a year or so, you are bound to have an accident, then buying AppleCare would not extend the lifetime to 3 years, and therefore is a pretty bad idea.
88 of 108 found the following review helpful:
AppleCare is great, but buying it from Amazon isn't so greatJul 21, 2007
By Paul Hoffman
If you buy AppleCare from Amazon (or anyone other than Apple itself), you cannot register it fully online. The online form won't take the serial number, and tells you that you have to call Apple. When you do, they tell you that they will not process your registration until you fax them a copy of your receipt. They explicitly said to me "if you bought it from Apple, we would not require this".
13 of 14 found the following review helpful:
better than everNov 02, 2007
By V. Gorshkov
"Artist by heart, geek by nature"
Apple Care is THE warranty. Comparing to Best Buy or HP, Apple Care is the service that all computer users deserve. All repairs are done on site and much faster than from Best Buy or HP etc. I had my battery acting weird, I got it replaced for free after 14-months of having MacBook. I also had horrible buzzing sound when my CD Drive was spinning. Apple Care replaced the whole Drive. I love it. All other computer companies should take Apple as a great example. Definitely recommend getting it.
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Buying through Amazon is fine, easy to register onlineMay 05, 2008
By Mark
I have to disagree with the previous reviewer who said you have to fax in your receipt. I didn't have to do it and it's easy to register online. Here's what happens: You just go to www.apple.com/support/register. Then you put in the date you bought the computer, the serial number (easy to find by going under the Apple menu of your computer to About This Mac, then More Info) and then you input the registration code that comes on a piece of paper in the Protection Plan box. That's it. No faxing required.
The box also contains a disk with a diagnostic program that you can install on your computer. Or just remember where the disk is because if you have a problem, the Apple Support folks might ask you to run it. (The program can do some minor first-aid work, too.)
Apple Support is excellent; of course, it better be because you're paying good money for it. With my last Mac laptop, they solved every problem, even some email connection stuff that they could've pawned off on my internet provider. And when my computer started acting up, they had me send in the computer (paid for by them) and they replaced the motherboard and returned it, all in less than a week.
I think it would be of most use to people who aren't really computer savvy because they'll help you through things like setting up email accounts, connecting printers and connecting wirelessly. That said, the Tiger operating system is such a leap forward that most people won't need tech support -- the computer itself is just amazing at solving connection problems for you.
So here's my bottom line advice, which I wish I'd taken myself: You're covered for the first 90 days for software and hardware help so I'd wait till about then and see how much you need it and only then, if I'm having problems, would I purchase it. It's simply too expensive and there's too big a chance you won't need it for you to consider this an essential purchase.
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