What is Digg?269 Comments
- ptknight, on 11/08/2007, -6/+44"Apple Care sales are dropping! Ask someone to write a positive review on Digg asap!"
-Steve - ccalabro, on 11/08/2007, -2/+39buy it on your amex, they double manufacturers warrant for items over $500
- mechnoch, on 11/08/2007, -7/+30Dude, liquid and impact damage is your own fault, or whoever dropped or spilled on your equipment. That's what insurance is for. Warranties are there to cover defects, or components that have worn out through normal use. Of course extending the warranty is a waste of money if you're going to void it by breaking *****.
I don't mean to sound like an ***** (even though I am an ***** sometimes), but just take care of stuff, you know? - mechnoch, on 11/08/2007, -2/+25Nowhere in this article was resale value mentioned. When buying a two-year-old used computer, which one would you pay more for? The one with absolutely no warranty coverage whatsoever, or the one that still has a year of AppleCare left? If you're planning on selling your Mac after two years, the AppleCare could easily pay for itself, even if you never had to get a repair (as long as you don't void your warranty through liquid spill or impact damage).
- Pliep, on 11/08/2007, -8/+30I read NOTHING about consumer protection laws.
In some countries, for instance in the Europen Union, consumer protection laws ALREADY force manufacterors to provide more than a year’s warranty but Apple STILL keeps on forcing you to buy AppleCare in those countries.
I live in the Netherlands and NEVER buy AppleCare or indeed any other extended warranty from any company, simply because laws say that consumer devices must have a reasonable life expectancy and the shop that sells the item to you is forced to deliver goods with reasonable quality.
Eg. when a computer dies after 1 year and 1 day, the seller cannot deny free servicing in EU countries.
Most electronics companies and stores still keep on pushing customers to buy extended warranties though, which is why consumer organisations have been warning about this for years. - bobman2007, on 11/08/2007, -8/+28Being without AppleCare is just as risky as being without health insurance. Even if you repair your Mac once after your first year is over, the cost of the repair will likely be as much as the cost of AppleCare. It's definitely worth it (and has been worth it for me).
- moosepile, on 11/08/2007, -2/+21I buy hundreds of macs a year in my job, and I buy AppleCare for NONE of them. I find with Apple hardware that:
- If it has a hardware fault, it shows up within the normal warranty period.
- If something comes up later, like eMac video, G5 imac power supplies, portables batteries; Apple is pretty damn good about fixing it regardless of when you bought it (ie manufacturing faults seem to be "always covered").
AND... if you really think you need AppleCare, you can buy it on day 364 of your warranty period... (assuming a year warranty of course...) - kkiran, on 11/08/2007, -12/+28Macbook Apple Care costs $184 for students, go search for a student to buy it for u!!
- aussieNickuss, on 11/08/2007, -6/+21I can tell. The Vista logo as your avatar gave it away.
- aliceinreality, on 11/10/2007, -1/+16yes
- bradbaxter, on 11/08/2007, -5/+17Nothing is free. If companies in Europe are forced by the government to provide servicing for these products, these companies build this cost into each product they sell. In essence, this means that now EVERYBODY has to buy a protection plan -- even if they don't want it. But, you are also wrong in saying that "Apple STILL keeps on forcing" you to... because they don't. It is completely optional. But stupid government laws are another matter -- they DO force you to pay extra, you just don't realize it.
- BossKey, on 11/08/2007, -0/+11AppleCare doesn't cover accidents. Only defects. People more concerned about accidents would be better served by a plan like Dell's, or simply adding it onto their home or business insurance policy.
- loper, on 11/07/2007, -0/+11FYI virtualball, to access the cd drive you need to remove the top case, under that is the airport card. If they found liquid on the airport card you had to get a serious amount of water past a lot of stuff that doesn't work when you get water on it..
- iericg, on 11/08/2007, -1/+12I have an iMac G5 and I've use my Apple Care two times since. They've replaced the mother board the first time and gave me a new hard drive the second time. I'm stoked because when I received the new hard drive they upgraded me from 10.39 to 10.4. Saving me a $150
- hotdamn, on 11/07/2007, -1/+9You can always get apple care on the last day before your warranty expires, so you have a year-1 day to think about it.
- toetagger, on 11/07/2007, -2/+10Is AC transferable to the new owner?
- dave1021, on 11/08/2007, -8/+15So according to you, Macbooks are so ***** fragile that an "odd bump in the bag" is going to result in a repair bill more than $183?
That's one piece-of-***** computer. - MeatBiProduct, on 11/07/2007, -0/+7Is it not disturbing to you that your computer required $600 repair, or the price of another decent computer? Mac Mini included?
Did your ***** fall in a puddle or are you like everyone else that just gets raped by the buy it here, fix it here, keep it here mentality. - PAJK, on 11/08/2007, -2/+9Health.....Insurance? What's that? (From the UK)
- Pliep, on 11/08/2007, -1/+8Thanks for your abuse.
In the Netherlands, a consumer buys a computer from a seller. Ie. the consumer has a buying agreement with the store he/she buys from. The store needs to provide goods with a reasonable lifespan.
If something fails, THE STORE with whom the buying agreement was made needs to provide a solution, NOT the manufacteror. The consumer has NOTHING to do with manufacterers or what the manufacterer needs to prove or not, because the buying agreement is between the consumer and the store.
ALL consumer-organisations in European countries keep repeating that you DO NOT need to buy additional warranty, because the law says that the goods should have a normal life-expectancy.
ALL consumer-organisations in European countries keep repeating that buying additional warranty is simply tossing money away, because legally you are entitled to receiving products that work normally longer than a year.
Many judges have already spoken about this in many cases, in which the consumer always wins. Stores simply cannot deny service after your machine dies 1 year and 1 day. Goods must have a normal life-expectancy. Depending on the type of product: eg. a washing machine lasts longer than an mobile phone etc. - gibler, on 11/07/2007, -0/+7New Zealand also has similar laws (which say that the product has to last a reasonable time and in effect make warranties pointless).
They don't apply to items purchased for commercial purposes though. I however don't know if anyone has tested Apple in the disputes court. - f4nt0m4s, on 11/08/2007, -1/+6"If it has a hardware fault, it shows up within the normal warranty period."
Dugg for wise words. I cringe when I see people dropping 300 or 400 dollars on Circuit City's extended Hi-Def TV coverage. If the hardware in TV doesn't break within the first year there's a 99.9% chance it won't break for the next 5+ years, provided you don't do anything to the TV.
Companies make a killing on extended warranties, employees make nice commission. - deciblast, on 11/08/2007, -1/+7Ditto, I buy all my big purchases on my AMEX for this reason.
I got $100+ back from my iPhone thanks to their return protection program. :) - astrosmash, on 11/08/2007, -0/+6I had zero problems with my iBook, as well. But the 18 months left on its AppleCare made it really easy to sell and upgrade to a MacBook.
I'm normally completely against extended warranties, but in the case of laptops, which get tossed around a lot, it makes sense. And in Apple's sense, they make complete sense, since it increases the resale value, and you can get service at any authroized dealer. - turpialito, on 11/08/2007, -2/+8If you guys are the kind of people doing Mac repairs I think I'll stick to home-assembled clones. There. Digg me down, fanboys.
- MeatBiProduct, on 11/08/2007, -1/+7lol do you really think a mac specialist could fix anything? thats the joke here
- spargett, on 11/07/2007, -0/+6I have an AMEX, does this come standard with all AMEX cards, or just specific plans?
- WoollyMittens, on 11/08/2007, -1/+7A laptop of comparable specs is not much cheaper than a macbook. Regardless of applecare the manufacturer is obliged by law to give you 1 or even 2 years of warranty on a device which can reasonably be expected to last that long.
At least by European consumer laws and Dutch law specificaly. Buying extended warranty is for suckers. - NSResponder, on 11/08/2007, -5/+10Like most insurance policies, if you don't buy it, you'll need it. Law of the universe.
-jcr - st3vo, on 11/08/2007, -1/+6Apple Care is gold, I had a first gen Macbook Pro with a humming problem that wouldn't go away after a couple repairs.. they just replaced it last week with a brand new one straight from China.. and not any brand new one, the latest model.
- Drizzit, on 11/08/2007, -0/+5I have Applecare and my wife's mini had issues and it was fixed quickly without any hassles other than taking it down to the local Apple store. The price is worth it and honestly if your motherboard dies where exactly will you get a replacement?
- scarper86, on 11/07/2007, -1/+6I guarantee that AppleCare doesn't cost them "a fair bundle of cash." It makes them ***** of dough. All extended warranty plans are a cash cow. It's always only an infinitesimal number of customers who ever make a claim.
- Urusai, on 11/08/2007, -7/+12The fact that Apple offers this extended warranty at a cost rather than standard tells me they don't stand behind their products. The $149 warranty for a Mac Mini @ $599 breaks even at a 25% total replacement rate in three years, which sucks in my opinion.
- jdevilz, on 11/07/2007, -1/+6what a crappy computer then
- formergthing, on 11/07/2007, -0/+5I can second that. I pay $12 a month for full coverage on all my property with a provision for $0 deductible on all my electronics and computers. They will cover anything. Drops, water, etc. They even told me if I got a virus they would pay for someone to get it off. Not that that would ever happen. But, you know.
- tigerjuju, on 11/07/2007, -0/+5I guess asking an already more expensive apple computer to work for at least 3 years after purchase is too much to ask...
- MacParrot, on 11/07/2007, -2/+7Good thing you put that "ZING" at the end of your post so we would all know how clever you are...because it's not apparent you're clever in any other way.
- clickmyface, on 11/08/2007, -2/+7Applecare is 1000% worth it. As a student, my Macbooks 1 year warranty is about to expire and i'll be shelling out the $183. I've had a TiBook, AlBook, and now a Macbook. I've had to use AppleCare on all of these machines except the Macbook. I'm really careful with them, but all it takes is one odd bump in the bag, fall from the bed, or even a bent pin in a USB or RJ45 port to fry the thing. Oh, and the most common, a broken keyboard key.
You have slightly under 1 year to purchase the extended AppleCare warranty. After that year, if the computer breaks, you pay out of pocket. Any problem at all will likely cost you more than $183 to fix. Get it. Oh, and it helps RESALE ENORMOUSLY!!!! You get a lot more for a warranty covered mac, even if you're selling it at 2.5 years old. Warranty ensures the buyer they probably wont have any problems. - SuperSnake2012, on 11/07/2007, -3/+7I bought Applecare for my Macbook on eBay and saved about $100 on the policy. After Apple repaired my Macbook once while it was under warranty (performing over $600 worth of repairs for free) I figured that I should buy it. Laptops are iffy and can break down. I spent a lot of money on my computer, and it's worth it to protect your investment.
- brufleth, on 11/08/2007, -1/+5It is this scam that makes health care costs sky rocket while offering no benefit for the consumer.
- bimtott, on 11/08/2007, -0/+4I'm thinking of a number between 450 and 850...know what it is?
- Optimaximal, on 11/07/2007, -0/+4The problem with this is, as outlined earlier in the discussion, the manufacturers will find any way to get out of the liability they can. This is why many companies stick the over-sensitive moisture stickers on components that can suffer moisture build up (fans and HDDs in certain environments) and 'warranty void if opened' stickers made of toilet paper on case joins that break someone sneezes near in the house next door. If they can blame the customer and point out 'well you should have taken our extended warranty' then they can and will.
The EU 1-year warranty has to be honoured if it's going to be sold in the EU, but this 'reasonable quality' guff is so hopelessly subjective that it's almost usless, like the majority of UK legislation. Its like a printer cartridge that says it'll do 100,000 pages but the small print only assumes each page has 2% coverage - i'd say a full page of text is at least 30-40% covered, therefore skewing the promise. - ajwinder, on 11/07/2007, -0/+4Of course, Applecare doesnt cover accidental damage, so then you've just added $183 to the price of the computer.
My home owners insurance offers a $10 a month add on for laptop computer insurance. If anything happens to the thing, then its covered. So i just wait till the end of the first year, then i grab that up for the laptop. That basically puts me at $240 for the 2 additional years, plus, I can continue to opt in after those two years, and it actually covers me breaking the machine on accident. Its much better to get insurance for your laptop that will actually cover accidental damage, because I'd say that those machines are at the most risk from that type of damage. - BossKey, on 11/07/2007, -3/+7To increase your chances of AppleCare paying off, never buy it from Apple. Legitimate discounts are easily found. I paid about $290 for the plan Apple charges $349 for.
Even if I had paid full price, though, AppleCare would have paid for itself in the free repairs done to the LCD and other components, and the replacement power adapter, I received over the 3-year period. So far, AppleCare has more than paid for itself every time I've bought it. But I'm self-employed and put these machines through a lot.
Also, with AppleCare I got very fast free express shipping service. I'd send off the laptop on a Wednesday and it would be back by Friday. Of course, if the part you need isn't in stock, it will take longer. - keviniskool, on 11/07/2007, -0/+4My iBook's battery was crap after 3 years and they gave me a new one for free because I was on Apple Care. Sounds like a good deal to me.
- phoomp, on 11/07/2007, -0/+4Because everyone experiences warranty requiring problems with their Macs?
- Vipersfate, on 11/07/2007, -0/+4It's all dependent on how safe you want to feel. That's what all the extended warranties are for. I would get it if I did have the money, because I love my MacBook, which is still under it's original factory warranty and has about 6 dead pixels. :(
- Firehed, on 11/07/2007, -1/+5Because when you call up AppleCare, you're not dealing with India, so you can actually understand the person on the other end and - get this - resolve the problem.
- ShrimpCrackers, on 11/07/2007, -0/+4I love Apple products. On the other-hand I wish they had an accidental protection plan, its only $100 a year with HP. Why can't Apple do the same?
- monkeyrun, on 11/08/2007, -2/+5If you are buying a laptop definitely yes.
There's always something that you can't fix yourself. -
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