Applecare - What kind of warranty is it?

(MAIN QUESTION on 3rd paragraph)
By now I'm almost certainly positive than I'll buy a MB instead of a Lenovo T60. I really wanted the T60, but the 14" is not offered in widescreen, and a SS is just (IMHO) a thing of the past (plus WS is much nicer to look at). The T61 will have this option, but I probably won't be able to have my hands on one until JulyAug, and that's too far away. The Mac, on the other hand, is also going to have a few upgrades soon (Santa Rosa, Leopard), which makes me think the current macbooks will be cheaper when the Santa Rosa comes out. SInce that's just around the corner, I might wait (anyone knows when it's coming out?), because I'm thinking it'll be easier for me to sell a MB with Santa Rosa at a higher price in case in 3-4 months I decide to buy a T61.

K and now Applecare. Is this more than an extended limited warranty? If it's not, then do you think a normal 1-year warranty + a 1 year extension through my credit card would be enough? Is a limited warranty enough to cover most issues? I really doubt I'm going to have any accidental drops or spills or the similar.

 

I wouldn't count on a regular MacBook with Santa Rosa any sooner than you can get a T61. The MBP I think will get Santa Rosa first, but I don't think the MacBook will get it til July or August (this is completely speculation though; it's within the realm of possibility that Apple could unveil Santa Rosa MB's and MBP's in June during WWDC).

Personally if I were you I'd just as soon get a T61 when it becomes available (I'm pretty sure some of the T61's are due sooner anyway; I thought it was just the T61's with discrete graphics that were due in July).

AppleCare as a warranty is generally pretty good, and it should handle most mechanical defects, etc. that might come up. I don't think it would be necessarily better than the built-in 1 year warranty + 1 year extension through your credit card though.

 

Well firstly Leopard is not due until October, so you got a bit of a wait for that. Also, no one knows when Apple will adopt Santa Rosa, likely not before many PC manufacturers have.

As for AppleCare, the major advantage over your credit card warranty would be software support. Not only do you extend the hardware support another 2 years, but software support as well.

 

Is applecare and extended limited warranty or does it cover spills and the likes as well?

 

It doesn't cover accidental damage.

 

So it's just an extended limited warranty + software support? Geez.

 

Applecare is totally overpriced due to the lack of accidental protection coverage. My friend has a PowerBook G4 and she bought 3 yr Applecare, and she spilled some juice on it while it was off. The comptuer still works fine since she didn't turn it on until everything dried, but the dried juice remains rendered the Super Drive inoperable. Apple took a look at it and wanted $1000+ to replace the motherboard and the SuperDrive because Applecare does not cover accidents...

I still can't believe Apple laptops only come with 90 day basic coverage considering how the computer is considered a premium class product--and they want to sell you overpriced 1yr Applecare with no accidental damage protection that should be standard anyways. It's like buying an expensive nice car and only getting 1 yr / 10K mi guarantee...

 

Umm, most warranty programs don't include accident protection; usually accident protection is a separate package.

And AppleCare doesn't seem that outrageously expensive compared to other company's warranties, especially in terms of what it does cover.

But of course, it's a choice. One can choose to get some third party insurance or warranty for their laptop as well if AppleCare doesn't meet their needs.

 

I take back my 90 day coverage comment from my last post, it's actually 90 day support and 1 yr basic warranty on the macbook pro--so it matches the usual complimentary terms by many computer brands.

But i still stand by my opinion that applecare is overpriced. On the Macbook pro, applecare 3 yr, onsite coverage with no accidental damage protection is $350 (granted simultaneously purchased monitor is covered too).

On the Lenovo Thinkpad T60, 3 yr, onsite coverage WITH accidental damage protection is about $390. You can get the T60 with just the warranty and no accidental damage protection for 3 yrs at $220.

Just to add, I love Apple's products. I used them for many years until I changed a job and didn't have the money to afford a new one and also got fed up with the fact (at that time) that many ecommerce didn't work well with Mac browsers. so I went to PCs. Today, I don't really prefer one OS over the other--seems purely personal preference to me, and cost factor.

 

I advise against Applecare because it is extremely expensive compared to HP, Dell, Sony and other laptop manufacturers.

 

Again, how so? I priced out the Sony warranties for example when I had my SZ.... it isn't that much more expensive, and I've read more than enough stories of AppleCare coming in handy that I can't see a reason to advise against it.

Also, logically this doesn't make sense. If you have a Mac, the cost of other company's warranties is pretty much irrelevant; you either want or don't want the AppleCare warranty and its protections. It's fine to buy it because you don't think it's worth it, but to just not buy it because of its price relative to other company's warranties (all of which have different terms in terms of what they'll cover and how much they will cover in terms of total costs).

 

Actually, AppleCare for a MacBook Pro is only $239...

 

Apple's price would be fine if it included more coverage like accidental damage and onsite service. The nearest Apple store to my graduate school is over 100 miles away. The best Warranty prices are with Latitude laptops. $150 will buy 3 years of accidental coverage for the 14.1" D620 and $160-$170 buys 3 years of accidental coverage for the 15.4" D820. If you want onsite coverage it adds about $100 or so. So for a D620, $250 will give me 3 years of onsite and accidental coverage. I was surprised to find Sony had the second best coverage with a $199 2 year onsite accidental plan. That is with their premium SZ-480. I forget which other companies offer the same rate. I think $199 is the most I will spend for warranty coverage and it needs to include accidental coverage and onsite coverage.

Homer Jay Thompson

 

there are only 3-4 official apple stores in the UAE as of now and almost all them include a 2 hour drive at the least ither due to traffic or the distance

 

Yeah but with Dell half the reps can't speak English, and most likely you'll be out of a laptop for a month. I heard some cases where the Apple Store gave someone a new computer on the spot.

 

If someone is concerned about sending his or her computer away, he or she can get the onsite coverage that totals the price to about $250-$270. Consumer reports did not think Apple's costumer service was that much better. As for that one customer's laptop, it was probably completely destroyed, so it was cheaper to give him or her a new laptop instead of rebuilding it.

EDIT: This only accounts for Latitude laptops D420, D620, and D820. It also includes the Precision laptops.