Cheapest way to get a 15" Or 17" with apple care?

Hi, sorry to ask and if its been posted before I apologize, I did search around but I couldn't exactly find posts that fit the description of my question,

But

I'm a student looking to buy a macbook pro 15" or 17" but because I'm such a klutz, -or I have really bad luck, my macbook seems to always brake down on me, like the one I currently had, and now I decided to purchase a 15" or 17" and I was wondering what my options were in buying one? Does anyone know any dealers or sites that would possibly have a cheap macbook pro with a 3 year warranty?

I'm looking to purchase one thats around $1200 or even less and and I'm not looking for outrageously great specifications as the last one I had was a macbook 13" aluminum, or as they say macbook pro these days with 2.4 GHZ? and 4 GB RAM and it did just fine so the only thing I require is the aluminum series, current generation. So would this be possible to fit in my budget?

 

$1200 is the cost of a base MBP 13. You might be able to get a deal on Black Friday. There are also refurbished units sold by Apple on their website, as well as Cowboom.
I think some online retailers have them a bit cheaper as well.

 

You can get AppleCare for $150 on eBay.

 

The problem with AppleCare if you're really accident prone is AppleCare does not cover accidents, say if you were to drop your MBP. Another option would be a rider on your homeowners/renters insurance. In addition to covering accidents, it would also cover things like theft, which AppleCare would also not cover. Plus you can start/stop coverage at any time.

 

so very true. but you have to really watch as to what a damage to electronice ryder covers as it can vary radically between companies.

and as Zaz said Applecare is somehwat linited by accidental damages, not to say sometimes the genious at the Applestore cant be rather nice. things such as drops, moistsure, " excessive " vibration and physical damage to screen or keyboard usually kill your applecare

 

There is the SquareTrade option.. they'll sell you a warranty that covers accidental damage...

just be sure to read the fine print, they will not actually cover it for the life of the warranty, they'll cover it up to it, or until they've spent what money its worth... so its a dollar value or time limit, which ever comes first... type of "warranty"

 

Well, I'm not accident prone more just that the notebooks I tend to have break down easily, and as for buying Apple Care for $150 I thought you could only apply them within the first 30 days after purchase?

And also I cant really afford to buy the macbook 15" from Apple as I'm in canada and they start off at 1800+ with no finance. So I'm pretty much looking for deals online like craigslist or ebay just with applecare.

 

You can get extended Applecare for any Mac computer as long as its still under the original 1 year warranty... even if its 360 days into it. Now it still only extends it for 2 years past the original 1 year, so you aren't getting any extra warranty time than if you had bought it at the same time as the computer.

 

ADC Hardware Purchase Program - Apple Developer

keep in mind. you can use it ONCE, so you better spec it out like a beast.

The last link on the left side is related to student purchases, and they verify student identity, otherwise they cancel the entire order.

 

Sorry, if I annoy with nagging questions but, I don't understand I read it, and I still don't understand how it works, I need an ADC(?) premier account, and when I click the link, and it notes that "To proceed you must be an Apple Authorized Purchasing Agent for your company." I'm a student at UTSC (University of Toronto) Studio/Art History major, any chance you could fill me in on how this works, and what you've meant by "you can use it ONCE, so you better spec it out like a beast."?

 

Wait so as long as I buy a notebook thats under the first year warranty I could purchase the apple care plan for it?

 

you pay a fee to join as a developer (i think its $100). and after you are a registered developer, you can browse through their special developer store where the laptops/desktops are discounted.

you only get this discount once per lifetime, so you need to order the best possible configuration you can afford. the higher end the computer, the bigger the discount. for instance, the base mac pro on the regular store is $2499, and on the developer store it is $1999.

the 12 core mac pro on regular store is $4999, and on the developer store it is $3999.

 

if you buy a new apple computer, you have one year to enroll into the extended applecare. after that initial year, you cannot extend their warranty.

 

Oh, I see, well I might as well save that for later if I ever can afford it for now I think I'll try to find one online as I just need a regular macbook pro with just the essentials and nothing more. Thank you for the information though, never knew apple had a program like this, just don't understand why its only once in a lifetime.. Is it Actually once in a life time or are you guys exaggerating because the wait time between it is very long :/?

Just wondering could I get it extended if I were to, oh say buy it from someone else?

 

as long as it is a legit and unregistered applecare, then yes. be wary of ebay though, i've heard some stories...

 

so if I pay $99 dollars for the MAC membership ... I immidiately get to purchase at discounted prices the full range of MBP products from 13 incher to 17 incher ???

 

ADC Membership Benefits & Resources - Apple Developer -FAQ

 

Any chance you could tip me on a how-to avoid scams lesson :X.

 

there really isn't much to teach.

try to buy from a reputable vendor, and if you can't, then research everything before you buy it. don't rush into it. worst case scenario, you buy it at full price from apple, and KNOW you are getting the real deal.

also, since you are a student, applecare is discounted.

 

Pay with PayPal if possible, and if its a scam get your money back with a dispute. Or uses a credit card.

 

not always the case. I've read online, that a serial can work, but Apple can then find out it is a bogus code, and deny you service - even after the chargeback window is over.

apple will then ask you for proof of purchase from them, or an authorized reseller, which of course you cannot show if you bought it on ebay.

just a thought.

 

sometimes it pays to NOT be frugal.

 

I recommend to get AppleCare 2 months before the end of your default Warranty (1 year). Just to be safe and there is no rush for it.

You will never know if your MacBook get stolen, broken by accident that Apple won't cover. Your AppleCare would be a waste.

 

Just wondering if I were to get a notebook from a location from somewhere other then north america, for ex. Singapore does it matter where I purchase the apple care? also vice versa for apple care and other locations of macbooks

 

i think so.. they handle international warranties different than North America ones... I've heard in the past people having problems getting an after purchase AppleCare for the US to apply to an international warranty machine... You might want to call Apple and ask... say you'd buy it like in Singapore, but sometime move to the US, could you buy Applecare and change the warranty. I'm sure they can get it done.

 

Sorry... I hate to do this, but it is a mental issue with me... The discount on both of those is actually 20% (20% of 2500 is 500 so 2499 reduces to 1999. 20% of 5000 is 1000 so 4999 reduces to 3999)
Yes the dollar amount is larger, but the reduction is the same.

BUT>>> for RETURN on your $100, then yes, the beast is better. 10X = 1000% while 5X= 500%.

I have a math disorder... no disrespect intended. AND>>> will add to your rep for the Dev Discount info. I had not heard of this before.

 

there is no more Dev discount... ADC memberships are no longer available, and as the expire they cannot be renewed. Now there is only the Mac Developer Program, and it has no hardware discounts available.