David Herron .com

Best price around 2010-04-18

Reviewer: J. Montgomery

I always purchase my Apple Care from Amazon, cheaper that buying it up front with the purchase of a new computer. I have never had a problem activating or using this product purchased from Amazon that some have encountered (or so I've read).

I'm not big on extended warranties for the most part, but I have had to use Apple Care on my white Macbook and Macbook Air. I live close to an Apple Store and the use of the warranty for repairs has always been smooth.

BATTERY IS NOT COVERED!!! 2010-04-14

Reviewer: Richard J. Jones

I have APP on my MacBook and my battery went bad and I called Applecare and they told me the battery was not covered. They said that it was considered normal wear and that Applecare does not cover batteries .. so, the logic that one battery pays for applecare isn't true because I had to buy Applecare and a brand new battery at 125+tx. I rated APP 4 stars though bc I had a problem with my disc drive ruining DVDs and I sent it in by mail and had it back two days later fixed and they replaced the entire casing on my Macbook (a big plus) gotta love service like that. Just wish it covered accidentals.

Must have for peace of mind 2010-03-27

Reviewer: Gayle N Steve

Comforting to know I have this for my machines. Love Apple products, but like anything else, they break down from time to time. Get this! Usually cheaper at Amazon than from Apple, but registers with Apple without a problem.

Almost worth the price to get Apple Store employees to not nag you. 2010-01-25

Reviewer: Kevin Nicholls

Having owned several Macs over the past ten years, the decision to buy AppleCare has been varied for me.

On the 13" models, I think it's just about a requirement, especially if you have a plastic MacBook.

From the very first time you call Apple or talk to a Genius at an Apple Store, you're going to be pestered about AppleCare. Do you have it? Did you want it? You know what we gave you expires in XX days, right? Personal experience has shown me that having AppleCare makes them infinitely more apt to help you (even if you're within your factory warranty).

One misconception people often have about AppleCare is that it covers accidental damage. It most assuredly does not. HOWEVER, it does seem to induce Genii in an Apple Store to be somewhat forgiving on cosmetic repairs and accidental damage that could plausibly be caused by something else.

AppleCare also covers replacement batteries, which is fairly important. Since the switch from PowerBooks to MacBooks, I've yet to have a battery that lasted longer than about a year and a half. At what batteries cost, you'll recover about half the cost of AppleCare before your second year, and possibly more than that before the coverage is up. This in itself makes the cost of AppleCare a bit easier to swallow. The ability to walk in to an Apple Store and walk out with a new battery is also something that makes AppleCare a bit nicer than a SquareTrade warranty (although, I'm a huge fan of their warranties).

A final thought: Apple is (allegedly) starting to crack down on grey market purchases of AppleCare (e.g. ones where someone e-mails you a code and nothing else). Amazon usually has AppleCare at a nice discount from what you'd pay at an Apple Store, and in between what you'd pay at an Apple Store and an online auction. I'm rarely one to suggest paying more for something than you have to, but the peace of mind you get buying a legit warranty from Amazon really outweighs the few bucks you'll save buying on the grey market.

Applecare is a must to avoid expensive repairs within the 1st 3 years of ownership 2010-01-25

Reviewer: just me

Get Applecare if you buy a mac laptop. Logic boards and lcd screens can commonly go bad within 3 years and cost +$900 to fix without warranty at Apple. I've seen many laptop screens that start getting white spots that appear after 1 1/2 years old. Some example of Logic board failure are like firewire/USB/External video port don't work right, or after upgrading to new version OS(example 10.7 when it comes out) you computer doesn't boot or recognize the original OS on the restore disc (10.6), wheezing fan and constant freezes are some other logic board issues. I guess when all the dust collect inside it stops cooling and the logic board goes bad.

Other common parts that fail are the superDrive, cost about $350 without applecare at Apple. Hard Drive fail often and cost about $350 at Apple. More so on the lower macbook models I've notice Apple are now using Toshiba brand 5400 rpm hard drives in them. Every tech I know has a shoebox of failed Toshiba Hard Drive that came out a macbook. This is going to break just a mater of when.

Other part that normally get worn out but should be cover by Applecare. Such as the display hinge clutch. Every Mac I know that is more than a year old has some play in the screen hinge clutch. Worn hinge clutch also doesn't hold the screen open and tends to shut when holding the laptop straight upward This alone can cost $400 at Apple.

Trackpad and especially the clicker can get worn out. it goes flat and doesn't bounce back as when new. Not as resilient. This alone can cost $350 to fix at Apple.

See after a few repairs, Applecare pays for itself. I fix macs and I guess I just see a lot of broken macs all the time because I'm in the repair business. But all I said above is true and I'm not exaggerating.

[...]

[...]