AppleCare - Do I need it?

[Eenuh]

I got AppleCare on the iMac I bought when I was a student. I haven't used it yet but I'm about to (a tiny backlight problem with the screen after 2 3/4 years) so I'll let you know what they say. To be honest I've only heard good things about it - the vast majority of stories are 'something went wrong, I took it in, they fixed/replaced it immediately'. Apple are known for having some of the best customer service records of any company.

 

That said £200 is a LOT of money. I got mine with epic student discount (sounds similar to mr-paul) so it wasn't too much, and I'm only using it because it's coming up to the end of my 3 years. It's more difficult to break an iMac than a MacBook however.

 

It really depends on what you know about insurers. I have never really had to deal with them before but I assume they'll do their upmost to make it hard for you to claim (that's their business I suppose). If you think you can find one that will cover you for less than Apple in a similar way then definitely go for it

 

I would mention that if there is a fault that is 'known' in the laptop Apple will almost always fix it for free. A good example is the old white MacBooks - the font of the casing where the lid closed would crack and break off. It was a fault with the build, and you can still take MacBooks into Apple Stores and get them fixed. I also had a power cable that melted slightly(!) after about 4-5 years. Took it to an Apple Store, they apologised for the fault and replaced it for free. I didn't have AppleCare for it or anything.

 

(Sorry if this has gone wildly off topic)

 

I'll report my experience back when I take in my iMac next week

 

The crack in the casing is what my MacBook has had twice, now it's happening for the 3rd time. The first two times I got it replaced I still has my student warranty through school so that's how I got it replaced, not sure they would still do it for free now.

 

I also had my charger cable melt as well (as well as some other people I know), but they wouldn't replace that, we had to buy a new one. =/

[Mr-Paul]

I have a friend who used to work in the Apple Store and he said with things like chargers and headphones they tend to always replace regardless of warranty status. On the three iPods I have owned over the years I always got replacement headphones before the year warranty was up, just because I could!

 

And with the charger for my Macbook Air, it started to split/fray after just 7 months, so I took it into the shop, they didn't bother looking at my Apple Care, just took a brand new one off the shelf (RRP £65, ridiculous!) Took it out of the box, replaced it with my faulty one, and sent the bad one back as a return to be disposed of in the box off the shelf.

 

That story that Cube posted, while really ridiculous and unacceptable, seems like an exception to Apple's usual high standard customer service.

[Charlie]

Throughout University I had contents insurance with Endsleigh. It covered my laptop, mobile phone and other expensive items (tennis rackets, clothing) even when they were out of my house for all damage (accidental, water etc).

 

I would go for this rather than Applecare because it's an all encompassing solution that isn't just for your laptop. I used Endlseigh because they insure just one person in a flat (rather than the whole flat). Other insurance companies might be cheaper if you split the cost with Jim.