With the iBook purchase, I'm giving thought to extended warranty. The 'book won't go anywhere outside the house, but the wife and kids will carry around the house...

Anyway, I was thinking of AppleCare--but then I know I had a good experience a few years ago with Warrantech, with a Micro Center purchase. Paid for itself, no hassles--and it was longer than Apple offers, and was renewable as an option.

But then I saw powerbookcentral.com and its links to various Mac portable repair resources, and it occurred to me--I could just suck it up and pay for any repairs myself through one of these resources, or--worst case--just get another 'book if it came down to that.

$250 from Apple to insure a $700 piece for two more years after the standard one year is up....that's expensive. I don't need the telephone hand holding on their bundled software; if they had a cheaper option that was just warranty against hardware defects that come up in 3 years, I might consider it. But they don't.

In general, I believe that any problems will arise within the first 30 to 90 days--and certainly the first year. The biggest problem area is the hard drive, and that shouldn't cost me $250 to repair, should it?

And Apple's $250 covers only defects--not accidental damage, which is probably more likely on a piece like this. I know that Warrantech sells a product that includes accidental damage, and Safeware sells damage/theft policies only. For $69/year, Safeware covers it for theft and accidental damage but not defects.

And, of course, I can buy AppleCare for around $150-$175 if I look around. So that changes the equation a bit, but not a huge amount in my mind.

Frankly, I'm leaning toward self-insuring this baby and not doing stupid things with it. Maybe I could buy a sturdy case for it, one where it stays inside during use and protects it from a fall.

Has anyone else gone through this lately? What conclusions did you come to?

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In the words of DharmaDog: "it may or may not be utter horse@#$%&, but it shouldn't be dismissed simply because it doesn't agree with your opinion."

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Trying is the first step to failure. -- Homer Simpson

I have never bought any insurance on any computers PC or Mac except when I bought a refurb from one of our online dealers. The G3 Wallstreet went kaput after about 1 hours. No hassle...return and repaired or replaced. All was well.

Like you I figure a computer is going to go bad in the first 48 hours..I leave it on that long...and then in under a year....so after that I'll pay for repairs or throw the clunker out and get a new one.

My used Snowball iMac DV had Applecare on it when I bought is used years ago...and still is ticking along without a complaint.

I have never had any problems...Oh, I'll take that back...the keyboard on a Toshiba went out but I think that was my fault..but it was repaired for free under the warranty.

I say...risk it....save your geld for a lovely weekend with your loved one...

I just got AppleCare on this 17" PB (LAComputer for $259 I think.) I had the same kind of debate with myself, but I finally decided on the AC because this one is a refurb. I had an extra year of coverage through my credit card when I bought my Pismo new; it needed a new hard drive at age 13 months, but Amex covered it. For a $700 iBook, I'd self insure like you're considering. Frankly I'm kind of sorry I did get the AC, but it's now a done deal.

You have up to the end of the original warranty (year) to purchase AppleCare for the iBook. I wouldn't worry about it until it was closer to that.

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nm



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2006 12:03PM by Carm.

As one who had his g3 ibook replaced by applecare with a g4 ibook, I'd think long and hard about self insuring an inherently fragile item like an ibook. Apple sells applecare on the educator pricelist for much less.

yeah, but:

* it's only $700. Throwing $200 at it is kinda silly, doncha think?

* yes, it's inherently fragile--but it's not going out of the house. I'll have to see how the wife/kids end up handling it. But then again, AppleCare is only for defects in manufacturing--not for "oops, I dropped it".

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In the words of DharmaDog: "it may or may not be utter horse@#$%&, but it shouldn't be dismissed simply because it doesn't agree with your opinion."

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Trying is the first step to failure. -- Homer Simpson

We insured through AMEX with the doubled warranty and then we're going to self insure. AC is really a couple hundred bucks for 1 year, after the doubled AMEX warranty, and by then the $800 iBook is 2 years old. We're taking the chance.

"AppleCare is only for defects in manufacturing--not for "oops, I dropped it"."

If this is what you are worried about, then dont get AppleCare and get something that covers both defects and "oops".

Carm

I'm leaning toward self-insuring this baby and not doing stupid things with it.

But can you control what your wife and kid do with it?

Elmo3, only fools pay full price. $179, no tax even in California.:
[www.lacomputercompany.com]

BGnR

Another option is to sell right before the year is up and buy a "new" refurb.

You should be able to get fairly close to the original refurb price if you are lucky - and will never be out of warranty.

One thing I've wondered about with the AppleCare from LACC is that their part numbers are xxxxLL/A, but the ones offered by Apple are xxxxLL/B. I would assume that the /B is a newer version, but are there really any differences?

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"No matter where you go, there you are." - Buckaroo Banzai

Safeware insurance. I just keyed in $1500 and washington state, home use and was quoted $90 a year, $1000 is $69. [www.safeware.com]

"Designed to cover laptops, desktops, tablets, PDAs, peripherals, and other portable devices against accidental physical loss, which can easily render a system inoperable. Also covers software included with the purchase of your system. Equipment is covered against the perils of Accidental Damage, Theft, Vandalism, Power Surge, and Natural Disasters at any location within the United States, Canada, and while in transit. "

You can lump all your equipment together, and have your iPod and cell phones covered as well. Theft and drop insurance on an iPod/phone. Might, and I do say MIGHT cover digital cameras and video cameras, as they are peripherals.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/26/2006 05:40PM by Racer X.

Racer X Wrote:
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> Safeware insurance. I just keyed in $1500 and
> washington state, home use and was quoted $90 a
> year, $1000 is $69.

Funny you should mention them. I was there this morning, and downloaded their policy.

It is *not* an extended warranty, and they specifically do *not* cover those types of issues. They cover:

"direct accidental physical loss caused by an external peril, except those perils we specifically exclude elsewhere in this policy..."

There is a long list of exclusions:

"We will not pay for...

B. loss to insured property caused by or resulting from:
1. depreciation
2. insects, vermin, corrosion, or rust;
3. prexisting conditions, wear and tear, gradual deterioration, mechanical failure or electrical breakdown;..."

and so on.

If one wants breakage/theft protection, one is probably better off getting a third party warranty that offers that along with the extended warranty.

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In the words of DharmaDog: "it may or may not be utter horse@#$%&, but it shouldn't be dismissed simply because it doesn't agree with your opinion."

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Trying is the first step to failure. -- Homer Simpson

macmom42 Wrote:
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> One thing I've wondered about with the AppleCare
> from LACC is that their part numbers are xxxxLL/A,
> but the ones offered by Apple are xxxxLL/B. I
> would assume that the /B is a newer version, but
> are there really any differences?

This morning I downloaded the AppleCare Protection Plan Facts guide from Apple, and it lists all the AppleCare products along with their part numbers--all ending in LL/A.

My iBook, for example, is M8852LL/A.

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In the words of DharmaDog: "it may or may not be utter horse@#$%&, but it shouldn't be dismissed simply because it doesn't agree with your opinion."

Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Trying is the first step to failure. -- Homer Simpson

May be typos fro LACC. I got my Applecare for my MDD Duallie there several years ago, and have had to use it. No problem at all with Apple.

You can get Applecare on eBay much cheaper than both Apple and LA Computer. I got AC for my last two iBooks and my G5 imac. It paid for itself on the G5. I already had the logicboard and superdrive replaced. The ibook had it's battery replaced when the battery-life dropped to one-hour after about a year.

About the doubled warranty you get with credit cards: as an example, American Express will cover repairs and or replacemenet of the iBook, but it's up to you to get it diagnosed and repaired or replaced. With Applecare, just call them up and ship it off to be fixed. Also, if you don't have AC and you use Apple to repair it, you pay for the phone time and it ain't cheap. ALSO, the warranty is only up to ONE additional year. Applecare will cover you for two years after the original one year warranty.