[Ti] Warranties & Applecare YES - NO?

[Kynan Shook]

Bill Reburn <bill at pacificcoast.net> writes:
> I am a firm believer that ANY - ANY extended warranty options are a 
> rip-off.
> They are mostly designed to cover a sellers/manufacturers butt for not
> seeing beyond the $, or to pad the sale for a better commission. 
> Others may
> disagree?

Personally, I wouldn't buy a warranty from a store such as CompUSA; a 
manufacturer's warranty I would consider, depending on the price and 
the product.  For laptops, I'd say ALWAYS go for the Applecare.  You 
drag the computer with you all over the place, giving it a fair amount 
of abuse.  Even if you don't, the small size of the components 
increases the chances of failure.  And any single repair will almost 
ALWAYS exceed the cost of AppleCare.


> The last Sony TV I bought is a perfect example.. The salesman tried to 
> sell
> me an extended warranty which included an extra year plus at-home 
> servicing.
> I firmly said no - in 15 years I haven't had a single bad unit yet, 
> plus I
> believe most electronic components will break within a very short time 
> of
> turning on if anything. Well the TV Tube went wonky in about a month.. 
> Was
> dreading carting the 32" beast into the shop, called Sony.. Surprise - 
> ANY
> Sony TV over 27" COMES WITH a 2 yr/home service warranty. New TV for 
> me :-)

Personally, I wouldn't trust most electronics stores...


> Originally Apple iPod's came out with a 90 day warranty and people went
> nuts.. That got bumped to a year in no time.. Amazing what consumers 
> can
> accomplish when they scream loud enough. Lucky/Unlucky for me I 
> purchased
> mine before the extension and also purchased an extended 3 years on my 
> 10g
> iPod - so we'll see what happens there!

FWIW, any iPod-no matter when it was purchased-now includes the 1-year 
warranty.  Apple retroactively extended it for the early buyers.  I 
believe you have to pay $30 shipping though, after the first 6 months.


> I think Paula hit the nail on the head - works out to about CDN$25/mo 
> for
> insurance coverage.. Can't get any simpler than that.

The only problem is that if you actually *USE* your insurance, your 
rates can go up, plus you'll probably have to pay a deductible anyway.  
Personally, I purchased AppleCare on my Ti/500 (used it for a new 
screen in the additional period beyond the first year, so far-one year 
to go yet), and my homeowner's insurance will cover the computer as 
well; in case of theft, I'm covered.  I don't know about something like 
accidental damage (dropping it, etc.), but I'm always quite careful 
with my baby ("Titania"), and I treat her with sticky-rubber-lined kid 
gloves.  ;-)


Kynan Shook
kshook at mac.com
http://homepage.mac.com/kshook/index.html