[X4U] Applecare

[Philip J Robar]

On Oct 3, 2005, at 1:31 PM, Ted Burton wrote:

> At 8:13 PM +0100 on 10/3/05, Phillip Deackes spoke about [X4U]  
> Applecare thusly:
>
>> The free 1yr warranty on my 15" 1.67MHz G4 Powerbook is due to end  
>> in Feb 2006. I am considering taking out Applecare, especially  
>> since a colleague's 17" Powerbook has stopped working and he has  
>> been quoted hundreds of pounds to repair it . . .
>
> I buy such things. AppleCare on my Mac mini was a blessing. And  
> when I bought a used truck a year ago, I paid for an extended  
> warranty which just saved me five times its cost by purchasing me a  
> new transmission. Two good lessons.

You're the lucky exception. Every consumer magazine and newspaper  
column I've ever read says that in the long run for the vast majority  
of people extended warranty's are not a good value. They are an  
almost pure profit stream for the companies that offer them. What  
I've seen recommended is that you take all the money that you would  
have spent on extended warranties and put it into an account. That  
way you keep the money, you're earning interest on the money, and  
it's there IF you ever need it.

I think that Applecare for inexpensive things like a Mini or my $1000  
Powerbook are a complete rip off as they cost a significant fraction  
of the cost of the machine. And in the ~20 years that I've been a Mac  
owner I've never needed to call Apple for support.


Phil
--
"An evil exists that threatens every man, woman, and child of this  
great nation. We must take steps to ensure our domestic security and  
protect our Homeland." -- Adolph Hitler