Applecare MacBook Pro worth investment?

LLaScrooge on 20/08/2016 - 19:45

Hi everyone,

I'm currently tossing up whether it is worth buying Applecare for my Macbook Pro Retina 13 inch.

This is my third Macbook Pro in two years. The first one was DOA (thanks Dick Smith), the second had in the 18 months I had it an SSD failure, a screen laminate failure, a fan failure, and finally battery failure followed by spontaneous combustion. Apple were kind enough to replace it finally.

I can get Applecare for $229, however occasionally it goes on sale for less on Ebay (although I bought one on Ebay and had to be refunded recently as it was already activated).

I am by no means a heavy user and just intend on getting through to the end of my law degree with it (1 year to go!). I mainly just do word processing and peruse OzBargain with it.

My question in essence is, aside from my woeful track record, how is the reliability of Macbook's for normal use? I'm aware the consumer law covers me for two+ years on this kind of thing, so have any of you found it useful? Have any of you paid less for your own Applecare than the $229 student price?

Thanks

Computing

Comments

  • niner on 20/08/2016 - 20:50
    +1

    how is the reliability of Macbook's for normal use

    I don't really use Macs, but I know the average Mac User would tell you that Apple products have the best reliability and it's one of the reasons they moved from using Windows PCs.

    You're a law student who mainly surfs the net and uses word processing. You don't have to be spending $2000+ for a laptop if that's all you do.

    Next time, buy a Dell Latitude for $1000 on the Dell Outlet. You can get a business grade machine with a 1920x1080 resolution instead of that retina bullshit and better battery life. You'll also have up to date hardware from Intel and Dell.
    My family members who are lawyers work at banks and use Dell Latitudes from work. They're among the most reliable and well built laptops on the market. They're also dirt cheap if you buy as a corporate customer or from the dell outlet.
    http://www.dell.com/learn/au/en/audhs1/campaigns/dell-outlet…

    • LaScrooge on 20/08/2016 - 21:09

      Thanks for that.

      Dell have certainly improved a lot in recent years. I originally jumped ship to a Mac because I had a HP, Asus, and Samsung laptop all die within 3 months as well.
      I think I'm just cursed. I also wasn't a huge fan of Windows 8 at the time, but now Windows 10 has rectified that.

      I definitely agree though that my needs would be better suited by things at a lower price point, however back when I bought the Mac Retina, it was only about $1500 thanks to exchange rate/10% off sale and staff discount.

      I'll definitely keep Dell in mind next time around though! Certainly in Tasmania, 4 out of 5 computers at my Uni are a Mac! We must be behind the times :P

    • [Deactivated] on 20/08/2016 - 21:14
      -3

      lol better battery life

      • niner on 20/08/2016 - 21:41
        +1

        lol it's true.

        Dell Latitude 14 and 15 have 10+ hour battery life with the HD screens and about 8-9 with Full HD screens. With up to 20 hours with Dell power companions.

        • [Deactivated] on 20/08/2016 - 22:03
          -1

          Yeah I'm sure they do what's on the tin.

  • Lord Fart Bucket on 20/08/2016 - 20:51

    Have a read here: https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2226545

    I don't buy apple care. Like extended warranties, i find it a waste of money.

    • LaScrooge on 20/08/2016 - 21:10

      Thanks

      • scrimshaw on 21/08/2016 - 22:38

        extended warranties are a losing bet for the consumer. A very risky gamble.

        The house always wins over the long term. Apple care is priced so that Apple will turn a profit, it is not so that the consumer to save money.

  • [Deactivated] on 20/08/2016 - 21:15
    +1

    Don't get it, Apple warranties are good. I was given a new battery and power cable on a 6 year old Macbook when the power cable frayed.

  • Savas on 20/08/2016 - 21:26

    With our Apple Care we managed to convince them to replace the cracked screen (this would have been hard or impossible without warranty).

    Otherwise can't imagine having a problem, and if you did it would be so significant they should fix it regardless.

  • coco1458 on 21/08/2016 - 00:13

    Honestly, in my household we own a few Apple computing systems and never had to purchase AppleCare, never had a problem go wrong with any of my Apple computing devices (touch wood) but I've heard good things about Apple's warranty so I wouldn't stress too much.
    AppleCare is just an extended warranty you probably won't use unless you're a person that trashes their laptop but it sounds like you're pretty reasonable so don't bother with it I'd say, general warranty should cover you :)

  • bbqwer on 21/08/2016 - 00:23
    +1

    Macbook apple is very reliable! I had macboook air 11inch 2012 and macbook pro 15inch 2012, use it everyday and still going strong.

    both macbook are running WIN 7 :)

  • Findo on 21/08/2016 - 00:30

    If you buy the device with a gold credit card or higher you probably could use the extended warranty included on the card for any issues.

    • LaScrooge on 22/08/2016 - 00:59

      I bought the original Macbook Pro Retina on my Platinum Card, however as it was replaced by Apple, that cancelled it out. The CC warranties don't provide anything more than what you already have under consumer law, but it's always handy to have. Cheers

  • rholmes on 21/08/2016 - 07:42

    Wow, if all those brands are failing you truly are cursed.

    I've had very few failures on any brand, but Dell has been my 100% failure tail - but they just rebrand whatever they like from the factories which is why they're cheap. Their monitors are as good as Apple's.

    One word of advice - the MacBook Pro hasn't been upgraded in a while and the Internet blogs are suggesting wait until later this year. I too am hanging out.

    • LaScrooge on 22/08/2016 - 01:01

      It will certainly be interesting to see what comes out regarding the new Macbook Pro. I would wait, however my Macbook was replaced at the end of last year, and I wasn't going to say no to a free Macbook upgrade from a 2013 model to a 2015 one.

      Regarding my curse, thank goodness they've all been since the ACL came in.

  • Brendoo on 21/08/2016 - 13:17

    I've had Apple devices since the Apple 2e in the early 1980's, even that still works. Never had a single problem with any of my Apple devices since then, incl MacBook Pros. My MacBook Pro is used about 12 hours per day, sometimes it's on 24x7 for a week when I am doing huge cloud backups. I'm a pretty heavy user. Never bought or needed Apple Care. Just my experience.

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