AppleCare Protection Plan: Is it Worth It?

The cost associated with the AppleCare Protection Plan can be quite steep, especially for the budget conscious student, or the working class family. So it's not a decision taken lightly by. This article aims to help you decide if it is worth it for you or not.

What is it?
The AppleCare Protection Plan, commonly known as APP, is essentially an extended warranty for your Mac. It's benefits are two-fold - providing an extended parts and labour coverage as well as expert telephone support for all Mac software and hardware. APP also covers any displays purchased with your MacBook, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro. Additionally, it also covers an Airport Card, Airport Extreme/ Express/Base Station, and any Apple RAM. APP must be purchased and registered (you need to register with Apple that you have purchased it, otherwise Apple does not know you have paid for it) within the standard Apple warranty period. What that means is if you've owned your computer for more than a year, you cannot apply AppleCare to your computer anymore.

Parts and Labour Coverage
This is vitally important. I've seen far too many people NOT puchase the AppleCare, and fall into major strife later on when their screen starts displaying weird patterns. If you think about it, the AppleCare sells itself based on the fact that it covers all of your parts, plus the labour charges. Even if you replace just one part outside of that 1-year standard warranty, the APP has already paid for itself.

World-class Telephone Support
The second benefit of APP, this is one of the most unused features of APP. Most people that purchase APP don't realise that they have one of the best telephone support networks at their fingertips. Normally, your Mac comes with 90 days of complimentary phone support that usually comes out of India (no offence intended), where their performance is judged on the number of calls they take. Now, with the APP, that phone support changes to world-class phone support that comes out of Australia, where their performance is judged by the number of problems solved. These are good people trying to help you!

Bundled Extras
TechTool Deluxe from Micromat. This is an all-in-one diagnostic utility, used by many Apple Certified Repairers. Very handy to have.

Negatives
APP isn't cheap, and is a lot to lay out on something you may never use! If you do the math, it works out to be roughly 80 cents a day, outside of that 1 year period. Of course, the price is scaled to what kind of computer it is, ie. portables have the potential to cost Apple more in terms of Parts and Labour, so the APP for MacBook/ MacBook Pro costs more.

Other notes

• APP for iPod, iPod Touch, iPod Classic, iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, AppleTV, only extends the warranty for another year, bringing it to two years total. All other products are extended by two years, bringing total warranty coverage to three years. Warranty is transferable in the sense that if you sell your product, the APP goes with it.
  
• APP is applied to the serial number of the machine, so if you buy an APP with your MacBook Pro, you can use that unregistered APP with your PowerBook. You also do not need to bring in a receipt with you when you take a Mac in for service, as Apple tracks every single item via a serial number and knows whether it is in warranty or not via its serial number.
  
• You can't use APP for MacBook with a MacBook Pro. The parts are different and the Pro is more expensive, hence the APP for MacBook Pro is more expensive.
  
• APP warranty is global. Take your Mac anywhere in the world and the local Apple Service Center will repair it with no documentation required as they have access to the Apple Global Exchange database, that tracks Macs worldwide for their warranty status.
  
• Another way to get significantly cheaper AppleCare is to get it overseas from eBay, where the code is emailed to you. There have been a couple of threads about it on MacTalk if you want more information on purchasing AppleCare from eBay.

Compared to store "extended warranties" and other types of insurance
Most of the larger chain stores like Dick Smith and Domayne will offer you their own product care warranties that are significantly less than AppleCare. Sometimes these are handy as they can cover accidental damage or theft, which AppleCare does not cover for. These types of insurance usually work by the product owner taking it to a service center, getting the item repaired and paying out of their own pocket, then getting the insurance company to reimburse them, or taking the product in to a service center, receiving a quote and get the insurance company to approve the repairs.

Your credit card (particularly the Gold and Platinum type cards) often have automatic purchase insurance, which is also worth looking into.

The good thing about AppleCare is that you don't need to purchase it on the spot. So do a bit of research into the insurance being offered to you either by the store, undertaking your own insurance (which is quite a good idea for laptops) or your automatic credit card insurance and see how it compares to AppleCare and if it suits you.

Conclusions
The peace of mind APP offers is worth it, and even if disaster strikes, you will still be able to get the machine repaired. I personally know someone who had a PowerMac G5, something happened to it, and since he had bought the APP for his PowerMac, Apple decided to replace his machine with a Mac Pro! If you plan on keeping your computer or device more than one year, keep it protected incase of any future defects is good piece of mind. Also keep in mind other types of insurance that could also be of more use or of better value for your personal reasons. The bottom line is that if it's going to be financially difficult for you to manage if you had to shell out for a major repair, your best bet is to get some form of protection for your device. A little extra money spent up front can protect you from sticker shock down the line.


PS: First article on MT! Be nice!

Nice work Benny

I'd personally like to know more about the insurance offered on laptops. For me, the chances of something happening to it that's my fault or accidental (i.e: I drop it, or I lose it) are far greater than a manufacturing fault.

meh = broke. Or I'd splash out on the APP for my MacBook. :-)

PowerBook?

They are the same I guess (MBP/PowerBook) APP. I am sure they are interchangeable as well (since the MacBook APP stated iBook/MacBook on mine and the newer ones do the Airs as well I believe).

I dont think you can afford not to buy APP. Skint or not.

Nice article, and the info on store credit cards is certainly something a lot of members of this site might not know as much about. A lot of us certainly know APP backwards, but not the other possibilities.

I think the point you make about accidental damage not being covered by APP is also a good one, and a lot of people don't fully comprehend that. For example, the picture you have in the article of a smashed LCD on a macbook would not be covered by APP, as that is damage inflicted on the computer due to impact (shatter pattern is the bottom centre of the screen).

However, if the LCD stopped working due to manufacturing fault, APP covers it. And it is worth noting that the price of parts and labour for many apple bits is very steep: A new LCD is probably $1500 or more if done through a service centre. New optical drive is heading for $500, and if the Logic board (motherboard) of the computer goes, thats $1200+ easy.

Other less major problems are still quite expensive, and if you are computer illiterate or very new to Apple, the support line is a big help. Remember that buying computer lessons or support is not cheap, so the telephone support is a big plus for some people.

All up, i think it's worth buying, and thanks for the article Benny. Great to see the contribution to the MTAU knowledge base!

Nice one. Does APP operate exactly the same on refurbs, or are there special rules?

exactly the same. You get the normal one year standard warranty when you receive the Apple Refurb, then the same rules apply that you must purchase APP within the original one year manufacturers warranty.

When I was working at CompNow, we were told that if you wanted AppleCare on a refurb/fire sale unit, you had to buy the APP at the same time you buy the machine, otherwise you are not eligible for APP later on.

I don't know if that was correct however.

Yeah, CompNow told me that when I bought mine, but I've since heard otherwise. Wish I'd found out before a year had passed

I found it handy when i bought my powermac g5 a few years ago. Since i did not have a car when the problems started i would of had to lug the thing around in cabs or public transport. So to make the warranty onsite was a bonus.

Nah i think Compnow are pulling a shifty there. I just called up Apple and spoke to Adam in customer support, based in Sydney. He informed me that the arrangement is the same, and you can buy APP for a refurb at any time during the first year of manufacturers warranty.

~Ozi.

IIRC, APP is transferable to the new owner if you sell/buy a Mac.

Also, I did a lot of reading about APP when I was thinking about getting it, and it seems that it is more important for laptops than desktops, cause they (supposedly) have a higher failure rate due to the higher heat generated in those crammed insides, and cost more to fix.

I did end up getting it for my eMac, and never needed it (it has lapsed now), but don't regret getting it, the peace of mind was worth it.

Yup, the APP is definitely better value for a portable machine, as the components have to be smaller to fit into the computer, and thus more expensive. And you are right, the ventilation issues of a portable are far greater than, say, a mac pro, where they can just go nuts with extra fans and use some more space to keep it all cool, and no-one minds that the thing ways an extra half kilo or whatever. If a laptop had similar weight gains to further reduce heating, there'd be an uproar among consumers!

Also, its worth noting that the time it takes to dismantle and fix a portable is almost always more than the time to fix a similar component in a desktop. Everything is miniturised, and annoying to get to. So yes, more expensive components + more labour needed = APP being a good idea for portables.

It may be of note that AppleCare may also replace your portable's battery if it doesn't hold sufficient charge before the end of the warranty period. It worked for me for PBook and NextByte!