As the thread title ask - AppleCare Protection Plan - is it worth the cost?

Am looking at getting a new MacPro, which will be my first, and am weighing up if the extra 3 year support is worth the $419...?

I have heard that Apple can be a little difficult dealing with if any support is needed, often long delays getting things fixed, hassles just trying to get something answered or looked at etc.

Anyone have experience withe this? or any Apple support for "how to do" things with the new machine if you need the assistance.

For a Mac Pro, probably not.

For laptops, yes.

I had it on my titanium powerbook, claims the HDD and the screen flickering, neither fixed under applecare (HDD was going to take 2 weeks to fix so I just paid the $150 for a new HDD and had it running an hour later. Screen flickering was 'wearn tear' so they wouldn't fix. My G4 1.67 Powerbook is 2 1/2 years old, no issues.

I wouldn't bother, especially on a macpro, everything that can break is a spare part?
Steve

It's a tough call, I generally err on the side of buying it tho.

Coverage on a machine that costs me $43xx + for one tenth of it's price is worth it to my business.

If pennies are short, you also have a year to apply it, or 90 days if you want full phone support (which is quite good if you prefer to speak to a human).

You will always get varying opinions on this.

Do keep in mind that Apple Care will more than pay for itself if you re-sell your machine on to someone in the future.

Get it, you won't regret it.

Like most insurance if you don't use it for year after year you will feel like you've wasted money, but need it once and you will be so glad you have it (parts for Macs are not cheap).

My opinion - Don't get it or the first year (unless you need/want phone support - but then, you do have us!).
At day 364, phone 133-622 and make your credit card feel the pain. For the next two years you will have phone support etc. If you don't use it you will be a little upset but sometimes peace of mind (and being pushed to the front of the repair queue at service centres) is worth it.

Especially for laptops - doubly for those around kids - triply if you have a MBP (metal *can* warp, wanna know how much a new bottom shell costs?)

For $400-500, i would rather sell my 12 months old machine and get a new one. Why spend more money on a depreciated machine. Instead you could have the latest technology and free 1-yr warranty.

Get it on ebay for $100 Don't pay apple Aus prices. It's worth its weight in gold for $100 Apple support is great- on site repairs are awesome.

Try this http://forums.mactalk.com.au/showthr...926#post423926

Some people do that. Continually upgrade and sell their old machines (less than 1 year old) with warranty so the new buyer can buy AppleCare to extend it.

Then they get a new machine, 12 month warranty, do it all over again next year...

There are also tax deduction benefits in buying new machines if they are work, business or study related.

glad this matter was raised, it reminded me my 90 days is up this month. I'll be getting Apple care for the macbook but not the imac.

I would have thought that people who buy a new Mac and keep it for less than 12 months would be somewhat in the minority. While I understand your argument here and in your post after this one I'm just not convinced of the wisdom of it when applied to someone who clearly intends to keep the machine for more than 12 months. In the absence of tax breaks replacing a Mac every 12 months makes the total cost of ownership prohibitively high for many people when depreciation is taken into account

I appreciate that most problems, if they are going to occur, surface earlier rather than later but if the OP intends on keeping it for a while and decides to save (whatever AppleCare costs ~10%?) and the logicboard craps out on day 366 then they basically are up for the depreciated cost of the Mac in repairs. If they choose to sell it after 2 years they have the benefit of being able to sell it with residual warranty which should be worth (in resale price) that proportion of the initial cost of the protection plan.

I Agree buy it from someone on eBay that doesn't need it, I payed AU$125.00 for mine...

Sure, but if you spend more you still have to find it from somewhere. The only tax benefits are from depreciation and, even though the machine depreciates a lot in its first year, the tax saved is very little in the scheme of things. One should never spend money to save tax. Whether there is a tax benefit or not, one should spend what is needed to most economically get the job done and minimise the total cost of ownership. Photoshop jocks who charge $200 an hour need the latest, fastest machines. A high TCO is inconsequential. Most other people need to hold onto their machines a bit longer to get the best value out of them. 2-3 years works best for us.

I think AppleCare is more important for notebooks than desktops but if you can get it cheaply and you believe in insurance then why not get it for the Pro? As kim notes, it does help any machine to hold its value and, perhaps more importantly, it makes them easier to sell.