^ I know what you're saying, but my experience with Apple Care has been unlike any other type of insurance or extended warranty.
Examples: I had Asurion insurance on a T-Mobile phone that was stolen. It is supposed to cover theft. I paid my $12/month for 14 months (totalling $168), but when I submitted my claim, they denied the phone replacement stating that it was fraud. I had my car window smashed in, had other items, including my jacket, car stereo, amp, subs, etc, taken, damage to my trunk lid, police report, plenty of pictures, and was not the only one in the parking lot that had their car broken into that night, but they wanted to call it fraud. I contested it, but they said that I needed to be able substantiate my loss and provide more evidence. Really?! Like I would do that to my own car for a phone. Asurion is a big waste of money if you ask me, and I will never recommend anyone get it, as they do not hold up to their end when it comes time to take care of you.
Another example is an extended warranty I had through Circuit City, back in '97 on a DVD player. I had to go through so much hassle getting my DVD player finally replaced with one that worked, after having it sent away for over a week, only to get it back "working", but now with a ticking noise upon playback.. took it back, wanted a new one, but had to wait to have it serviced again.. only to get it back fixed, but with scratches on the face and top of the DVD player, that they took no responsibility for.. So I let it go because I didn't want to go through the hassle of waiting another week without a DVD player..
So, because of my experiences with extended warranties and insurance, I stopped buying them on electronics, until I had to deal with fixing an iPhone through an unauthorized kiosk who serviced my phone, only to have created another problem. After Apple Care was suggested to me by a friend who had his iPhone replaced over the counter with a new one, after hearing about my ordeal, I decided that I would get Apple Care on my next Apple purchase.. Which happened to be my Mac mini.. A year and several months later, my optical drive was acting up. I took it into my local Apple Store, and I got a call to pick it up two days later, fixed. I was expecting a week or longer based on my previous experiences with repairs. Two days. I forget what the repair cost was exactly, but with labor and parts, it was more than two hundred something.. My Apple Care already paid for itself, plus I had used the tech support at least 3 times for free, that normally runs 50 bucks a call.
I don't know about anyone else, but my experience with Apple Care has been more than positive. First time my iPad got replaced was because it was taking a charge intermittently. Months later, i got it replaced again because my photo app kept crashing and restarting my iPad when ever I would scroll too quickly. A weird fluke that the Geniuses hadn't seen before, but never-the-less, prompty replaced my iPad with another new one.
This is the type of service that is more than worth the mere $79 Apple Care on an iPad imo. I've seen the square trade ads that appear on this forum, but am reluctant to trust anyone not taking care of me in person anymore. Not after the Asurion and Circuit City experiences. I like being able to get seen by person face to face and getting either a factory replacement part or the entire unit replaced if needed, without having to wait more than a week at a time, or worse.. having to find out that you're not getting taken care of at all! Aside from losing my device or getting it wet, I think that Apple Care is a pretty good deal. I care less about how much an extended warranty usually costs, and more about if they are going to take care of me if there is a problem. So far, Apple Care is the only extended warranty I've had, besides my extended warranty my car, that has definitely been worth the money.
