Apple Care or no?

[the_john]

This is going to be my first major Apple purchase, other than an iPod nano (only Apple product I've ever bought, but I'm on my third). Should I buy the Apple Care package? Are Apple's products really reliable enough I don't need to worry about having an extended warranty? Can I save that money and go ahead and get my bluetooth keyboard instead?
I am against extended warranties by default, but for items over $400 I will normally buy one. Point being I can easily come up with the money to replace something that costs less than $400.
What do you all think?

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

There have been a few discussions on the Forum about the pros and cons of getting an Apple Care Package. First of all, you get a year's warranty as standard, so need to worry during the first year about hardware failures. Of course, you also get telephone support too but, with the iPad Forum here, there's not too much need for that.

I'll probably get 'shot down in flames' but most Forum members have reported that the iPad is ultra-reliable with only a very few members having problems. Often, too, the problems turn out to be 'bugs' or 'crashes' that can be fixed by resetting the iPad - i.e. not a hardware failure after all.

My advice - based on having my iPad for only 3 months, I'll admit - is save the money and get a Bluetooth keyboard. After all, after a few months you'll be upgrading to the iPad3...

Have fun and enjoy your iPad

Tim
Scotland

 

[sjleworthy]

http://www.ipadforums.net/ipad-general-discussions/20295-apple-care.html

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

That's what I love - a Forum with a sense of humour.

Tim
Scotland

 

[the_john]

After all, after a few months you'll be upgrading to the iPad3...

Shelling out this much money for a piece of hardware, I won't be upgrading when the next one comes out. Purchases this big are long term investments for me. Being the technophile I am, it sure is hard to sit there and watch the latest and greatest thing come out, but that's a different story.
I'm so glad I can forgo the Apple Care for now and wait to get it. I'll probably just wait till the 12th month and decide from there. If I've been having problems with it, I'll probably get it. If not, then probably not.
I think I'll put that $100 toward my bluetooth keyboard and dock.

 

[ljholland]

I was thinking of getting the SquareTrade.com warrantee instead.
It's coverage is twice as long and also covers accidental damage.

Thoughts?

 

[Harbinse]

SquareTrade is the way to go and if you accidently drop or submerge and you have the accidental coverage you're golden.

 

[Seadog]

Apple Care is a big money maker for Apple, especially with new buyers who are used to cheaper units. I have never had Apple Care and have never seen any major problems in over 20 years. The worse thing was when after several years, the hard drive went out on my 91 Mac LC. I used the opportunity to go from a 40 MB to an 80 MB unit. I did have 2-3 1st gen iPod Shuffles with battery problems, but had them replaced under warranty, even had the warranty extended 6 month and got a gen 2 iPod shuffle as the last replacement. My experience may not be everyone's, but I think it is most people's.

One of the great things with Apple, is their Genius Bar. My wife's old 14" iBook was sluggish a couple years ago, and she took it to te Genius Bar. He cleaned the disc of whatever garbage was on it and recommended that she add another 2 MB of RAM. Even showed her how to do it. She had me get her some RAM and it has been over 2 years since she has complained about it being sluggish. And it did not cost her a dime at the Genius Bar for a laptop years out of warranty. This is why I am loyal to Apple.

 

[tzimisce]

This is going to be my first major Apple purchase, other than an iPod nano (only Apple product I've ever bought, but I'm on my third). Should I buy the Apple Care package?

You can buy and extend Apple Care anytime within the first year's warranty, so there's no rush up front to do it. New devices, if they're defective, tend to fail very early on within the first few days or weeks, rather than months down the road.

Also, if you're buying with a credit card, check if the card comes with consumer protection that automatically extends the warranty of the device. (Amex is usually very good at this.)

 

[The Alternative]

For insight into extended warranties for electronics

The Warranty Windfall

 

[y2kgtp]

For insight into extended warranties for electronics

The Warranty Windfall

Old article, but still valid. I love the CC references.

Wal-Mart pushes warranties at the register when you check out now.

 

[MayaD]

Check out Worth Ave Group. They also cover theft.

 

[Jakesmama]

We bought our iPad last Christmas at Walmart. Would it ,still have one year AppleCare coverage? We can't find any paperwork about it. We purchased extended warranty through walmart but usually something like that kicks in after the original expires I believe. We seem to be having a hardware problem. Thanks for info / suggestions.

 

[Kathryn4812]

I bought my ipad from the Apple store and later was amazed that nobody pressured me to take out an extended warranty. In fact it wasn't mentioned.

 

[richsadams]

We bought our iPad last Christmas at Walmart. Would it ,still have one year AppleCare coverage? We can't find any paperwork about it. We purchased extended warranty through walmart but usually something like that kicks in after the original expires I believe. We seem to be having a hardware problem. Thanks for info / suggestions.

Yes, all Apple products have a one-year warranty as long as you purchase them from an authorized Apple retailer/dealer...which Wal*Mart is.

Since it's within the one-year timeframe you can contact Apple about any problems, either by taking it to an Apple store or by calling Apple Customer Care:

U.S. Technical Support: 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273)