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 - Good DealThis is a very good deal as my experience with Apple Warranty has always been positive. The technicians at the Genius Bar at the Stockton Store in SF are competent and friendly. Rating: - Covers peripherals too. One of the few "worthwhile" Ext Warranties.It's worth noting that the Applecare warranty doesn't just cover the Mac. It covers many Apple devices that are connected to it. For instance, a Time Capsule is covered. Here's a comprehensive list (from Apple's site) >Apple hardware products4 - An Apple computer - An Apple mouse and keyboard when included with a covered computer (or purchased with Mac mini) - An Apple display when purchased and registered with a covered Mac mini, Mac Pro, or MacBook Pro computer - An AirPort Extreme Card, AirPort Express or AirPort Extreme Base Station, Time Capsule, MacBook Air SuperDrive, and Apple RAM when used with a Mac covered by the AppleCare Protection Plan >The Mac OS4 >Many Apple-branded consumer applications, including iLife and iWork I don't normally buy extended warranties since the money I've saved is enough to replace anything I buy (i.e. I've saved $1,500 on warranties by NOT buying them). OTOH, I have a Time Capsule that runs so hot, I'm willing to bet an Applecare plan it dies within 3 years ;) The plan is one of the better EWarranties out there if you buy it. If you don't use it, you've obviously lost. On the other hand, it covers so much in addition to just the Mac, that if you've got a lot of Apple equipment, there's a better-than-average chance you'll wind up finding a use for it. Bottom line: If you religiously avoid EWarranties, you've correctly seen through what amounts to a scam. Wisest "non-investment" you'll probably ever make. But if you're going to give in just once, you could do a lot worse than an Applecare plan. Rating:  - necessary expenseI love my macbook, therefore I have to shell out over $200 to keep it healthy. Chances are I won't even need to use the extended warranty, but why chance it? Rating: - Get the student discount!They do not advertise this but if you are a student call Apple and they will give you a student discount. I only had to pay $183. Cheaper than Amazon! Rating: - Good value for an Ext. WarrantyI'm not going to debate on the benefits/negatives of purchasing an extended warranty because I figure people can make up their own minds on whether or not they need it. Personally, I purchase the ext. warranty on anything I don't want to repair or replace that is somewhat costly. For instance, we have an ext. warranty on our 42" Plasma, Xbox 360, and our new Saturn. I had an ext. warranty on an Ford ZX2 I bought several years ago and it paid for itself almost 3x over because of brake and transmission problems I kept having. However, there are some products that are built so well that they almost negate the cost of an extended warranty, so you will have to decide for yourself based on your experience. For the new Mac owner or first-time computer buyer, I think that AppleCare is a safe bet because it gives you 3 years of covered repairs. All Mac portables comes with a standard 1 year warranty but only 90 days of technical support. Apple will only charge you for support if the problem is not related to hardware. For instance, if you call and tell them your hard drive is dead, they will send you a box and repair your notebook for free. However, if you call because you can't print, they will probably charge you to troubleshoot over the telephone. I don't agree w/ Apple's philosophy of 90 days of standard technical support, but Macs are by nature easy to use and require little to any hand-holding. For the experienced computer buyer/owner or Mac veteran, the choice can go either way; you may know a place to send it, or can fix it yourself after the warranty has expired. You probably already know how to fix 99% of the computer software issues out there, and require no help in the process. If you are this person, you probably either already own AppleCare or plan to never purchase an ext. warranty. I fall in the middle. I prefer to cover the expensive stuff because I think it's well worth having covered repairs for 3 years (2 years + 1 year std.) and having customer service if/when you need it. I rarely if ever call AppleCare for anything, but that's not to say it hasn't happened. I think the biggest selling point is Apple's customer service is located in N. America (US and Canada), so the language/accent barrier of some outsourced technical support departments is non-existent. If you call and say, "My battery isn't charging" or "I can't print", they will tell you in common-sense language instead of assuming you speak tech lingo. We own AppleCare on two of the three Macs in our house. It's always better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
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