I told him that maybe I shouldn’t be buying another Mac if they are so poorly built that I will need a repair policy for after it is a year old.

Companies make lots of money on those plans. I can’t believe the salesperson doesn’t also make something–maybe not a direct commission, but some sort of incentive. I cannot imagine a salesperson exerting so much pressure otherwise.

Couple of things need to be set straight here for the record:
1. Apples aren’t way more expensive anymore. A brand new macbook from Apple isn’t ‘overpriced’ they just don’t sell crappy bargain machines like Dell does. If you take the time to configure a Dell that is almost indentical in components to a Macbook you’ll find that the price difference is $50-100 (some components aren’t exactly equal). And thats not taking into account the need for Virus/Spyware/Etc protection you’d be stupid not to have to even take that Dell machine online (once you add in that stuff the Dell can be more expensive). The cheapest Apple laptop versus the cheapest Dell laptop isn’t really comparing apples and oranges, more like apples and last years dried out fruit.

I’m thinking about getting a macbook pro but I do realize that they are extremely overpriced, contrary to what you say here. Dell offers their XPS 1530 with better specs (larger hard drive [320 gigs], and more ram [4 gigs standard]) WITH 3 years of services (the equivalent to applecare. To purchase an macbook pro with the same specs would cost $1,000 USD More than the dell’s 1,500 price tag.

My Components
Tuxedo Black Casing XPS M1530
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition
High Resolution, glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440×900) & 2MP Camera
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
Size: 320GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Internal (2.0+Enhanced Data Rate)
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy HD Software Edition
Finger Print Reader XPS M1530
My Software & Accessories
Trend Micro Internet Security 36-months
No Microsoft Office
My Service
3Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24×7 Phone Support
Add Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 3Yr Warr.
Included 10GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Year
No ISP requested
Also Includes
Windows Vista™ Premium
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
High Resolution,Black glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1440×900)&2MP Cam

“We strongly recommend that you purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan when you purchase your Apple system to maximise the advantages of the plan.”

How is that maximising the advantages? Do you get double extra super special warranty service if you double up your warranty with AppleCare?

FYI, there is no grace period for out of warranty stuff in Australia. The period of time that something is covered by statutory warranties depends on the type of goods, how much you paid for them, typical usage, average life expectancy etc, but YES, you do have rights after Apple’s 1 year warranty is up. If they tell you differently, call the ACCC, then call Apple back and ask to speak to a supervisor.

Matt (ex-ACCC

Does anyone find it suspicious that the author has mentioned 3 macs he’s bought, 3 of which have had serious failures in the first couple of months? That suggests you shouldn’t be buying Apple computers to begin with…

I have owned TWO Macs, and both of them have had hard disk failures. One of the lost ALL my data.

Applecare fixed the first one. The second one, they will replace my hard disk ($100 street price) for free, but keep my old hard disk which they say is now theirs (even though they are unable to retrieve my data!).

So as for myself, I am thoroughly disgusted with Apple on this one. I lose my data, and they get to keep my hard disk!

As for the PC people here, yes, I least in my case, Apples are better, their OS is far better than Windows, but do have more problems than PC’s… My mom did always tell me to stay from the best looking girls - and guess what - she was right…

Neither this article nor the comments address some important points to consider.

• You don’t have to have an Apple store or reseller fix your Mac for the hyper-inflated rates they charge. You can have a standard PC repair facility which is capable of servicing Macs do the job much more cheaply, often at a fraction of the price for parts in particular as Apple charges double in some cases compared to other service providers.

• If a Mac doesn’t fail in the first 90 days, it’s unlikely to fail in any serious way in the next year or two. If it doesn’t fail after the first year or two, it will be sufficiently devalued that your investment in AppleCare might be better put toward the purchase of a new model or a second-hand model of your failed unit.

• Telephone support is rarely useful to those who are moderately savvy about their computers. Most questions can be answered using on-line resources including various Mac user forums and Mac magazine forums. Searching for people who are having similar problems to yours often yields faster and clearer answers than jumping through tech support call sheet questions.

• If you aren’t squeamish, you can repair your own computer relatively easily and cheaply provided the motherboard hasn’t crapped out on you or a video problem hasn’t occurred in a unit with an integrated display. Instructions for such things are all over the Internet.

By and large, AppleCare isn’t going to be money well spent for most people. It’s an insurance policy, to be sure, but computers in general are not investments that need a high degree of protection as they lose their value rapidly and should be replaced rather than repaired past the 3-year mark. That’s not to say they aren’t useful past the the 3-year time period but rather that it becomes far more attractive to buy a new one than repair an old one past that point.

Unless you’ve got an expensive laptop model (MacBook Pro), it seems that it’s simply not worthwhile to purchase AppleCare.

Actually, you’re quite incorrect with most of your assessments. Apple does NOT sell parts to other resellers other than those certified by Apple. Thus, if your logic board goes out or something, you can’t get it fixed by anyone other than an Apple store or a certified tech. AppleCare is worth that alone.

Secondly, repairs on your own are also virtually impossible since you cannot get Apple parts (legally, anyway) and will also void your warranty, if any is left.

And lastly, Macs hold their value MUCH better than PCs. If you browse eBay, you’ll see PowerBooks from ‘01-’20 (nearly 7 years old!) selling for $400-700. Macs retain much of their value for quite sometime.