Because I wasn’t already sold on Apple Care (the extended warranty available for Apple electronics), I have once again had my faith reinforced. When I purchased my computer, I added on – in my “why tempt Murphy more than I really need to” way – $250 worth of extended warranty. That warranty tripled my tech and phone support, and basically said “if it breaks we’ll fix it”*. I have now gotten that investment back twice over. In October, my top case cracked (the top case is what the keyboard is nestled in on a laptop). I got it replaced (for free because of the warranty) and that was that. Until I noticed that, since then, the mouse button has been sticking under the edge. Oh the horror and the unintentional selections that were made because of it!! So tonight I went back to the trusty Genius Bar to have them fix it (again). I learned that the cost of this simple replacement – it took about twenty minutes and that was WITH me socializing with the genius the whole time – was $284 dollars. Do the math and that’s almost $600 dollars that I didn’t have to pay out of pocket because I spent that extra $250 up front. What a comfort, especially with such a major investment!
Technology is a fickle thing. It doesn’t take much to make things not work (hair, dust, simply using the product…), if you buy a computer (whether Apple, Dell, EMachine, whatever) I would definitely buy whatever extended warranty is offered. If you don’t, that’s just asking Murphy to come strike dead your computer. If you do, and nothing happens, well. Shucks, but I would rather spend $250 dollars for the warranty and not need it then spend $900 dollars or be out a computer…think about it!!
*Like with all things, there are limitations to Apple Care – liquid damage and the incredibly ambiguous “accidental” damage being among those limitations. Moral of the story, as long as whatever is broken wasn’t caused by you throwing the machine against the wall or because your roommate spilled beer on it, you’re covered!
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