I failed to purachase a MBP today : (

Well i went in there today confident of buying one. I was all set on the 2.4 model and ill be going to school in the fall so i need a laptop to replace my pc that i have now i need a laptop that can game. well turns out i didnt come home with one. i guess 2500 after taxes and everything is really a lot of money. oh and what is your guy's take on apple care? is it reall needed? im good with ciomputers and i know what im doing so i can replace parts myself for the most part but is it worth it for the other stuff? just thought id let you. haha

 

I think extended warranties are usually a waste of cash, but laptops, IMO, are different. They're abused, beat-up, dropped etc, etc. If you're confident, though, about being able to fix your own machine, you probably don't need Apple Care.

Hope you're able to work a Mac into your future plans. You'll enjoy it.

 

On a notebook, I almost always recommend that you get a warranty of some kind. With so many things that could go wrong, you might as well. If you ever do need it, the material worth of it will become very apparent.

 

I'll definitely be buying AppleCare for my Macbook before the standard warranty expires. I've had an HP Pavilion notebook die on me right after the warranty ended. Needless to say, I have learned my lesson.

 

from my understanding it is a lot harder to work on a notebook than a pc, parts are closer together and its harder to replace things. especially (u would expect) on a mac vs a standard windows laptop. $2000 is an investment, so I would consider the $300 a guarantee on a good investment.

Also, you said you were going into school in the fall? Look into the educational discount and if your school is eligible. All you need is proof of enrollment and you will get $200 off, plus a $200 ipod rebate and $100 printer rebate.

 

Yeah, I would recommend you get a warranty on it. A notebook is a little different than a desktop when it comes to self-repairing it (i.e. motherboard dies, you can't just pull it out and put in a new one. It would be virtually impossible to replace by yourself in a notebook.)

I got a warranty from HP on my old DV1000, and it had to get two new motherboards and one screen put in it (which probably would have been $1500 if it wasn't for my $300 warranty). So yeah, get the warranty... and if it's too much cash to shuck out with the 2.4 ghz model + the warranty, get the 2.2 ghz model + warranty, or possibly get the 2.4 and wait until later when you have the money and get the warranty within a year later.

 

yeah sounds like the warranty is a good idea. well i just graduated and got a bunch of money for that and i can get the educational discount and it ends up being like 2500 bucks after tax and everything. and i know laptops will be a lot harder to repair. but i might just go for it, ill be selling my pc i have now for like 600 to my friend so theres some money right there : D

 

oh and do you know if apple care covers if the laptop gets stolen? haha im sure it doesnt but its worth an ask

 

ok. im going to take care of you. read this.

i bought the same notebook. apple care. bla. it was expensive as ****. money turned out not to be a concern for me.

just the same- im smart enough to do my homework.

this is how you swing it.

first- student discount. you are a student. enjoy that discount.

-$200

next- take them up on their offer for a free ipod ($200 with rebate) and a free printer ($100 with rebate)

-$500 (running total)

pay with a credit card that doubles the manufacturer warranty on consumer electronics. you can call up your credit card company and verify that they do this. they most likely will. this scores you most of the benefits of applecare without paying for it. apple care protects you from hardware failure and gives you unlimited phone support for three years. you wont get phone support (no one cares?) and you will have two years of hardware support instead of the one standard - for no additional charge.

get the rebates for the printer and the ipod.

SELL the printer and the ipod.

your total cost out the door will be approx: $2699 + tax

your net cost after rebates and some tactical sales will be: $2099 + tax on 2699 + associated fees for selling ipod and printer.

Nice.

edit: your home owner's insurance is responsible for covering your laptop. whether it does or not you can check on. apple care doesn't cover that.

 

like masterchef said..that's pretty good advice. I wasn't a student myself, so I purchase mine refurbished which got me 10% off. ( $250 off ) for my MBP 256mb version. Fortunately you can see those in person cause some were returned for a reason. Anyhow if you can get your warranty doubled by the credit company and it's totally warrantied by Apple as such.. I would not purchase the extra care IMO. 2 years is plenty long enough, and 6 years ( 3 years x 2 is insane ) Okay, 6 years almost gaurantees a problem, but will you really care at that point? The thing is most major problems occur within the first year, and 2 is great insurance, but 3 - 6 becomes overkill. It's food for thought, and it might save you a few hundred. If you don't intend on purchasing a new computer after graduation then get Apple care and have your credit company verify the extension.. word - jimy

 

yeah i think im gonna ixnay the apple care and just see if i can do that credit card insurance thing. : D

 

That's a different insurance.

 

what's a credit card that does that?

 

Some types of American Express cards offer the extra warranty coverage, as do MC and Visa ... but it's not universal, so you've got to check it out. And, typically these programs don't double coverage ... they are limited to an extra year (some are two years if the manufacturer's warranty is that long or more).

I don't normally buy the extra coverage (use my Amex as extra peace of mind), but did buy AppleCare with my recent MacBook Pro purchase. My reasoning: 1) you get free phone support for the duration, 2) I've had good experiences with quick turn around times with AppleCare on other Macs, and 3) this is a new model - the LED displays, keyboard backlighting, and video card are all things I wouldn't be wanting to deal with as far as repair.

AppleCare can be found for up to 50% off if you shop around (for those of us not eligible for student discounts).