Once upon a time, I worked for a major American retailer in its electronics department. The manager of that department, above and beyond all other considerations, wanted us to push extended warranties to customers. These warranties represented almost pure profit for the company, because they cost nearly nothing to implement while costing the customer anywhere from 10-40% the value of the item they were buying. The profit margin on a $2500 LCD TV was very slim, often gaining the company no more than $100 of profit; by contrast, the $549 extended
warranty was nearly 100% profit for the retailer.
From the retailer's perspective, it's easy to see why they push these extended warranties. From a customer's perspective, though, it's a potential source of confusion or even animosity toward the retailer -- I had more than a few customers (usually older ones) ask me why they needed this warranty in the first place, why the company wouldn't just "stand behind their products." More interested in helping people than trying to BS them for either my own profit or the retailer's, often as not this meant I ended up not selling those extended warranties... it also meant I wasn't a salesman for very long. I won't say which retailer I worked for, but I will say that the memory of working there sears my mind to this day.
Most purchasers seem to think that extended warranties are a huge waste of money, and in many (if not most) cases they're correct. Like an idiot, I bought an extended warranty for my Wii back on launch day in 2006 -- that was $60 down the drain. I'll blame that one on standing in line all night in sub-freezing temperatures outside of Target to snag one. But when it comes to
AppleCare, I have no hesitation about laying money down for that.
We've hit on the value proposition of AppleCare a few times on TUAW before. Sang related Megan's story of a dead MacBook, complete with
a detailed analysis of why AppleCare is worth it. Robert made
the case for AppleCare, and Cory's answer to the question,
to buy AppleCare or not, was a resounding "Yes."
I'll add my voice to the chorus of TUAW writers in support of AppleCare -- not because I'm trying to sell it to you (despite the word "Apple" in "The Unofficial Apple Weblog," our only affiliation with the company is as fans and buyers of their products), but because AppleCare has saved me literally hundreds of dollars in repair costs, even though I live in a country without a single official Apple store. Read on to find out how AppleCare saved my bacon, and then decide for yourself whether it's worth it for you.