AppleCare remains the best damn warranty ever.

[DaMadFiddler]

A couple of months ago, I noticed that the screen bezel on my laptop was starting to crack. We were in the middle of a move, though, so I didn't really have time to deal with it. Since then, the iSight (built-in webcam) has also stopped working--the computer doesn't recognize it as being there.

Last week, I noticed that the other side was cracking as well, which would leave the LCD with significantly weakened support. The computer is just about three years old, so it's coming to the end of its warranty coverage. I figured I'd better get it in for repair while the coverage is still good.

So I went to the Apple Store this week, pointed out the cracks that had developed in the bezel, and demonstrated the iSight problem. Long story short, they shipped it back to headquarters to get a new iSight unit and a complete new outer casing. (They're even replacing the bottom, to take care of a dent in the corner from where I'd dropped it a couple years ago). The fellow at the Genius Bar said that they don't normally cover accidental damage (i.e. the dent), but since it was getting shipped back for repair anyway and my AppleCare expires this coming Monday (!), he wanted to make sure that everything was perfect.

Just got notification that I can pick the computer up tomorrow afternoon.

So, I'm getting my 3-year-old laptop basically rebuilt for free, whereas it likely would've been broken junk within six months had the problems gone untended. Happy customer here, and AppleCare remains (as far as I've seen) the only extended warranty worth buying. This is the second time it's saved my computer; the first was about a year and a half ago, when something went wrong with the keyboard assembly (after the normal warranty would have expired).

[pixel]

This post doesn't further the stereotype that Apple sucks. As a member of the Internet, I don't like it.

[mankrip]

Good to know about how it works though.

[Specially Cork]

This post doesn't further the stereotype that Apple sucks. As a member of the Internet, I don't like it.

Apple's expensive computers don't even last 3 years, and you have to pay more money to get free repairs. They still suck!

Seriously though, we have a law in the UK that states manufacturers must repair/replace anything expensive you buy for free if it doesn't last as long as the consumer expected it to. It's beaten warranties many times. Unfortunately most companies rely on 99% of the population not knowing about it to keep selling shit like AppleCare.

[DaMadFiddler]

Seriously though, we have a law in the UK that states manufacturers must repair/replace anything expensive you buy for free if it doesn't last as long as the consumer expected it to. It's beaten warranties many times. Unfortunately most companies rely on 99% of the population not knowing about it to keep selling shit like AppleCare.

Yeah, was a bit less than impressed with how well it's held up. To be fair, though, I do use this thing *all* the time, and I've traveled with it a lot.

Here in California we have something known as the Lemon Law, which states that if something breaks three or more times in the first year of ownership, or you try in good faith to get the company to repair it and they won't, you're entitled to a full refund. I had to do that with my previous computer, a Fujitsu subnotebook which suffered from a couple of very pronounced design flaws.

However, most of the US is markedly (and increasingly) "pro-business," which means both anti-social-services and anti-consumer. We as consumers get very few protections from irresponsible business practices, and the means of having one of the few protected wrongs redressed are becoming increasingly difficult to use successfully.

[Jeeba Jabba]

Both of my XFX AMD Radeon 6970s came with a free lifetime warranty. Meaning if in 4 years they fail, and of course aren't in production anymore, I get the modern equivalent. That's pretty awesome.

[Ex-Cyber]

Both of my XFX AMD Radeon 6970s came with a free lifetime warranty. Meaning if in 4 years they fail, and of course aren't in production anymore, I get the modern equivalent. That's pretty awesome.

By "lifetime" they mean the life cycle of the product, not the lifespan of the customer. If they're not still producing the same card in 4 years, you have to buy a new one.

It’s this simple: We will service and repair any XFX GeForce 6-, 7-, 8-, 9-, GTX-, GTS-, GT-, and GeForce Series or any XFX Radeon HD Series Graphics Card for the lifetime of that card.

[Jeeba Jabba]

... Nuh uh.



Shit. I heard differently elsewhere. :-\ Never asked XFX though.

[Ex-Cyber]

That's pretty much the standard meaning of "lifetime warranty" anymore. AFAIK, the FTC says that companies can basically make it mean whatever they want as long as they specify which "lifetime" they're referring to. Also, I'm pretty sure that their normal warranty period still applies even if the product goes out of production shortly after you buy it.

[DaMadFiddler]

Well, I finally got my computer back. They had to send it back the first time, because they forgot to fix the iSight. That was fixed, and the entire enclosure was replaced--even the keys. Between that, the fact that it was recently upgraded to Lion, and the new battery I got for it last month, it's like I've got a whole new computer; if you saw it and didn't know the history, you'd think it was factory fresh. By the time it reaches the end of its life, this may very well end up being the longest I've ever had a single computer.