Applecare for iPhone. Is it worth it?

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › Applecare for iPhone. Is it worth it?

maoriboy

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#225390 16-Nov-2017 09:40

With the wife recently getting an iPhone 8, I was thinking of getting Applecare for it. As the title asks, is Applecare a worthwhile investment? With our insurance excess being $200 (I believe) to cover any phone damage, with no effect to our no claims bonus is Applecare needed? Is there anyone who has purchased Applecare have any feedback/thoughts etc?

Thanks.

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#1902611 16-Nov-2017 09:59

Also been meaning to ask. so will follow along

surfisup1000

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#1902621 16-Nov-2017 10:13

I wouldn't buy applecare myself, between the consumer guarantees act and contents insurance I'm pretty well covered.

And, this has proven to be the case over the years, when i've damaged the phone then insurance has paid out and when the problem was an out of warranty fault then spark have fixed it.

Spark are fairly dodgy though, they officially claim the cga says they don't have to cover phones over 2 years old, but when you press them they will concede that this is not true and they will probably be required to fix a 5 year old phone if it develops a fault (there are CGA disputes where they were made to fix 4 year old phones).

Benjip

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#1902624 16-Nov-2017 10:22

I'm in the same boat – I don't see the value in Applecare for NZ. It's an upfront cost (whereas I'm already paying monthly for contents insurance with a low excess) and then another cost if you need something repaired due to damage.

And the CGA protects us fairly well for faults.

SaltyNZ

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2degrees

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#1902636 16-Nov-2017 10:29

surfisup1000:

I wouldn't buy applecare myself, between the consumer guarantees act and contents insurance I'm pretty well covered.

For a smartphone I've found so far it's actually a bit cheaper to take the store insurance. I paid $50 extra to get the extra cover (including accidental damage) on the phone I bought for my son, who dropped and killed it 4 months later. Excess on that claim was a further $50. Excess on contents is about $250, so I'm $150 better off and didn't ping my contents insurance.

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chiefie

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#1902650 16-Nov-2017 10:42

I have AppleCare for my iPhone 7 Plus, Apple Watch Series 0 (original), and my previous iPhone 6 Plus and MacBook Air - both are being used by my ex.

I have not had to claim/exercise the policy yet but I do feel the services through Apple Customer Services will be smoother.

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esawers

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#1902676 16-Nov-2017 12:00

I have bought AppleCare in the past, just as the 12 month warranty was running out

The only reason I purchased it was for the express replacement option when the phone needs a repair, they would send the new phone out before the old phone had to be sent back. The Applecare price at that point was normally the same as the cost for express replacement, but with the bonus of the extra years coverage. I'm not sure if AppleCare works the same now?

alasta

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#1902694 16-Nov-2017 12:42

As above, the express replacement service is one of the reasons why I always buy AppleCare. I also get value out of the tech support service as I'm not overly computer savvy, and the two year warranty avoids having to go through an adversarial process to invoke a statutory warranty.

It's worth having for me, but for many people it would be a waste of money.

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sir1963

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#1902799 16-Nov-2017 16:27

maoriboy:

With the wife recently getting an iPhone 8, I was thinking of getting Applecare for it. As the title asks, is Applecare a worthwhile investment? With our insurance excess being $200 (I believe) to cover any phone damage, with no effect to our no claims bonus is Applecare needed? Is there anyone who has purchased Applecare have any feedback/thoughts etc?

Thanks.

If you are going to buy AppleCare it REALLY helps if you know someone in the USA. AppleCare is an international warranty.

When I bought it for my Mac Mini that I also bout in the states it was about 1/2 the costs of buying it in NZ and it consisted

of a box that had a serial number in it. All you need is that serial number, so friends in the USA can photograph it, email it to you, you save on the postage too and the GST making it even cheaper.

But no, I have NEVER bought AppleCare for any of my NZ purchased computers, iPods, iPhones because the CGA covers it along with the household insurance I am already paying.

tripp

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#1902844 16-Nov-2017 16:45

With the cost of the repairs (screen) for the iphone X i would say get it.

mrphil

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#1902845 16-Nov-2017 16:45

I used to buy Apple care for all my iPhone as the express replacement was spot on and a replacement unit arrives at your door in about 24 hours time.

Has anyone claim insurance before? How long before you get a replacement unit? Or do they make you take your phone in for inspection before approving your claim?

mattwnz

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#1902855 16-Nov-2017 17:16

tripp:

With the cost of the repairs (screen) for the iphone X i would say get it.

I think it depends if you have a good case or not, or you like your phone to be naked. There have been tests of naked drops vs ones in good cases on youtube. A lot of it coes down top luck on where it hits when it drops. In some ways they would have been better to make the back of the phone plastic, as it can almost be a write off to break both front and back glass surfaces.

Batman

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#1902859 16-Nov-2017 17:29

Depends on your content insurance. For me, no. Content insurance will pay outncash for broken stuff. I bought applecar plus for my wife 7 plus and it costs more to pay the applecare cost aind the breakage fee. Than i get cash and buy a new 7 plus.

mattwnz

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#1902861 16-Nov-2017 17:34

Batman: Depends on your content insurance. For me, no. Content insurance will pay outncash for broken stuff. I bought applecar plus for my wife 7 plus and it costs more to pay the applecare cost aind the breakage fee. Than i get cash and buy a new 7 plus.

Don;t you lose your no claims bonus, and also face higher premiums in the future? Also there is often a healthy excess to pay. I think on mine it is $500 excess. I guess $500is better than paying $2k for a new phone, but still not cheap.

Brumfondl

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#1902906 16-Nov-2017 19:28

If your excess is really only $200 then AppleCare+ is probably not worth it as the agreement itself will cost you $229 for an iPhone 8, and then there are repair costs on top of that, even though they are greatly reduced from the standard costs.

To the people talking about Macs and AppleCare Protection Plan, it is a total waste of money in New Zealand due to our consumer laws. It does not include the accidental damage cover that AppleCare+ has for iOS devices.

dickytim

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#1903088 17-Nov-2017 06:52

maoriboy:

With the wife recently getting an iPhone 8, I was thinking of getting Applecare for it. As the title asks, is Applecare a worthwhile investment? With our insurance excess being $200 (I believe) to cover any phone damage, with no effect to our no claims bonus is Applecare needed? Is there anyone who has purchased Applecare have any feedback/thoughts etc?

Thanks.

I have the iPhoneX and have decided against it this time around and will rely on my contents insurance with a $250 excess.

I have had AppleCare on a few items and only made one claim, which was for my Applewatch, which would have been covered under warranty anyway. The only real reason I got AppleCare on the watch was because it was purchased in Australia and NZ consumer law would not have covered me for faults outside of 1 year.

In short, not for me on the X with a the huge cost of it.

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