Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with applecare

Should apple require my hard drive to fix my graphic card?

manduca — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:26:24 -0800

The graphics card in my macbook pro failed, which happens at a "higher than normal" rate. Apple agrees that's the problem. Still, they want me to leave my hard drive in the computer when I give it to them for repairs. How diligent are they about protecting your data from theft and ill-use? If data on your hard drive somehow gets set free while visiting apple-land, it doesn't violate the Applecare terms of service (pdf). "[apple is not liable for...] the failure to maintain the confidentiality of data" (section 4). In section 7f, "You agree that any information or data disclosed to Apple under this Plan is not confidential." My hard drive is backed up, but I don't want to risk someone having access to all my personal info. Should I put up a fight? Here's the background; feel free to skip it.

I'm a former IT person, and the diagnosis of graphic card failure seems pretty straightforward to me. All symptoms match. My hard drive is backed up, but I'm worried about my personal info being in the hands of others, especially after stories like this of hard drives full of data going MIA during service. How should I handle my upcoming interaction with the techs in the apple store?

The computer is still under applecare. When I talked with Applecare telephone support, they confirmed the diagnosis but said I needed to send the hard drive in with the system. After reading the terms of service, I was pretty reluctant. I didn't push very hard for them to make an exception. Thinking that I might have more luck in person, and with in-person contact with a geek, I made a genius bar appointment.

My position is that apple should be willing to fix my computer without my hard drive in it, since the problem is clear and isn't related to the hard drive. Every computer repair service has spare hard drives used for troubleshooting. The macbook pro hard drive is end-user replaceable, so I'm not violating any warranty by removing it. Sure, if I screw up the removal, it's my problem, but I'm ok with that.

What I'm not ok with is this: for my data to be relatively secure in this case, I must take the time to securely wipe the hard drive and reinstall the OS, and then restore all my data when I get the computer back. In fairness to apple, I imagine that asking for the hard drive generally makes sense since a problem is often not clearly defined before the system is received. And we users aren't always the most reliable or knowledgeable reporters.

Nevertheless, my current plan is to take the hard drive out before I go to the Apple Store. I expect my approach will be in the self-deprecating vein to begin: I'll admit that I'm being a bit of a curmudgeon and ask them to indulge me. I've had terrific interactions with the Genius boys (are they all male in every store?) in the past, and I'm hopeful that they would at least by sympathetic to my position.

Is my request reasonable? Is there a better approach?

Should I buy my mother an iMac?

Joe in Australia — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:32:21 -0800

Should I get my aging, computer-clumsy mother an iMac, or just buy her a bigger screen for her Windows machine? My mother uses her computer to play bridge, read her email (via Gmail), do her banking, and occasionally write letters. She is really bad at computer hygiene and I've had to clean viruses off her computer more than once - she will click on things that tell her to click them. This scares me, because she also uses her computer to do her banking.

I've suggested getting her an iMac, and she's cool with the idea. A larger screen would be part of the package, and that would definitely help her. The advantages of getting a Mac are that it comes with Applecare and it's less likely she'll install malware. The downside is that she's not great with computers and she might find the learning curve too steep. I know that the cost of an iMac will pay for a lot of computer support - but would that be as good as Applecare for someone who just needs her hand held?

What are people's thoughts on this?

Apple third-party repair shops in the Bay Area?

NucleophilicAttack — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:17:40 -0800

What's the Bay Area equivalent of TekServe? More specifically, looking for competent and honest Apple upgrade and repair shops that will work on machines that are out of Applecare, and which will do aftermarket upgrades (e.g. new hard drives, etc.)

Bonus: close to Palo Alto.

PB G4 17in Display: Am I really screwed, or just kinda screwed?

fontophilic — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:45:57 -0800

My PowerBook G4 17in, with the dreaded W85 serial number is displaying (or rather not) a white 1.25in vertical block down the left side. Turned on my PowerBook G4 this morning, checked email, closed the lid and then went out for the rest of the day. Came back, opened it up and I've got this 1.25 inch dead while line down the left side of my screen. Doing a screen capture of this area reveals what should be there, and problem persists after restarting, leaving me to conclude hardware problem. It's about 4 years old, even extended apple care is long gone. It could be much worse, as this laptop is currently my livelihood, and I have access to an external monitor.

Doing some research I found that there is a known problem with serials that start with W85 for this model. Allegedly due to shoddy assembly in China. Apple censors it at every turn.

However, this is my question. These cases tend to look like a few lines, scattered around, but mine [1, 2] is a solid white vertical block Is there any chance that when I got my new hard drive installed at best buy a month ago, they pulled a monitor pin out or something along those lines?

Wishful thinking, or am I going to say good by to $300?

(the old hard drive was working fine, just too small)

Can you use an AASP to fufil an AppleCare service?

gkhewitt — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:32:46 -0800

MacFilter: Question regarding servicing and Apple Authorised Service Partners So, long story short, my Macbook's hard disk died this evening. The clicks of death and everything. Thank the Good Lord that I did a time machine backup a few days ago.

Now, this is within the year's warranty so I will be calling up AppleCare (UK) tomorrow and getting this part replaced. But, having never used AppleCare before I've got a question so I can be informed for the process...

- Can Authorised Service Partners provide a replacement part under warranty? I'm happy to fit it myself etc, but really don't want to have to wait a week for a new part.

Even if it comes before then, I won't get it because no doubt it'll be courier'd and since the whole house is at work 9-5. It would be ideal to pop down to the local service partner tomorrow and have the weekend to get back up and running again.

Thanks!

I feel like an Apple in a pigs mouth!

Xurando — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:35:21 -0800

How can I get Apple to REALLY fix my computer? (Previously) A week ago today I was uograding my Macbook Pro to OSX 10.5.4 and it wouldn't boot up. Since then the following has happened and my computer is still very borked.

1. Called Applecare, used leopard install disk to reinstall, following Applecare e-mail, drag files from previous system to user. Restart, screen goes grey won't reboot.
2. call Applecare again, 2 techs tell me my hard drive is borked and it will cost me several $1000 to retrieve my data.
3. Go to Applestore. Genius cowboy works on computer for an hour, restores desktop. While waiting for trash to empty tells me he is going to lunch. His coworker gets me out of root user but doesn't reboot computer
4. On train to NYC, boot up computer, doesn't boot, get grey screen with flashing folder and ? Call Applecare. techs tell me my hard drive is borked will cost me several thousand dollars to retrieve data. Do repair hard drive fix permissions. Computer doesn't boot
5.Back to Apple store. Told by phone they will back-up data for $50 and that computer needs new hard drive.
6. Back to Apple store. Told computer is fixed, no charge.
7. Take computer home boot up. It looks like a burglar has trashed my house. My leopard is gone, I'm back in Tiger, Safari won't work. Half my dock items have ? and are missing. Half my pictures in lightroom are missing along with a catalogue. Mozilla won't download. Trash won't work.
8. Reinstall Leopard but nothing really works. Apple says they will give me one free hour of tech support at my local dealer, not store.

Help, I want to make these jokers fix my computer right. What should I be doing?

MacBook Battery Problems

andoatnp — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:59:10 -0800

Two, almost certainly related problems: My MacBook has taken to turning itself off while still showing as having a high battery charge. It has turned itself off while showing it at 36 minutes of battery time left. coconutBattery says that my current battery capacity is only at 54% of the original. Anything I can or should do about this? The macbook is about 15 months old.

1) When I first got the macbook, I recall the battery running down all the way to 2 or 3 minutes left of battery charge until it would shut itself off. Even if the battery is only at 50% of its original capacity, it still seems wacky to me that it would shut down when it is showing 20 or 30 minutes of battery time remaining. Any way I can get my macbook to stop doing this?

2) Regarding the battery itself, is being at only 50% capacity at 15 months mean I'm doing something wrong? AppleCare (which I have) said online: "However, the AppleCare Protection Plan for notebook computers does not cover batteries that have failed or are exhibiting diminished capacity except when the failure or diminished capacity is the result of a manufacturing defect."

Anyone have any advice that can help me convince apple to get my battery replaced? Is there any way to refresh my battery so I can get it to hold more of a charge?

How best to purchase a Mac for a German friend visiting the US?

felix betachat — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 14:41:53 -0800

How best to purchase a Mac for a German friend visiting the US? I have a friend visiting from Germany who is considering buying an iMac here & taking it back with her. If I buy it for her with my educational discount, will she have problems registering it in her name? Will she be able to get AppleCare support in Germany on a machine purchased in the US?

Mac infrared remote weirdness

snarfois — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 03:25:49 -0800

My problem with my Apple remote is just getting weirder Previously: Apple remote malfunctioning, How do I escalate my AppleCare problem?

After 5 weeks at the repair shop, who tells me they were unable to recreate the problem, I've brought the Mac Mini back home. Within a day, after being on for a couple of hours, the problem came back. I moved the Mini at least 30cm away from any other objects for several days, but the problem kept reoccuring.

Then yesterday, I found a simply bizarre "solution": I cover up the IR receiver (the black square at the end of the DVD slot.) When I do this, the problem instantly disappears and the remote functions as normal. What baffles me is that it functions at all. How sensitive are IR receivers? To put it to the test, I tried wrapping the Mini completely in a thick blanket, and only after about 8 layers of wrapping does the remote stop working. I can hold a thick hardcover book right in front of the Mini, and the remote immediately behind it, and it still works. And any of these tricks cure the remote repeating problem. Right now, I'm using the Mini with a tiny strip of paper covering the IR receiver.

Besides a possible diagnosis, what I'd like to know is whether I should pursue the matter further with Apple. This is obviously not how a new computer is supposed to act, and as unobtrusive as the little strip of paper is, it's still not the designer minimalist look Apple (and I) intended. And if I'm going to pursue this further, where should I take it?

Can I transfer my AppleCare/iTunes from a stolen Mac to a new Mac?

mdonley — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 07:11:33 -0800

My apartment was burgled and my Macbook was stolen. Can I transfer my old AppleCare account and iTunes library (or at least iTunes purchases) to a new Macbook? There's not much more to say, but:

- a Latvian police report was filed, as that's where I'm living at the moment; presumably this can be translated into English if Apple wants to see it;

- I couldn't find the serial number to the computer itself when the police were there, but I did give the police the AppleCare serial number, and this is what appears on the report - is it possible for Apple to verify that a computer belonged to me from the AppleCare serial? Would they tell me the computer's serial number if presented with evidence (like the police report) that it had been stolen?

Help! My MacBook is now a MilkBook.

gazole — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:02:16 -0800

Spilled milk in my MacBook's keyboard, and the technician at Apple suggested I bend the rules to get it fixed or replaced. What does my warranty cover, anyway? While I was away at work today, my 3 year old (bless him) spilled about 1/2 cup of milk into the keyboard of my new MacBook (purchased this past Sept.) It immediately powered off.

Then, my wife (bless her) unwittingly made things potentially much worse by attempting to turn it on several times and plugging it in, then using a hair dryer to attempt to hasten drying the milk. (It won't turn on.)

She called the Apple phone support 800 number, and the tech told her there's nothing they can do, that the warranty expires in 6 days, and that what she should do is buy the Apple Protection Plan, then send it in without telling them about the spill.

I found this information odd, to say the least. A little research online reveals that phone support is the "warranty" that expires next week, and the regular limited warranty is good until next September.

So my course of action to (hopefully) recover my computer or at least its data (what seems like my entire life) depends on a few things.

- Does the actual warranty status change 90 days after purchase of a MacBook? Would ponying up for the Apple Protection Plan change this?
- If we send it in to Apple for repair or replacement wouldn't they find it obvious there was a spill, and tell us we're out of luck?
- Is there any point to us taking the machine to the local Apple Store for a second opinion?

Where do we go from here? Thank you, MeFi, for any help you can offer.

How do I escalate my AppleCare problem?

snarfois — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 14:19:22 -0800

I'm disappointed with the service I'm getting from an Apple authorised repair centre. Where do I go from here? A month ago on AskMeFi I described a problem with my Mac Mini, 6 months old and still under warranty and AppleCare. As mumkin recommended on that thread, I took the Mac in for repair, especially as it was defeating the computer's main purpose of being a media centre.

I dropped the Mac off 3 weeks ago, with a video I took demonstrating the problem in action (using 2 different remotes and a clean install), and links to websites where 3 other Mac users describe the same problem (without reaching a resolution.)

The people at the repair shop keep telling me they are unable to recreate the problem. I admit it could be difficult: it usually only showed up after the Mac's been on for hours, and not every time. They say that until they can recreate it, they can't fix it. They are unmoved by the thought of me moaning about them, Mac servicing and Macs in general on the web.

Isn't it perhaps time for giving me some benefit of the doubt? It should be clear I'm not imagining the problem, nor doing without my media centre for laughs. If they can't find the problem, they can swap the machine for a new one. I'm just worried that this will drag on for weeks and weeks, I may never get it fixed, and my brand new Mac media centre will end up being a big waste of money. Or am I being unfair?

Taking the plunge into AppleCare territory

Gordion Knott — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:32:32 -0800

Is the AppleCare Protection Plan a "make-it-or-break-it" add-on when purchasing an Apple laptop? Even one that gets low usage? The AppleCare Protection Plan often comes up in discussions here, with many opining that it's absolutely necessary when buying a laptop from Apple.

But for me, with the laptop I'm buying, the numbers don't seem to add up.

The machine I'm hankerin' for is a MacBook 13"White Intel Core 2 Duo 2Ghz 1GB 80GB Combo, at $1,044 new at MacConnection. (I've looked at refurbished versions of this on the Apple site, and they're about the same price.)

The AppleCare Protection Plan add-on is a $249: A whopping 24% of the sticker price! Holy jeez!

Now, I'd be more keen to get the Plan if I banged on the MacBook daily, but that's not the case. I'll be using it once a month or so. If that. It's a low-mileage travel machine.

-What does the Protection Plan offer that's worth this exorbitant sum? To me, it seems reminiscent of the extended service contracts at electronics dealers.
-Do Apple laptops suffer from breakage or failure to the extent that the Plan is warranted? How do their newer MacBooks fare these days?
-Does shelling out $249 make sense in my case, for a laptop with extremely low usage extended over time?

apple don't care.

twistofrhyme — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 18:00:56 -0800

the optical drive in my powerbook G4 has separated, sayeth the genuis, but i didn't buy applecare for my now 19-month old computer. there seem to be a few options, but i don't know which to try. advice, please! i bought a PowerBook G4 in feb 2006 (the same month the MacBooks came out). i did not buy applecare.

last night my computer made weird chainsaw noises for a while while i watched a DVD. i disregarded these noises. today, for no reason, my laptop spat out that DVD, although i was not trying to play it. horrifyingly, the laptop had carved a perfect circle into the underside of my (brand new) DVD (from an expensive box set). grrrrr.

now the laptop spits out all DVDs, and the so-called geniuses tell me my "optical drive has separated". since i bought my computer 19 months ago, sans applecare, this will cost $700 to fix.

the options seem to be:

1. pay ~$700 to get this fixed at the apple store (not great).

2. try to buy unregistered, 7-19 month-old north american applecare from someone off ebay/craigslist/etc, and register it on my laptop.
some research indicates that this may be tricky- applecare has a code that shows apple when it was bought, but i feel vulnerable to scammy sellers. this option only costs ~$300, though, which is better.

3. go to a repair place and get it fixed, maybe using non-apple parts. (is there an especially good place/fixer in toronto that anyone could recommend?)

4. i dunno what else- call apple and complain? the laptop is in ok shape- a few dings on the case. i spilled about a tablespoon of juice on the hinge last month but i don't think any got inside and it didn't seem to do any harm. think i can get them to fix it? what should i say?

hive, i dunno what to do, and would appreciate insight, tips, other options i've not considered, and gentle reassurance.
thank you.

Where to send Macbook Pro for Hard Drive upgrade?

colecovizion — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 11:32:51 -0800

Where to send Macbook Pro for hard drive upgrade? I wanted to upgrade my internal hard disk in my Macbook Pro. I have AppleCare still, however, upon calling them they had no clue how much it would cost to upgrade it. Instead they told me $50-100 and I would send in the new hard drive.

Also, I called up a local Apple Store. Apparently they can't do the upgrade at their place, only RAM.

So, what would be the cheapest way to upgrade my hard drive (with the one I pick out) without voiding my warranty?

Stolen ibook saga continues...

thisisnotkatrina — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 18:47:44 -0800

Stolen ibook, email from Apple about recent call to Apple Support...think I have a chance? So back in November my laptop was stolen.

Here is a recap including the original post and my follow up.

In short, lastfm gave me the IP address, my investigator was on vacation, no one else would help, everything fell by the wayside and I gave up.

A few minutes ago I get an email from Apple asking me to do a short survey about my recent call to Apple Support. Um, what?

I'm sure this is a pipe dream, but what do you think my chances are of Apple having any record of this call (ie phone number) and willing to give it up?

Should I contact Apple? Should I contact the police officer originally assigned to the case? Should I just give up on ever having a computer again?

Thanks guys.

Click of Death, and then my drive works again? What gives?

SpecialK — Thu, 31 May 2007 21:29:06 -0800

It was failing, but now it's not? Wednesday morning, I woke up to my Powerbook stalling. I got the beachball of doom when I tried to log in from sleep and it lasted 20 minutes, so I powered off and rebooted. On reboot, it took 30 minutes plus to load to the desktop, and my desktop icons didn't appear. I held the book to my ear and heard it -- yes, the "click of death." I've worked in IT for nearly 10 years, and I'm quite familiar with the click of death. There was a period where I went through a PC hard drive every single year.

I powered it down, and called Applecare. They dispatched a box for me.

Today, I booted it up on a whim just to see if I could get some files off of it -- my last backup was saturday, and it clicked to a halt on Wednesday -- before I chucked it in the box.

And -- it's working. I managed to back up with SuperDuper, I managed to get in and run a Drive Verify using Disk Utility, and everything appears to be hunky dory.

What the heck happened? Will it happen again? Since there's no proof my drive has failed now, if I send it in to AppleCare, will they scratch their heads, tell me I'm smoking crack, and send it back with a big bill? Is there any way I can do other diagnoses to find out if my drive is really on it's last legs? Do I need to call AppleCare and tell them my computer's not coming, "oh, whoops, seems it's fine after all..."

I should have bought the AppleCare. Damn it!

evariste — Sun, 20 May 2007 23:13:21 -0800

My 13-month-old MacBook Pro broke. Can you guess? Yeah, the AppleCare warranty had just expired. The fan made a horrible "playing card in the bicycle tire spokes" sound for about 60 seconds, then stopped forever. The machine still runs just fine, except that the fan isn't running at all, so after about an hour or two, the machine gets too hot and turns itself off.

I ran Apple Hardware Test on it, from the OS X install DVD that came with the machine, and it reported the following very long error:

4MOT/1/40000002/Left_Middle-Front

Google says it's the fan, but Apple's Genius says it's my logic board. The system is out of AppleCare, so Apple wants $1259 to fix it (it would be $310, but Apple is claiming there was liquid damage to the laptop, which there categorically wasn't, but that's a whole 'nother story. Whatever, ).

Questions:

1. Is Google right, or is Apple right? I think Apple's logic board theory is wrong, since the system works fine right up until it overheats due to lack of ventilation. Am I overlooking something? I looked at iFixit's disassembly photos and the fan and logic board look like separate components. The Apple Genius was claiming they're inseperable.

2. Oh, you say it really is the logic board and I should listen to Apple? Fine. I'm handy with electronics, so I want to try to fix it myself rather than spending $1259. I've found a few logic boards on eBay, and iFixit sells 'em too. Can you recommend any other outfits? eBay is sketchy-ish but the price is right; iFixit wants $900 which is out of question. Is there a happy middle? When I search Google, the majority of the results are news stories about Apple's sketchy logic boards.

3. Can I install a Core 2 Duo logic board, or won't it fit? I had a 1.83 ghz Core Duo board with the 128 MB ATI card. I figure I might as well upgrade it a bit. I'm worried they reengineered the inside of the case and a C2D board won't fit.

Special Bonus Question: Meanwhile, I bought a MacBook. I used an iSkin Protouch silicone keyboard cover with the MacBook Pro. Has the state of the art advanced or is this still the best thing to get to protect my MacBook's keyboard, too?

In conclusion, yes, I have learned my lesson, and in the future I will purchase extended AppleCare coverage for 3 years.

Upgrading RAM on my MBP: 3rd party RAM and warranty issues

GleepGlop — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:42:30 -0800

Upgrading RAM on my MBP: 3rd party RAM and warranty issues I would be going for cheaper 3rd party RAM except for 1 issue: Applecare tech support said that if the 3rd party RAM fried my RAM slot or something, that wouldn't be covered under Applecare. Due to how much this freaking computer cost me, am I right to buy the inflated Apple RAM just to be safe? Was the techie correct about the Applecare policy? On the off chance the slot does fry how much would that cost me to fix?

Why am I such a pain magnet when it comes to laptops?

4ster — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 12:08:41 -0800

Macbook (not Pro) hissing at me and crackling at mewhen I open it. What should I do? I bought a Macbook (white, 13" Core2Duo 1G 80GB HDD DVD Superdrive) from the Apple Outlet two weeks ago).

Last night, I noticed two things:

1. Out of the left speaker, I hear a Velcro like sound each time I open the Macbook and wake it from sleep.

2. There is a faint but audible hiss out of the left speaker that gets considerably quieter when the iSight camera is used. The hiss happens whether the Macbook is plugged in or not.

Everything else on the Macbook works fine. I don't notice the sound when listening to music or watching movies on the Macbook.

I am posting this because most of these complaints that I read a from Macbook Pro users and not Macbook users.

The other (and main) reason is I want to know the best way to deal with this. Is it to go to an Apple store? Call Apple care? Will I be treated any better since I have only had it a short while? How long will I be without a computer?

Refurbished Mac - stupid or smart?

contessa — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 22:09:58 -0800

Refurbished Mac: Good idea? Bad idea? I'm thinking about buying a refurbished mac from the Apple store (online) in the next 3 or so months. Is this a wise choice? I really, really, really want a Mac (either Mini or iMac - leaning toward iMac even though I don't need it for the monitor, I just like the over all specs), but given my budget for a 2nd computer, new Mac prices are much more than I'd like to pay. Refurbed machines seem right in my price range, however. (I would definitely get applecare if & when I make this purchase.)

Is a refurbished Mac a crappy computer, or is it a good computer with a previously disgruntled owner? Is a refurbished Mac from Apple no better than a refurbished Mac from a reseller? Any and all wisdom on this topic is appreciated.

Cracked iBook hinge covered under warranty?

mce — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:21:13 -0800

One of my G4 iBook's hinges has a crack and it's spreading. Should I be worried? Is there likely to be any hassle getting it fixed under warranty? This laptop is a warranty replacement for an old G3 that had the unfortunate logic board of death. I've had it for 8 months. In sept it spent a month waiting for a new hdd.

I am not amused.

When I got the laptop back again one of the hinges looked to have a scratch on it. I hadn't noticed it before but I ddin't really check it all that well before relinquishing it for what should have been a 4-5 working day repair. The 'Authorized Repair Depot' certainly hasn't earned a lot of respect in this case.

Forward 2.5 months and the scratch seems to have become a crack.... and it's been joined by a sibling. Windshield style. Unlike a windshield, though, I really can't think of any event that might have precipitated them.

As I'm currently budgeting for a macbook in January I'd like this G4 to remain in fairly salable condition. It'd be nice to get the hinge replaced. I'm not keen on doing it at my own expense. The hinge thing doesn't seem to be a known problem and doesn't seem to be related to the flicker effect.

Am I likely to be met with complaints of abuse or out right refusal for warranty repair? In the past I've found that apple will generally be pretty reasonable about such things..... if I'm prepared to go straight to apple, facts and figures and invoices in hand and argue rather more forcefully than I'm comfortable.

Is Apple Care worth the wompa?

ClanvidHorse — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 06:37:49 -0800

Is Apple Care worth the money in the UK? So I have an Imac G5 that is coming up to being a year old. Apple Care UK called me to say that my free year's service is coming to an end and that if I want to take it for another two years it will cost £139 (about US $280). Now, I think this is quite a lot of money for two more years support for a machine which has never had any problems, but, I am think if I wait two days after the year runs out it'll just crash on me never to wake again.

So my questions are:

-Is Apple Care worth the money in the UK?
-Are there any third party repairers in the UK who can provide a high quality service for cheaper/better?
-Can I buy parts if anything needs replaced (I have heard that Apple parts aren't available for purchase-- is this true?)
-Glasgow/Scottish Mefites-- Has anyone used this company before? Would I be as well just taking it to them?

I have heard USians raving about Apple Care but not much from the UK and I dont know if it is of a similar standard to that in the US so comments from UK Apple Care customers are particularly welcome.

Many thanks in advance.

Is AppleCare worth it if you have a pet geek?

C.Batt — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 12:03:31 -0800

I'm buying my wife a MacBook. Should I also buy AppleCare? Consider:
I'm a geek, comfortable building PCs from the ground up. I also own a TiBook and a blue g4 tower , thus I'm quite familiar with Apple systems. I figure that my skills + the 1 year warranty that the MacBook comes with should be enough to sort out any initial difficulties - past that, I can handle the rest.

So, is AppleCare worth it?