Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2004 13:13:25 -0600 From: Dyna <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> On Friday, December 17, 2004, at 11:13 AM, Amber wrote:
The end of the first year of warranty is fast approaching for my G4 Powerbook and I am looking at have to pay almost $400.00 to extend it via Applecare.
Many/most people seem to find Applecare money well spent on Powerbooks . It really depends on how much longer you plan on keeping it and how dependable it needs to be and can you afford expensive unexpected repairs on a machine you need ASAP.
I hear you :-) I like to buy the best I can afford and hope and expect it to last a long time. I hate buying stuff that doesn't last and that isn't worth repairing when it breaks.I've been trying to suppress a rant on the declining quality of Apple's products and electronics and consumer products in general for about a week now, and can bite my tongue no longer.
My Peaches,I expect electronic stuff to last a minimum of 5 years and motor vehicles at least 10. I have a 20 year old Ten-Tec ham radio transceiver that works fine, and put over a 1000 trouble free miles a month on a 1983 BMW motorcycle this year. I also have a '98 Ford Ranger in the fleet that needed one repair (rear brake linings) in 80,000 miles and an '84 BMW motorcycle that has had no major repairs in 100,000 miles. In my house I have 1985 Epson, 1990 Panasonic, and 1995 Mitsubushi laptops that still work, and on my desk sits an '99 vintage 333 mhz. iMac that has never failed me.
1939 Hallicrafters transceiver . One repair a new tube in apox 1982 but I've only owned it for 35 years ;-)
1958 Mercedes Benz 190 Sedan. Apox $800.00 in repairs in the last 20 plus years since my Grandfather gave it to me. It was a daily driver for him since new and 12 years for me! Volvo 240 1985 sedan 220,000 miles still runs as good as new. Umax J700 Mac clone machine 1997 model Zero repairs but a fair amount of upgrades. Runs all day most every day currently running OSX 10.3.7 with 533 MHz CPU great work horse. Pismo Powerbook other then close to needing a new battery has been great. No Apple care bought nor needed(I got lucky).
lots of snips taken:That's the peaches, and now the lemons: A 2001 Yaesu ham transceiver that is broken beyond repair after less than 2 years service. A 1992 BMW motorcycle that needed $3000 worth of repairs before the warranty expired. That bike now spends half it's time sitting in my garage waiting 'til i can get a good deal on used parts to fix it's latest failures. And Apple?
Lemons for me: To many to remember I guess but not as many as a lot of people. I do my homework and make every effort to buy quality for the best price I can find.
About the time the G3 PowerBook production was winding down Apple limited AppleCare protection to the first 3 years of life. I take that action as an admission that Apple's hardware is now so unreliable and difficult to repair (compare hard drive replacement on a Pismo to the latest AlBook) that they'd lose money if they guaranteed it past 3 years. Apple may also be trying to manipulate if not force us to buy a new Mac every 3 years. I paid $2200 for my Pismo only because I expected a quality product that would last at least 5 years. After 3 years I am left with a laptop so unreliable I don't take it out of my house. Suffice to say, I won't be waiting in line at the Apple Store to buy a new PowerBook or probably anything else Apple.
Dyna
Your right about what Apple is doing. Not that I approve in any way but other companies are doing the same. See your example of BMW now compared to a few years ago. What are you going to do? Buy a Dell the next time around? Good luck with that ;-) People are still bitching about Apples stuff being too expensive and it has always cost them market share. Needing to buy a warranty rather then it coming with one has always pissed me off. It is a fact of life in competing in todays market it seems. Most people buy on price and so do I . I've found that with careful shopping I can usually get the good stuff for the same price as the crap. When the guy at Fry's asks me about the extended warranty . I always feel like saying I don't want to buy anything that needs one but what good will that do me and how can you tell. It does seem there are fewer and fewer companies with quality products...wait a min everything is made in China while Americans are out of work...go figure. later Will
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