Extended warranty at apple vs other stores?

[jerseygirl81]

I want to buy my ds18 a iPod classic I believe it has 160 gb which would be better for him then the other models. I don't see it on sale everywhere like the iPod touch. I was wondering about the extended warranty at the apple store vs amazon or best buy where it is $20 cheaper. Is the apple store a better extended warranty? I don't want to save $20 and not be covered by the extended warranty but would have if we purchased it at the apple store. Thanks Linda

 

[edk35]

I want to buy my ds18 a iPod classic I believe it has 160 gb which would be better for him then the other models. I don't see it on sale everywhere like the iPod touch. I was wondering about the extended warranty at the apple store vs amazon or best buy where it is $20 cheaper. Is the apple store a better extended warranty? I don't want to save $20 and not be covered by the extended warranty but would have if we purchased it at the apple store. Thanks Linda

Not sure but if you have an Apple Store near by..it might be easier to get service if needed if you have the Apple warranty. I usually get the Apple ones. I just bought a iMac on Friday and went with their Apple Warranty plan.

 

[bgirldeb]

If it's AppleCare, the support is the same whether you buy it from Apple.com or amazon.com.

 

[vicki_c]

Get a warranty from Square Trade - they are great. You can also purchase a rider for a little more money that covers Accidental Damage and Handling damage (including water damage, dropping it, etc.). That is what we have done for our portable devices.

 

[mgroshans]

When we bought our 2 DS's I Pod touches at Best Buy, we got there protection plan. About 6 months after we got them, our oldest dropped his and the screen broke. We took it to Best Buy and they gave him a new one, no questions asked- he even got the newest generation! I'm not sure if Apple care would have covered that.

 

[vicki_c]

Applecare does not cover accidental damage. Applecare just extends the regular manufacturer's warranty for a longer time.

From the Apple site:
Every iPod and Apple TV comes with a one-year limited warranty and up to 90 days of complimentary telephone technical support. With the AppleCare Protection Plan, you can extend your coverage to two years from your hardware product’s purchase date. You get direct, one-stop access to Apple’s award-winning telephone technical support for questions about using your products. And you get global repair coverage for your Apple products through convenient service options.

...

b. Limitations. The Plan does not cover:
...
(ii) Damage to the Covered Equipment caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider), unauthorized modification, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), extreme physical or electrical stress or interference, fluctuation or surges of electrical power, lightning, static electricity, fire, acts of God or other external causes;

I believe Best Buy's warranties are Square Trade warranties - not entirely sure. There is a box on the Square Trade site that you use to register a warranty bought at a retail store, and I think BB might be one of those stores.

One thing that I am unsure of - Applecare covers software issues as well as hardware. I do not know if the Square Trade warranties provide that same support. We had only used SqT for mobile-type devices which generally shouldn't have a lot of software issues that need support. For our iMac and laptops, we have Applecare.

 

[moonpie85]

We have always been happy with Best Buy's protection plans. Easy peasy

 

[Patience]

I am buying apple care from amazon for my daughter's macbook pro which I ordered on Thanksgiving day.... but not yet. You can buy apple care anytime before the original manufacturer's warranty expires so I am planning to buy it next September or October. thumbsup2

 

[jerseygirl81]

Thanks for the info. Best buy sounds like a better warranty than apple from what I read on their website. I just can't decide how long I should purchase the warranty for, its $99 for 3 years that brings the $229 ipod up to $329 or I could do a 2 year for $69. Ds18 used his last ipod for 5 years without any problems till recently and no add'l warranty, but this one would be more expensive to replace. Linda