Core/iStore iCare extended warrantee

[balrog]

Alrighty - the one year anniversary of my 2011 21.5" iMac is coming up and I am contemplating extending the warrantee for 2 more years via the iCare extended warrantee that the iSTores/Core sell.

The price is pretty steep at R1800.

Haven't had any issues during my first year, but we all know how easy a hard drive can crash etc. Since it is an all-in-one a bit more of a mission than a PC box to take appart and replace components (I used to build my own PC's so I am not scared of taking computers apart).

The issue is that if anything that is Apple proprietary goes pop (they have pretty much custom motherboards etc. that you can't just buy from your local PC shop) I might end having having to pay a lot more than the R1800.

Has anybody had any experience with using the iCare warrantee? I also don't want to buy something that is in effect going to be useless in any case - if the service from Core is useless.

Any experiences/advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

[GreGorGy]

Lemme put it in perspective: you're gambling. You're taking a R1800 bet against Apple (in essence) that "pays out" (if you win) R12000. That's 40:3 against. Fair odds, given the reliability of the product.

Over the years, I have had many Apple products and have never had this extended thing. I have only ever required it once so all in all, I am ahead for not betting

That said, as much as I may criticise Core's extortion I have found their service to be quite acceptable. In fact, on one occasion, they even impressed me. The only thing you are really insuring is the MoBo so perhaps call them and ask if they keep that one in stock. If not, you're looking at a 5 week wait for a repair. If they do, it tilts the gamble a bit. Get input from others though - they may have had a bad core support experience.

 

[balrog]

Lemme put it in perspective: you're gambling. You're taking a R1800 bet against Apple (in essence) that "pays out" (if you win) R12000. That's 40:3 against. Fair odds, given the reliability of the product.

Over the years, I have had many Apple products and have never had this extended thing. I have only ever required it once so all in all, I am ahead for not betting

That said, as much as I may criticise Core's extortion I have found their service to be quite acceptable. In fact, on one occasion, they even impressed me. The only thing you are really insuring is the MoBo so perhaps call them and ask if they keep that one in stock. If not, you're looking at a 5 week wait for a repair. If they do, it tilts the gamble a bit. Get input from others though - they may have had a bad core support experience.

Yes, agreed 100% with your gambling analogy.

Thanks for your feedback GreGorGy!! This is exactly the type of feedback I am looking for to try and finalise my decision.

 

[noxibox]

It's the same as any extended warranty - a big waste of money.