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Question

Does anyone have experience with AppleCare repair?

Jun 11, 2011 5:44AM PDT

I have a 3-year-old Mac Book Pro laptop with AppleCare warranty. It was working fine except that the CD drive sometimes won't eject. The tech at an Apple Store confirmed the condition and sent it to a repair center. Traces of a liquid spill was found (which happened almost a year ago and never bothered me) and the warranty repair was therefore declined. The estimate was $700 for replacing the CD drive, very steep for an old laptop. So I refused and they shipped it back to me. But now it won't turn on. I called and asked if they could restore the laptop to the same condition as it was when I brought it to the Apple Store. They said since I refused the paid repair, they were not responsible to put the laptop back together in the same condition, even if the laptop broke while in Apple's possession. (Or perhaps the tech that put it back together forgot to connect a cable or something.)

Any similar experience and advice would be appreciated. Do I have any recourse?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Sadly
Jun 11, 2011 5:50AM PDT

Since it did have that liquid issue, failure is not out of the question during shipping. It does void the warranty so you have little to work with. I see this a lot and it does happen.

Try your usual call to Cupertino and see if you can talk your way out of the jam.
Bob

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Answer
When it comes to liquid damage
Jun 11, 2011 7:32AM PDT

When it comes to liquid damage, Apple has a zero tolerance policy. Seriously. I work at an AASP, and deal with a fair number of systems that have liquid damage, thus have a pretty good idea of their general policy on the matter. So, you're pretty much up the creek on this one.

Assuming this is a non-unibody model, and the warranty is already voided, go to the ifixit website. I'm betting they just forgot to connect the top case cable, which would probably be a 5-10 minute fix if you have a PH0 and Torx 6 screwdriver. Both of which you can find in little sets sold at a lot of electronics stores. The ifixit site will also sell them to you if you want.

It is a little over the top to not even put the thing back together, then claim that they aren't required to do so, but since you didn't pay for anything associated with the repair, you're probably not going to get much more than an apology for that. Like I said, Apple is very uncompromising about their liquid damage policy. I think they're missing out on a gold mine, but they're already practically printing money, so it's probably not a major concern.

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Answer
square trade is better
Jun 24, 2011 2:35PM PDT

You should go through square trade when you buy extended warranties. Unlike with apple care they will cover accidental damages, which include liquid spills. I have heard to many bad things about apple care and not covering accidental damages is one.

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Square Trade
Jun 24, 2011 11:09PM PDT

Square Trade is more like insurance than a warranty program. There's typically a deductible you will have to pay, and the one-time premium will be much higher than APP because they're exposing themselves to greater risk on the liquid and accidental damage. It doesn't take much in the way of liquid damage to make a brand new system the cheaper option.

You also can't simply take your computer in to any AASP or Apple Store and get it fixed. Typically with operations like Square Trade, you have to ship it to them, and then they send it off to someone to fix that they contract with. Also, if you read the fine print on policies like Square Trade, typically it terminates if they replace your system one time. Or if you make more than X number of claims in Y amount of time, they can (and will) terminate the contract.

APP doesn't cover liquid or accidental damage, they state that quite plainly, but it's good for 3 years from the purchase date of your computer, no matter how many repairs it needs. You can walk into any AASP or Apple Store, and all expenses are picked up by Apple. If your system needs 1 or 50 repairs in those 3 years, it won't matter, you won't pay for any of it beyond the cost of the APP. It is pretty rare, in my experience anyway, that a system comes in more than 2-3 times in it's lifetime. I'd like to say it's just because I'm that good, but I have no hard evidence to back it up. Bang for the buck, and especially when you start reading some of the fine print on the square trade thing, APP is quite a bit better, even lacking coverage for certain things.

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Answer
Another option for Repair of MBP
Jul 1, 2011 2:19PM PDT

I have had experience with Apple Warranty with a couple of iPods, but I did not use an Apple Store, instead I sent it directly to Apple. They made it very easy, all I had to do was to print out a work Number, and drop it off at my nearest UPS store, that Apple has an Shipping agreement with. Very Easy! Absolutely No Costs to me.
I received an email about 4 or 5 days later ( I live in Hawaii), and they sent out refurbished replacements, on both occasions.
Apple did mention their Repair/Replacement Policy, when I first contacted them, along with various conditions, they did not cover, which included Liquid Spills.

Another Option - is to contact a local Mac User Group, which in most instances, they will have a Tech or two, that can Repair your Mac, for a lot less than a Mac Store! I know this works as I had a 1st Gen iMac, that I donated to a Youth Group Advocacy Organization, and the iMac needed the hard drive replaced. Our MUG had a Tech, who gave me an Excellent Estimate & outstanding personal service, that included picking up and delievery, it was a No Brainer. Our local Mac Store does have a very good Tech guy, but he WORKS for the OWNER, who sets the Parts & Labor Costs, which are way, way overpriced, comparing them to other Tech's in our area, that ONLY work on Windoze boxes.

Caveat - If you do get it repaired, make sure to at least get a Keyboard Cover, so check on Amazon, as they are many and a lot more reasonable than again ... an Apple Store.

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A couple of things
Jul 1, 2011 11:25PM PDT

A couple of things... You want to be careful about letting just anyone you meet at some user group work on your system. Granted if it's out of warranty already like a first gen iMac, then it's no big deal, but even a certified tech is not allowed to do freelance repairs. They MUST be processed through Apple's ASP site, which means as far as Apple is concerned, it's sanctioned by that ASP. Anything goes wrong, and the ASP is essentially on the hook as far as Apple is concerned.

Also, I would STRONGLY recommend avoiding those keyboard covers. When you close the clamshell, they put extra pressure on the LCD panel and can cause some of the individual cells to rupture. I've actually seen this on a handful of systems. You tend to get a shape that looks like an uppercase J, or maybe a fishhook, usually right around the middle of the display, sometimes a bit to one side. It's generally pretty faint and can only be seen on specific colored backgrounds, but I can tell you Apple considers that abuse and it won't be covered by AppleCare. Your best bet would be to find some ASP that will just repair it without checking with Apple first, of course Apple's warehouse techs will inspect the part, and may well claw back some of the money from the ASP, who in turn probably has your credit card info on file, and may charge you.

Apple's laptops are very precision designed, unlike your average PC laptop. The reason the keyboard tends to be recessed is to avoid pressure on the LCD. When the clamshell is down, the keys are typically just barely touching the LCD, which is easy to see if you have a dusty keyboard. You'll see the outline of the keys on the display. You add some rubber cover over top of that, and you're throwing off a finely balanced system. Doesn't matter how thin it is, it's going to apply extra, unanticipated, pressure to the LCD and may cause damage. On 13" MBP, the display assemblies for accidental damage like that, start at about $500 cost. Then there's whatever the markup is for that repair shop, plus labor... You can't get just the display, it's the whole display assembly as one unit.

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Answer
AppleCare, Totally useless.
Jul 22, 2011 11:31AM PDT

AppleCare is a total scam! Now don't get me wrong, I love Macs (I've owned 8 and most still work just fine), but not AppleCare. Back about 6-7 years ago my niece had an iBook w/applecare and ended having it replaced twice, once for a bad logic board, but another time for a cracked case following an accident...no questions, here's your new computer thank you very much. So a little later when I bought my first power-book I didn't hesitate to get the AppleCare even though it cost over $300 (a quarter of the cost of the computer itself) plus the salesman assured me that even if I brought back a box of pieces, they'd repair or replace it. Yea Right...a year later when the logic board went bad I took it in and they immediately declined, saying the case was damaged. Now everyone I know that has ever had a powerbook knows that those little vent louvers in the back get pushed in slightly just from carrying it around in your bag (even if it's in a sleeve...my was). Well to Apple that is a damaged case and would have to be replaced @ $900 (computer only cost $1100 + chg) before they would even look at the original problem. That's just my story and I've heard at least half a dozen more. I still buy Apple products as do the other people I know with similar stories, but NEVER AppleCare.

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Well
Jul 22, 2011 12:05PM PDT

Well, the salesman fed you a complete and total load of crap, which would have been fairly clear if you'd actually read the terms of the agreement. I'm as guilty as the next person for not always reading the fine print on those 20-30 page license agreements, but it does state in there pretty clearly that accidental damage/abuse (which includes liquid damage) is NOT covered.

Of course this is where the whole AASP angle comes in handy. Plenty of them are willing to be a bit more flexible than your average Apple retail store. Where I work, so long as I'm reasonably sure the cosmetic damage isn't responsible for the fault reported, and there are no other extenuating circumstances, I'll work around it. A lot of AASPs are the same way. Apple tends to eat our lunch a lot of the time, so while there are limits, we tend to be a bit more flexible. And AppleCare plans are good at any AASP (which include Apple retail stores, though I swear they just send the majority of those off to their depots) worldwide.

As I said, there are limits to this. We can't exactly send Apple a logic board with some obvious signs of corrosion due to liquid damage, or we'd get billed for the part. Same as if you drop your laptop on its corner and cave in one of the corners. Even if the failure of the display was completely unrelated, Apple's warehouse would kick the part back to us, and then bill us when we didn't have one to return. But if you have a few dings and dents on the top case, and they're purely cosmetic, most AASPs will let it slide.

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Still won't buy AppleCare.
Jul 22, 2011 1:51PM PDT

Yes, you are correct, the salesman did feed me a load of crap, and had it not been for my niece's good experience, I would have read the fine print...that AppleCare warranty is the only extended warranty I've ever bought. That's my general rule. But back to the broken computer. After leaving the store (pissed) I went home and ordered another powerbook (Apple factory refurbished) for about the same amount I was quoted to replace the 'damaged' case. A couple of weeks later I was able to find a salvaged logic board for $250 , repair the original machine (about 4 hrs including a wipe and clean install) then clone the other one every couple of months thereby always having a hot back-up. That came in real handy when the optical drive on the new machine died a month after the factory warranty...that cost about about $75 (would have been cheaper if I hadn't used an official Apple part) and about 2 hrs of work. The point is: I got another 2 years out of that original machine with its 'damaged' case and a second hand logic board (it might still be working but it was stolen so I don't know). How much did Apple save by declining the original service? Let's see, since then I've bought 5 computers + 1 iphone= around $1800; I talked my sister out of ever buying AppleCare with any of her families Apple purchases = another $900; I've advised anyone who's ever asked to just say no = min. $300 total $3000 Plus if the warranty was worth a crap We Wouldn't Even Be Having This Discussion! So now I'm back to my original, general rule: Don't buy extended warranties.

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I'm just saying
Jul 22, 2011 10:47PM PDT

I'm just saying it's a bit of a stretch to call AppleCare a scam when it was a salesman that flat out lied to you. Very few computer OEMs offer some kind of extended warranty that covers accidental damage. Dell does, and I think HP does, but that's about it as far as I know.