AppleCare+ Is it what you’re expecting it to be?

Hello all!

We had our October 4th release from Apple, and personally I think it was a little disappointing. No iPhone 5. Well, the iPhone 4S seems like it has some nifty improvements but its just not enough for me to get really excited. Remember my blog from September 21, 2011? I predicted a “limited” launch on the iPhone 5 in October and I was wrong. We got a “non” launch and it looks like we have some more time to wait for the soon-to-be-legendary iPhone 5.

However we did get AppleCare+ (AppleCare plus) that gives you 2 incidents of accidental damage when you purchase it! This is a breakthrough when you buy your iPhone- you can purchase the AppleCare+ plan and have peace of mind when you buy an iPhone from Apple. Or does it? Let’s take a look at their “included” accidental incident plan, and let’s focus on the screen, which is the most common expensive “accidental” repair. Let’s face it; AppleCare + covers accessories like your earbuds, but it also comes with a $49 replacement fee. . .so I think that I’d rather buy a replacement set of Apple earbuds on eBay for $14.99 outright rather than kill one of my 2 chances for any kind of REAL repair for $49. Let’s dig a little deeper-

1. You have to pay $99 up front to be included in the plan. This is a bit unnerving to have to spend an extra (almost) hundred dollars when you’re already making a purchase, but heck, it can come in handy, right? The issue is that if you DON’T drop or crack your screen you’re out that $99. There’s no turning back!

2. Now, let’s assume you DID buy the AppleCare+ plan for your iPhone. And then you dropped it. No biggie, you’re covered. Yup, you’re covered alright, for an additional $49. This service costs you another $49 on top of the $99. Sheesh!

3. Let’s say you pay the $99, plus the $49, and you drop it again. I mean, how many times can this happen to one person? Believe me unless you have the iPhone tethered to your wrist you know that small items can be dropped – and Apple includes 2 incidents of coverage for a reason. OK Apple will take care of you again for another $49. Bing, there ya go.

4. Ok, here’s where it gets fun. Let’s say you break it for the 3rd time. It’s getting expensive now because Apple is going to charge you $199 for the repair. Remember that they only cover 2 incidents of accidental damage – and you’re into these 3 repairs for $396. You read that right, $396. And if you should happen to break it again? Just keep on adding $199 to the price. Pretty soon you’ll have to take out a second mortgage.

Here at Mission Repair, we were built for this exact scenario. Let’s take a look at this matrix, and you can click on it to get a larger image:

1. We don’t charge you anything up front. So if you never break the screen, you never pay us a dime.

2. Let’s say you do break your iPhone 4 glass. It’s a common issue, and Mission Repair is here to help. As of today, October 6th, 2011 our repair price is $99 which includes parts and labor and our GOT REPAIR warranty benefits.

3. Here’s the beautiful part: If you break it again after we repair it, you AUTOMATICALLY have our GOT REPAIR benefits attached to the phone (which came with your repair for FREE) and we’ll repair it again under our GOT REPAIR program. This only costs you $45 and now you’re into Mission Repair for $144 total.

4. If you break it again (for the 3rd time) then you only pay $45 again. In fact, for Apple’s Accidental Incident Price of $396 I mentioned before, we only charge $189. And there’s the bread and butter of it.

So think it through – there are some benefits to having AppleCare on your device, but to merely go on the basis that Apple now includes accidental damage, my example above of using the iPhone 4 screen repair is pretty clear cut. Mission Repair rises out among the competition, and remains the Intelligent Choice.

Until next time, take care, Ryan