Hello Everyone!
On October 4, 2011 Apple released the iPhone 4S and while it had some cool improvements, I thought it was a little disappointing. As you can see from my blog on Mission Repair’s website on September 21, 2011, I was hoping for an iPhone 5…It looks like we will have to wait a while longer for this much rumored about iPhone!
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 use up one of my 2 chances for any kind of REAL repair for $49. Let’s see what this plan really offers:
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 getting that money 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 could 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 you 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 – so far these 3 repairs are costing you $396. You read that right, $396! What 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 Got 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 Got Repair is here to help. As of today, April 16, 2012, 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 Got 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 as I mentioned before, we only charge $189. And there is the bread and butter of it.
Think about it…there are some benefits to having AppleCare on your device, but be careful not to just go on the basis that Apple now includes accidental damage. My example above of using the screen repair for the iPhone 4 is pretty clear cut. Got Repair rises out among the competition, we are here for you!
Take Care,
Ryan
It’s all good though. Knowing that we got some much deserved time with our families last week, and being forced to stay on our toes this week, it is an interesting change of pace.
