Using AppleCare Before It Expires

Generally an extended warranty (and insurance in general) is not worthwhile if you can afford the loss. By definition, insurers calculate the odds that they'll need to pay out a claim, and charge more than that (odds * payout) to make a profit.

The only reason to pay that surcharge is to protect against losses that would cause massive financial hardship. If you can replace the item on short notice without going hungry or losing your home, you're probably better off self-insuring in the long run.

That being said, there are exceptions: most notably when you have better information than the insurer about your risks. In other words, if you know you're much more likely to damage an item than the average user (and the insurance company considers you an "average user"), it might be a win to insure for accidental damage.

For this reason, I did actually go ahead and insure my iPad -- although I did so through SquareTrade, not Apple, as they offer a better product IMHO.

Apple provides a standard warranty of one year on all the products they sell. You may purchase AppleCare any time within that one year period to extend your coverage, which for Macs is two additional years, for a total of three. The total coverage period begins from the date of purchase of your MacBook.

Waiting to buy it means you have money in your pocket, but go without phone support once your 90 day complimentary support expires. Your coverage is pinned to the date of purchase of the Mac - not of the plan. Also, Apple offers a pro-rated refund if you wish to cancel the plan before it's term is due. This is handy when you sell and the buyer doesn't want that protection or something like a loss or uncovered accident means you don't want to repair the out of warranty issues to benefit from the plan going forward.

This is the route I tend to do, as I never need phone support, and the cost of AppleCare is usually around $200 more. Of course, you run the risk of forgetting and not getting it, as I have done on more than one occasion.