If there’s one hard rule Clark Howard has about new electronics purchases, it’s to never buy an extended warranty.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re talking about a new TV purchase, buying a new washing machine or getting a new phone; his advice has remained the same.
Never, never, never pay for an extended warranty!
But now the money expert has — gasp — been forced to change his longtime advice in one particular instance.
And it’s all because of Apple’s latest and supposedly greatest gadget…
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Money expert: AppleCare+ is a necessity for iPhone X owners
If you are hankering for an iPhone X, you already know it’s going to cost you big time — anywhere from $999 to $1,149!
But the reality is the iPhone X is gaining an early reputation for being fragile — and a broken phone will cost you even more dearly.
Apple says the X has “the most durable glass ever in a smartphone.”
Yet extended warranty service provider SquareTrade calls the X “the most breakable, highest-priced, most expensive to repair iPhone, ever.”
SquareTrade even has the video to back those words up:
How much will repairs cost without a warranty?
If you buy an iPhone X and it breaks after the limited warranty on hardware repair expires after one year, Apple is basically charging an arm, a leg and a foot to repair your phone.
A simple repair to a cracked screen would run you $279 when you’re out of warranty, according to the Apple site.
Anything beyond the screen will cost $549!
In addition to the 1-year limited warranty, every iPhone also gets up to 90 days of complimentary support.
That’s led Clark to recommend that buyers of the new iPhone X pony up the $199 for AppleCare+.
Apple’s extended warranty agreement covers the phone, battery and included accessories like earpods for two years. If you crack the screen, you only pay a $29 deductible with AppleCare+.
So that’s led the consumer champ to choke out the following words. They amount to an unprecedented buy recommendation…and you’re not likely to ever hear them again!
“I can’t believe these words are going to come out of my mouth. But the iPhone X is proving to be so fragile that if you buy one, you should consider — I can’t even get the words out — buying Apple Care plan or a third-party plan like Square Trade.”
– Clark Howard
Listen to Clark’s smartphone buying tips, plus his words on the iPhone X, on The Clark Howard Show Podcast
There is no other circumstance in which Clark would ever tell you to buy any protection for any electronics item. And now, he’s had to break his own rule!
“Apple, you should have made the phone more durable so I wouldn’t have to betray my principles about people spending money,” he says.
“That phone better make perfect toast and cook for you and make you healthier for you to spend four digits on it!”
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