To applecare or not to applecare, that is the survey.

[clay]

for nearly every repair done out of warranty, you will spend more $$ than it would cost to buy applecare, especially at the prices you can find on ebay.

I had a power supply go out on my wife's imac. Pretty simple part and repair, but it would have cost well over what I paid for applecare.

It's a cheap insurance policy. I get it for every new mac that passes through my hands. Also helps with resale value (if you're the type to get rid of machines in a 3 year window).