My thoughts are warranties/insurance are the following:
* If having to repurchase/cover the item would seriously hurt my financials, then I buy it (car insurance, rental insurance, etc are good examples).
* For everything else, I skip it.
I figure that by self-insuring, I come out ahead in the end. Sure, there's always some gadgets that fail past the end date of the manufacturers warranty. However, replacing those items tends to cost less than buying warranties for everything. Besides, if they fail past the manufacturer's warranty, there's usually some improved version of it I've been eying anyways.
Warranties seem to have a lot of parallels with gambling. People love to tell the stories about how they bought a $2000 television and the warranty saved them when it broke 1 year later. However, they rarely mention all the warranties they purchased and never used.
That said, warranties are not always bad. In the specific case of students, I suspect the answer to "If having to repurchase/cover the item would seriously hurt my financials" is different for their situation than it is for mine. As such, it might make perfect sense for them to buy the warranty.
Agreed, students more frequently setup and move their devices compared to the average home user or business user. If you're moving between 4/5 classes per day and moving in crowded halls of people, then the warranty is probably more beneficial, especially considering that many likely can't afford the replacement cost mid-semester.
I generally avoid warranties completely. I seriously hate being asked for certain things, especially purchasing DS games (I've had cartridges survive washer/dryer cycles and being run over by a truck).
Maybe I'm cynical, but paying $80 for 3 years of coverage is a no-brainer for me.
I mean, heck, my battery died after 2 years of usage and they replaced it for free. As a result, I've already "made" $20 off of it, and that's without any major repairs (which I've definitely had them do under AppleCare before).
Of course, my machine and maybe my TV ($50 for 3 years) are the only warranties I've purchased. I think I agree with your philosophy, but I don't think that's ever stopped me from buying a warranty on nearly anything.
Also, the education pricing gives a big discount on AppleCare. I've been looking at MBP's, and it's ~$300 for AppleCare normally but ~$200 for it with education pricing, which makes it a much better bet.
I'm purchasing a 15" MBP (with education pricing) as soon as the back-to-school sale starts, and I'm pretty sure I'll get AppleCare.
The issue with 99% of warranties is you have to send the item in for fixing. That is often not the case for apple items in the AppleCare cycle, which makes it a LOT more valuable.
Gateway warranties on the other hand, took my last laptop for 4 months to fix it.
My thoughts are warranties/insurance are the following:
* If having to repurchase/cover the item would seriously hurt my financials, then I buy it (car insurance, rental insurance, etc are good examples).
* For everything else, I skip it.
I figure that by self-insuring, I come out ahead in the end. Sure, there's always some gadgets that fail past the end date of the manufacturers warranty. However, replacing those items tends to cost less than buying warranties for everything. Besides, if they fail past the manufacturer's warranty, there's usually some improved version of it I've been eying anyways.