Yes, totally get the AppleCare -- I've had to replace a main board in a PowerBook one too many times, and the total cost (without Applecare) would have been more than just buying a new one.

You should also get yourself an AmEx card and buy the hardware on it -- it extends the manufacturer's warranty (whether you get the AppleCare or not) by 1 year, i.e. with AppleCare you get 4 yrs total, without it you get 2 yrs total. And it doesn't cost anything extra. (Here'a a post I wrote about it a while ago: http://ten7i.com/content/how-buy-mac-pro-right-way-and-save-...)