The problem with many self-repair people is they effectively value their time at zero.
I value my time realistically, i.e. above zero and above minimum wage. It is therefore a no brainer for me to buy AppleCare every ... single ..time. It means I can just drop it off and let someone else deal with messing around.
I also know how much hassle it is. Like many techies, I spent part of my early career repairing people's PCs. Even in big PC tower cases with easy accessibility to all parts its still a fucking horrific waste of time. Hence these days I'm very happy to let some junior at Apple do it for the cost of an AppleCare contract.
Back in 2010 Apple quoted me €700 for a topcase replacement because of shattered display glass. Instead I paid €50 for a third party replacement pane and did 15 minutes of work with a heat gun.
What's more, they fold most of the cost of the repair into the price of parts. So you can either get a replacement screen for €499 and install it yourself, or have it officially repaired for €559. This effectively subsidizes official repairs and makes DIY repairs more expensive.
Apple does extreme gouging with repairs, its hogwash to claim anything else.
My hope is that the machine will work for a long while, like most of them do. In my case it’s a ~$1200 machine so I prefer to self-insure. I’m taking the chance that if it goes bad, I’ll pay to fix or replace it.
This makes sense, for me, when I do it on everything that I buy.
1. people who arguably fall under the definition of careless, or have small children, need repair plans
2. people who are fastidious and nothing ever breaks, don't need repair plans
3. people who are fastidious, have small children, need repair plans
I was a #2 and I'm slowly transitioning into a #3 for specific purchases.