100% agreed on the luck. I took my 2007 era MacBook to the Apple Store in 2009 or so for a battery that had begun to swell, and incidentally that had suffered f

100% agreed on the luck. I took my 2007 era MacBook to the Apple Store in 2009 or so for a battery that had begun to swell, and incidentally that had suffered from the notorious cracked top case issue. I had a friend that worked at the Genius Bar but he was busy with another customer so I just got luck of the draw with regard to technician. Despite being out of the 1 year warranty without Apple Care, the woman who took my computer put in a work order to have the top case replaced and handed me a new battery off the shelf and rang it up $0.00 My friend was free as I was walking out of the store, and asked what it was I came in for. I explained about the top case and battery and when he realized I was getting the repair and replacement for free, he looked incredulous and said that he would've charged anyone for both of those without warranty or AppleCare.