I say go for the support. The greatest thing about Apple is Applecare. I've had mine for not-that-long, but I needed a servicing and it was amazing. Also, I'm a firm believer in Murphy's Law, and having your friend ship it to you, in my mind, undoubtedly means that it will arrive with damage.

I'm using a six-year-old macbook right now, and I've had it in to the geniuses several times for various troubles and a complete replacement of the CD drive. No charges yet for anything, so you may want to go ahead and buy it locally for peace of mind. IMO