I am a big fan of the Mini (partially because I already had the other peripherals needed to use the Mini) as it has served me well for going on 7 years. A recent upgrade to a SSD likely means I can get a full decade of service from the Mini. Obviously, the Mini has fulfilled my needs quite well.
I do recall having some issues with the MacBook and Apple support was (and I suspect still is) top notch. In further considering this, I wonder with the better technology in portable computers these days (thinking fewer moving parts, less heat generated, better hard drives, etc) is resulting in fewer Apple Care sales.