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Need an Apple addict to detect a bargain?

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Hi there,

Dunno if this is a UK or a US website but whatever, what I need is a macbook educated member (Hope I'll find one there!).

Someone I know quite well is proposing me to buy his macbook for a bargain £750, and as I do not know anything about it, I'd like someone to help me there. :D

Is this a good choice?

---
The performances are:
Macbook 13.3" (circa 10 month old)
4 GB Ram
2.2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
160GB Hard Drive
High resolution screen - very crisp and clear
4/5 hour battery depending on usage

2 years left on Applecare Service - valued at £199 alone
standard on a new purchase from Apple is 1 year .

Mac OSX operating system - version 10.5
latest edition available including updates, The laptop is capable of running windows if you wish to install it.

iLife 2008 - to manage photos, media creation, etc..
iWork 2008 - works with MS Office .doc and .xls files.

All the following are built in:
DVD & CD burner
iSight webcam, microphone & speakers
WIFI
Bluetooth (syncs with most mobile phones)
2x USB ports
Firewire port
Network port


Also included is the magsafe power cable (of course) and the original box it came in. (yes i'm that obsessive.). ---

Thanks
Xavier
 

bobtomay

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Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
I'm in the US, and don't really know how Apple used sells over there. But, just looking at the pricing at the Apple UK site, that looks to be a very fair price for both parties.

Make sure you get the disks that came with the machine. The iLife disks are part of the original packaging disks. iWork should have it's own disks unless he used the free trial period that was installed on the machine and then purchased the license online. In that case, make sure to get the license info.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Unibody MacBook Pro 2.26, 4gb RAM, 500gb HD
Here's a link to a brand new one from Apple. Up the memory and HD so your comparing "Apples to Apples" (Ha!Ha!). You would never notice the difference between the 2.1 or the 2.2. processor

Configure - Apple Store (U.K.)

Note that this does not include Applecare. You would have to add that to the total. This won't tell you what to do, but at least you'll know what a new one would cost.
 
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Here's a link to a brand new one from Apple. Up the memory and HD so your comparing "Apples to Apples" (Ha!Ha!). You would never notice the difference between the 2.1 or the 2.2. processor

Configure - Apple Store (U.K.)

Note that this does not include Applecare. You would have to add that to the total. This won't tell you what to do, but at least you'll know what a new one would cost.

Thanks for you help guys,

I just visited the link, it says that a new one would cost £704!!!

Am I going to pay £750 for a 10 months old mac which worth £704 as new?

Or is that the options (iLife, iWork, Apple care...) that worth so much more?

Thanks
Xavier
 
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Thanks for you help guys,

I just visited the link, it says that a new one would cost £704!!!

Am I going to pay £750 for a 10 months old mac which worth £704 as new?

Or is that the options (iLife, iWork, Apple care...) that worth so much more?

I just added to the macbook iWork and Applecare and it is now £953. That's my mistake.

But it is still only £250 less than a brand new one, circa 25% discount, what do you guys think?

Xavier :Smirk:
 

bobtomay

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Plus, up the memory to 4GB and change out the drive to the 160 vs the 120 and you're up to £1134. Both of these could be done cheaper after market than purchasing from Apple. But, they're still there. That's why I still think it's a fair price. You're getting better than a 30% discount vs what it would cost you for an identical new machine, and the seller really is taking about a 50% hit vs what they paid for it. That is a lot bigger discount than you'll find on Mac's here in the US. Also, don't know if you guys have sales taxes over and above the purchase price or not, but I'd consider that in the cost also.

I purchase used electronics of any kind extremely rarely and almost never recommend it. But, if I was looking for a MacBook, would definitely take a good look at that one for the price. At a 10-20% discount I'd be saying buy the new one. You could probably keep that system for a year and turn around and get £500-650 for it. Not a bad expense for a year on any computer. If you pay the £1134 for the brand new one, it's going to be worth the same £500-650 a year from now.
 
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Plus, up the memory to 4GB and change out the drive to the 160 vs the 120 and you're up to £1134. Both of these could be done cheaper after market than purchasing from Apple. But, they're still there. That's why I still think it's a fair price. You're getting better than a 30% discount vs what it would cost you for an identical new machine, and the seller really is taking about a 50% hit vs what they paid for it. That is a lot bigger discount than you'll find on Mac's here in the US. Also, don't know if you guys have sales taxes over and above the purchase price or not, but I'd consider that in the cost also.

I purchase used electronics of any kind extremely rarely and almost never recommend it. But, if I was looking for a MacBook, would definitely take a good look at that one for the price. At a 10-20% discount I'd be saying buy the new one. You could probably keep that system for a year and turn around and get £500-650 for it. Not a bad expense for a year on any computer. If you pay the £1134 for the brand new one, it's going to be worth the same £500-650 a year from now.

Thanks for your help!

1rst point, I do not want to transfer it to the US... :O)

Also, you are now quite right, I am having an exact 33% discount and I could possibly play around with it for a year and sell it later.

My questions now are:
+ Can I change the keyboard to a french one quite easily later on if I want to sell it in France?
+ What is the list of things I should check on the Mac when I get to play with it, Or what should I run to check if it is working properly?
+ What is the list of stuff that shoudl come with it?

Thanks
xavier :O)
 

bobtomay

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15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
Changing out the keyboard is not cheap. All parts are fairly expensive. As a repair a year from now and the only thing broken would be worth it to replace. But, you wouldn't be able to recoup that expense in a sale of the machine.

Really only things that come with it are the power adapter and the original disks (2). The iWork disk would be a plus or you could end up needing to purchase it again if you ever need to reinstall the OS. (You'll probably want to do a fresh install for yourself anyway.) Anything else they have is over and above.

Not a whole lot you can check out. Click the little Apple top left of the Menu bar, then More Info and you can verify processor, memory, etc. If you have enough time with it, you can insert the original disks and run a diagnostics on the system that would indicate any hardware issues. Other than that, just play around on it.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
Macbook 2.4 GHZ, 2G Ram, 160 GB HD| iPhone 4
Keep in mind Applecare's original starting date stays the same even though it was sold to you. Also iLife comes installed on any new MB.
 
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Thanks for your message,

What if I break the keyboard and go to Apple France to repair it... Wouldn't they put me a French Keyboard for free?

I mean how does the cover works? After a year of use can I just walk in there and ask to change the entire shell because there are a few scratches on it?

Xavier
 

bobtomay

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Your Mac's Specs
15" MBP '06 2.33 C2D 4GB 10.7; 13" MBA '14 1.8 i7 8GB 10.11; 21" iMac '13 2.9 i5 8GB 10.11; 6S
Applecare covers manufacturers defects. It does not cover normal wear and tear, damage, acts of god, etc., and you shouldn't expect that. However, there have been plenty of reports of Apple taking care of things that really weren't their responsibility.

As to the keyboard, if it breaks, maybe. Probably depends on who is behind the counter.
 
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2.0 uni
Buy Apple care on ebay runs about 150.00 USD
 

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