MB Pro Crashes approx 1 out of every 5 startups

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Found a Macbook Pro on craigslist for $700. Inquired about it, said its got a problem with crashing once every 5 startups or so, so he would let it go for $450... insisted that his local apple store said it would cost about $200 or so to fix the problems (but never told me exactly what was wrong, just that it was a 'software' issue... that reinstallation of OS didnt fix). Told him I'd pay him the $450 if he met me in the apple store and they confirmed $200ish to fix the problem. Well, he said he isn't available to meet in an apple store due to a busy schedule on the day i asked him to meet, so i said i'd pay him $250 cash and walk with it. Would this be smart, or stupid on my part? I realize that a new logic board would run $400ish, which if i had to replace would still be a decent investment. THOUGHTS???? SUGGESTIONS???? specs on it are 2.2ghz, 120gb hd, 2gb ram. again, he says it crashes once every 5 times or so he boots it up. $250 cash.
 

pigoo3

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Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
Good idea telling the seller that you would meet him at the Apple Store AFTER they confirm or at least estimate the repair costs.

So many sellers selling broken electronics on Craig's list come up with some sort of bogus estimate of what it will cost to fix. This is either a very low figure based on absolutely no professional estimate, or a "watered-down" amount based on a real estimate.

If you insist on meeting at the Apple Store, and he keeps coming up with reasons why he can't meet at that particular time/day...I would say that he's hiding something.

If he's willing to sell it to you for $250 cash, and you're able to "test drive" the laptop to confirm it's condition...then I would say go for it.

But if you're talking closer to $450...if it needs some serious repairs...it might be better to skip it.

Good luck,

- Nick
 
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Your Mac's Specs
09 MBP 8GB ram 500GB HD OS 10.9 32B iPad 4 32GB iPhone 5 iOs7 2TB TC Apple TV3
How old is it.
 
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PMG5 2.0 DP/9800XT, PBG4 1.5 12"
There's not a lot you can fix on a MBP for $200. However, I'd be willing to endure the shame of a hang/reboot one every once in a while for a $250 MBP.
 
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Your Mac's Specs
21" iMac * 2.8 Ghz Intel Core i7 * 16GB 1333 Mhz DDR3 * 1TB HD *AMD Radeon HD 6770M 512 MB
Don't give this guy a cent until you get an assessment of the issue from an Apple Store. If he wants your money that badly, he'll take some time out of his schedule to meet you there, but it kind of sounds like an excuse to me. You never know, it might even be stolen.
 

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