Should i buy this or wait ?

[dime4dice]

hey so i am in the market of buying an imac. Currently i was looking at the 21.5 model with the nvidia card which is 1499 plus tax. I was thinking of getting it next week. However now i am in this situation: my brother's girlfriend is selling me her imac. This is the specs. She has rarely used it. My brother was able to talk her down to sell it for $500. I told her that i was going to think about it since for 500 i find it to be a steal but then again i dont really know much about the specs. i need you guys opinion if you think its worth to purchase it or just buy the imac from apple. Please be honest. Thank you. Here are the specs:

 

[pigoo3]

$500 for this used iMac is probably a bit on the high side ($400 would be a better price). But still certainly a lot less than than the cost of a new computer ($1499). You should check eBay as well.

Of course it is a 5-6 year old computer. You can't expect to get as many years out of it as you would for a brand new computer. So it's really up to you…in regards to your budget...and what your longterm needs/expectations are for a computer.

- Nick

 

[Dogbreath]

According to the second picture, the hard drive is quite full to be rarely used. If she doesn't sell it to you, she needs to tidy up the hard drive a bit.

 

[harryb2448]

It is a 2009 model with minimum memory with a lot of movies and iTunes on it with absolute minimum free space. Most of us say at least 20% free space on the drive for it to work anywhere near efficiently. I would say 'Thanks but no thanks'.

If you can afford it go for a new model, faster CPU, faster graphics, faster memory etc.

 

[chscag]

To the OP:

Go with Moderator Nick's advice. (post # 2) He probably knows more about used Mac prices and used Macs than any of our membership.

 

[lclev]

I agree with Nick and chscag. If you want some more pricing info check out this website where they will give you a fairly good idea where to start for what a used system is worth:

Mac2Sell - Argus, Evaluation, Guide to used Mac, iPad, iPhone & iPod

Lisa

 

[dtravis7]

Mac2Sell is saying 360 $. I am sort of shocked it's that low now. Last time I looked a system like that was worth a lot more.

 

[pigoo3]

Dennis & Lisa. One of my favorite "Mac-websites" is Mac2Sell. Yes…I was a little surprised at the $360 value. That's why I was saying it's worth a little bit more at $400…maybe even $450 (but $400 would be a good price).

This is a Late 2009 21" iMac. I recently was checking eBay for selling prices for Early 2009 24" iMac's (a little bit older iMac)…and these were selling for $500 plus.

So given how the used computer market can vary depending where someone is buying from (eBay, Craig's List, big city, little city, etc.)…$400-$500 is probably the right area. Personally I would want to get it for $450 or less ($400 being a very good price).

- Nick

 

[chas_m]

Let me put it this way: for $400 and another $100 spent on upgrading the RAM and maybe another $100 on an SSD drive, this thing will fly and be a cheap computer that will be great for another few (2-5, depending on your use) years.

But it in no way compares to buying a new one (though I wouldn't personally buy the 21-inch new iMac due to lack of expandability). There's no 802.11ac compatibility, there's no BT 4.0, so it's not a long-term machine except for the very light-duty user.