2016 15 inch MBP Needs new battery, Trade in for M1 MacBook?

[Roosevelt]

I have a late 2016 15 inch MB Pro with 16 GB RAM, 1 TB Hard Drive and the 2.9 Ghz i7 chip. My battery needs serviced and Safari keeps crashing despite efforts to correct the problem.

I can get $750 from Apple and I assume they will just replace the battery to sell it refurbished. Their trade in questions do not ask about battery condition. The battery replacement would be $210. I probably also need to reinstall the OS or do a clean install to fix the Safari issue.

I have considered trading my MB Pro in for an M1 Macbook Air. I work mostly in clamshell mode and actually like the smaller size.

So my dilemma is fix a 4 year old laptop for $200 or buy a new MI Macbook Air? Any thoughts or perspectives would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

gswpitt...

 

[s66]

Consider doing both:
- Replace the battery
- Buy a new M1 machine
- Wipe the old mac clean
- Sell the old mac on the 2nd hand market (they offer more than Apple does - at least out here)

The Intel based macs are popular with those who want a pure windows machine, for those wanting the ability to run windows every so often or even as a virtual machine. They'll retain value for a good while longer. And given the lack of noticeable improvements on the Intel CPUs in years past: the 2016 machine are still plenty fast.
With a new battery in there (mention that when selling it!) the buyer has little to no good reason to fear the machine isn't going to last them for a serious amount of time.

 

[Roosevelt]

Another question is when does the battery swell? The current battery has 67% capacity.

Thanks in advance.

gswpitt...

 

[Apple_Robert]

I would sell to Apple and get the M1. While you may get (if you are lucky) a few dollars more privately online, you have to deal with fees and possible returns and fraud. With Apple, you don’t have to deal with that.

 

[thekev]

I can get $750 from Apple and I assume they will just replace the battery to sell it refurbished. Their trade in questions do not ask about battery condition. The battery replacement would be $210. I probably also need to reinstall the OS or do a clean install to fix the Safari issue.

This is pretty normal for a battery of that age. They aren't immortal. I'm not sure whether the crashes are due to battery induced power fluctuations though. The used retailers seem to ask more for a 2016 15" with that configuration, so you might get more via private sale but typically less than retailers, who commonly provide a 90 day warranty. In the case of a private sale, a buyer doesn't really have any practical means of recourse.

Apple doesn't ask about battery condition, because they would automatically replace it. They might not on a return with a few cycles, but it's a foregone conclusion for any machine with significant use. As a retailer, they just wouldn't sell machines with old batteries in them. The replacement battery might be reconditioned/refurbished, but it would not be one that someone just used for even a few months.

 

[Natzoo]

Are you on Catalina? If so, you should turn off battery management if that is on. That should increase the battery health.

 

[Roosevelt]

On Big Sur. Thanks for all the input.