An unused Macbook Air Rev B for 500€ - would you buy it?

[Jayomat]

Hi all,

I could get a Macbook Air Rev B with 1,86Ghz, GeForce9400 and 120 HDD (4200rpm) for about 500€. It has some external scratches and discoloration, but other than that it works fine and is unused.. it is an original apple product with some product external faults, that's why it's so cheap. The scratches don't bother me at all, I don't need my laptop to look brand new, it has to get the job done..

Actually I'm fine the machine in my sig, although I'd love to have a lighter laptop and backlit keyboard + a nicer screen, but I just got this offer and began to wonder if it would fit my needs...

Although I'm studying computer science, I'm not doing intense processing nor multimedia work. The programs I use on a regular basis:

- Xcode
- Eclipse
- Adobe Acrobat 9
- Omni Graffle
- Omni Focus
- RemoteDesktop
- TexWorks
- Skype
- Adium
- Safari, Mail, iTunes, iCal etc.
- iWork apps

some other apps too, but just occasionally... My main concern is obviously the 2 GB RAM.. I have 3GB DDR2 RAM 667Mhz right now.. How much "worse" will it get with the 2GB DDR3 RAM with 1066Mhz? The disk space is not that big of an issue to me...

so, what do you guys think? I would try to sell my Macbook for some € too and of course, sooner or later, replace the awful HDD with a SSD...

advice is appreciated
thanks in advance

 

[Scottsdale]

I would say that's about the right price... if you want it. You have to realize that drive is VERY SLOW. It isn't going to feel quick or peppy unless you upgrade the drive to a Runcore SSD. For a road computer or sparing use, it would be great. For a primary computer, you definitely need to update to an SSD. Good luck.

 

[Veinticinco]

Personally, whilst the pricing sounds about right, I wouldn't touch it.

Why? Aside from the fact 500 euros is a significant amount of change to potentially throw away, ask yourself how an "unused" MBA got those "external scratches and discoloration"? Like buying a car that runs like a dream and is only going cheap because it was involved in a fender bender, you just don't know and are risking exposure to potential hardware problems down the line. And I'm talking logic board by the way, not just swapping out its painfully slow HDD. That alone would make me ask, what sort of warranty is being offered here?

My gut feeling? Avoid. Like the plague.

 

[cubist]

You're a developer...

... the Air is not a developer machine, it'll be way too slow. You need to aim toward a MacBook Pro with the fastest CPU available and 4GB+ of RAM. Never try to program on an underpowered machine. Performance outranks portability.

 

[Spacekatgal]

How can it be unused if it has scratches? Confusion!

I mean, an MBA is a fun second mac, period. I might pick it up. I might even put an SSD in it and try to sell it for a profit. But, as always, consider carefully who you're buying it from. Scratches + unused = fishy.

 

[Jayomat]

... the Air is not a developer machine, it'll be way too slow. You need to aim toward a MacBook Pro with the fastest CPU available and 4GB+ of RAM. Never try to program on an underpowered machine. Performance outranks portability.

That may be true.. I almost forgot why I upgraded to 3GB DDR2 in the first place: after working for some hours with Eclipse with multiple files opened, I only got about 10mb RAM left... 2 GB would be a downgrade in productivity! And I may have a new job where I have to do programming in delphi using a win-only IDE.. 2 GB RAM won't cut virtualization, and for a dedicated windows partition, the disk space is just to expensive with an SSD.

How can it be unused if it has scratches? Confusion!

I mean, an MBA is a fun second mac, period. I might pick it up. I might even put an SSD in it and try to sell it for a profit. But, as always, consider carefully who you're buying it from. Scratches + unused = fishy.

Personally, whilst the pricing sounds about right, I wouldn't touch it.

Why? Aside from the fact 500 euros is a significant amount of change to potentially throw away, ask yourself how an "unused" MBA got those "external scratches and discoloration"? Like buying a car that runs like a dream and is only going cheap because it was involved in a fender bender, you just don't know and are risking exposure to potential hardware problems down the line. And I'm talking logic board by the way, not just swapping out its painfully slow HDD. That alone would make me ask, what sort of warranty is being offered here?

My gut feeling? Avoid. Like the plague.

The guy said the MBAs he's selling are production errors.. that can happen, but those units cannot be sold, that's why he gets them so cheap.. but now that I asked him, he told me the MBAs come without any accessories at all (no battery charger etc.. they cost a fortune!) In the end I guess you're all right: I won't buy it!

Thanks for your help/replies!

 

[Spacekatgal]

The guy said the MBAs he's selling are production errors.

Haha. Oh, okay. Yeah, let him sell that to someone dumb enough to believe it. Go with your gut. Glad to see you didn't fall for it. ^_^

There are so many ways to pick that apart. If it were true, and it's not, would you be able to get service on it? No. How did he get it? Why would a production error be scratched like it was used?

Bri

 

[Jayomat]

Haha. Oh, okay. Yeah, let him sell that to someone dumb enough to believe it. Go with your gut. Glad to see you didn't fall for it. ^_^

There are so many ways to pick that apart. If it were true, and it's not, would you be able to get service on it? No. How did he get it? Why would a production error be scratched like it was used?

Bri

nope, no service.. he said I could return it for one month after getting the MBA (and get a refund) or requesting "another" one if I'M not fine with the one I got.

Anyway, I would need to buy a charger, which is around 80€, and a big enough SSD (128GB) (200-300€?), which will bring the price to around 800-900€.. that's a lot money for a "scratched" or discolored or whatever MBA with no service at all.. If it's broken after two month of use, I'm screwed...

No idea how he gets them.. no idea where they come from.. the price is what made me wonder.. I'd love the backlit keyboard and much better screen (at least that's what everyone says), but "it's not my time, nor my machine"

I don't know how long my current MB will last.. it seems it will run forever.. it's on its 914th charge, with the first battery still having 93% of capacity...

THE GOOD THING: The longer you keep your laptop, the more you "get" when you buy a new one