help needed with buying second hand

[chrisus]

Hi am thinking of buying a second hand Mac book/air/pro how much of the battery used do you think is acceptable ?
Tia
chris_us

 

[Bigwaff]

Hi am thinking of buying a second hand Mac book/air/pro how much of the battery used do you think is acceptable ?

Battery health stat 85% or above if you plan to go mobile. If you plan on leaving it sitting on a desk plugged into charger than battery health might not matter. Anything below 85%, you will probably have to replace the battery within a year with normal usage, unless it sits on a desk plugged into power adapter all the time, i.e. like a desktop.

 

[chrisus]

thank you Bigwaff

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Frankly I’d budget a battery replacement in, then find one with low battery (near/below 80%) and beat the seller up on price due to it needing battery replacement. You can probably get it discounted by the cost of the replacement, then you end up with 100% battery.

 

[HDFan]

am thinking of buying a second hand Mac book/air/pro

Be sure to buy from a reputable buyer with a warranty and return policy. Otherwise you risk losing your money.

 

[Fishrrman]

Fishrrman's rules for used MacBook buying:

DO NOT BUY:
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2015)
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, Early 2016)
MacBook (Retina, 12-inch, 2017)
MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2018)
MacBook Air (Retina, 13-inch, 2019)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2016)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2017)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2018, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2019, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019)
ALL of these have the disastrous "butterfly keyboards" that are highly-prone to failure. Although Apple has a free replacement program running for 4 years "from new", when that time expires YOU will pay for the repair.
And it's NOT CHEAP -- $750 for even a single key gone bad.
That's because the entire top case has to be replaced... even for a single key failure!

DO BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2020
MacBook Pro 16" -- 2019 and later.
These have the new "magic" (scissors) keyboards, as did the 2015 and earlier MBPs. These keyboards have been very reliable.

Also:
MacBook Pro 14" or 16" -- 2021

 

[JustAnExpat]

DO BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2020
MacBook Pro 16" -- 2019 and later.
These have the new "magic" (scissors) keyboards, as did the 2015 and earlier MBPs. These keyboards have been very reliable.

Also:
MacBook Pro 14" or 16" -- 2021

Good list. But, I would put the "MacBook Pro 16", 2019 and later" on a "MAYBE" list, if you get it on a very good deal. Those things overheat like crazy.

 

[hel22]

MacBook air 2022 M2 is worth to buy refurbished from Apple itself?

 

[JustAnExpat]

MacBook air 2022 M2 is worth to buy refurbished from Apple itself?

Probably. What are your plans for it?

 

[KevinCyrus]

I would recommend you find a buddy who work for apple, and buy apple refurbished products with discount. it sounds like a great deal and maybe the best deal for me. sometime you can just got a M2 13 inch MBA for nearly $600.