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How Often Should You Upgrade Your Macbook Pro to Maximize Re-Sale Value and Out of Pocket Expenses? (M1 Max to M3 Max Worth It?)

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lionfleet

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 11, 2012
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I'm considering selling my M1 Max to upgrade to the new M3 Max.

What do you guys think is the OPTIMAL Macbook Pro upgrade schedule that maximizes re-sale value of your old mac and decreases out of pocket costs when buying a new Macbook?

Do you feel it's most cost-effective to upgrade every year? Every 2 years? 3?

I always try to get a new mac no later than 3 years after purchase to stay current with the latest tech and keep my battery fresh... so it's hard for me to wait 4 or more years.

I typically sell my old Macbook and buy a new one so I'm only out of pocket on the difference of the cost of the new computer compared to what I sold it for.

Do you guys feel like right now is the optimal time to sell your old M1 Max to maximize re-sale value? Or is it worth waiting one more year for the M4?

Anybody watch re-sale prices closely and know what upgrade schedule yields the best bang for your buck?
 
if you are just looking on minimize out of pocket costs, the longer you wait the better.

the first 2 years the product will lose more than half of the value. and then slower and slower to a point were it kind of stays constant at a low level. . this is also the case for imacs, ipads and iphones.
 
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Interesting point and I've seen a few people say they sweet spot is around 3 years but I can't remember the math on it.

I just watched MKBHD video and he said he doesn't need to upgrade his max but might want to because of the matt black colour option.

I'm still using a 2014 iMac 27 inch and it does everything I need except 4k. This is the longest I've ever kept a machine and I don't mind it if I'm honest. This will become my daughters computer when I change it which is soon, which will replace her 2010 iMac which was my previous iMac. I also have a 2008 iMac that still works and my plan is to be one of the old Macs that sells in auction guys 40 years from now lol. Wish we looked after our laptops better as they've never survived :-(
 
The 3 years are probably mentioned cos of Apple care running out and the chance of paying high repair costs after that.

But thats a different equation and only apple or repair centers can answer the statistics behind.
 
A few days before the event, I checked the trade in value on my own 14 inch MBP ($2499 M1 model) and it was at $1035 which I thought was fairly decent. I expected that to drop significantly after the presentation but to my surprise it actually went up slightly to $1055 which for a 2 year old used computer is pretty decent.

I know Apple sometimes boosts trade value's on past models temporarily to encourage upgrades so I'm not sure if this value will stick.
 
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Although I haven't done the calculations, I would assume that companies are going to always make it more profitable for them to have you upgrade sooner rather than later. For you as the consumer then, it is never going to be a better deal for you to upgrade sooner even when taking into account the trade-in value a company would give to you.

The longer you stick with a device, the more the cost of the device will spread out over time and therefore overall cost is lower for you.
 
I 2nd the 3 years. I'm also only buying the M3 because of the matte black and plan to keep for at least 3 years.
 
I checked the trade in value for my M1 Max MacBook Pro before and after the event and it increased by $30 to $1560 after the event.

Since trade in values seem pretty consistent year-to-year, you can factor in the value gained by having a faster computer (assuming this is a business expense).
 
I was hoping for a price drop of the 16" M1 pro to the last Intel in the refurb store (1719€) . It was 2019€ but now it went up to 2029€. Can't remember of that.
The new M3 starts at 2999. so for a refurb 2 years old machine the 30% discount is not attracting me.
Just saw on ebay the day before the event a good machine go for 1450.
 
lionfleet said:
I'm considering selling my M1 Max to upgrade to the new M3 Max.

What do you guys think is the OPTIMAL Macbook Pro upgrade schedule that maximizes re-sale value of your old mac and decreases out of pocket costs when buying a new Macbook?

Do you feel it's most cost-effective to upgrade every year? Every 2 years? 3?

I always try to get a new mac no later than 3 years after purchase to stay current with the latest tech and keep my battery fresh... so it's hard for me to wait 4 or more years.

I typically sell my old Macbook and buy a new one so I'm only out of pocket on the difference of the cost of the new computer compared to what I sold it for.

Do you guys feel like right now is the optimal time to sell your old M1 Max to maximize re-sale value? Or is it worth waiting one more year for the M4?

Anybody watch re-sale prices closely and know what upgrade schedule yields the best bang for your buck?
Click to expand...
A variant on what others have said: the best option is to (A) buy a gently used last-gen Mac, (B) use that Mac until it's dead or just incapable of running the apps you require at the power/efficiency levels you require, and (C) sell that Mac for a little bit and buy the last-gen Mac available at the time (which should be in like 8+ years if you keep your Mac in good condition and/or aren't a professional who needs every second of performance to make the most money at your job).

I had a used 2015 MacBook Pro until I upgraded to the 2021 MacBook Pro (M1 Pro) in 2022, so I got a solid 7~ years out of my last Mac. I would have spent more money if I had been upgrading every 3 years trying to stay current.
 
Speed is no longer an issue with the Apple Silicon. I'm just waiting for the next redesign. For example if the notch is changed to Dynamic Island or Face ID is added.
 
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lionfleet said:
I'm considering selling my M1 Max to upgrade to the new M3 Max.

What do you guys think is the OPTIMAL Macbook Pro upgrade schedule that maximizes re-sale value of your old mac and decreases out of pocket costs when buying a new Macbook?

Do you feel it's most cost-effective to upgrade every year? Every 2 years? 3?

I always try to get a new mac no later than 3 years after purchase to stay current with the latest tech and keep my battery fresh... so it's hard for me to wait 4 or more years.

I typically sell my old Macbook and buy a new one so I'm only out of pocket on the difference of the cost of the new computer compared to what I sold it for.

Do you guys feel like right now is the optimal time to sell your old M1 Max to maximize re-sale value? Or is it worth waiting one more year for the M4?

Anybody watch re-sale prices closely and know what upgrade schedule yields the best bang for your buck?
Click to expand...
Definitely not one year. My M2 Max MBP lost 61% of the value for trade-in in less than a year.
 
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maerz001 said:
the first 2 years the product will lose more than half of the value. and then slower and slower to a point were it kind of stays constant at a low level.
Click to expand...

which you could also interpret to mean that the sooner you trade it in the greater the cost recovery, but not necessarily the cheapest over a longer period of time.

Trade-in values can change drastically. My iMac Pro had a trade in value of over $3K. A few months later it had dropped to $600.
 
HDFan said:
which you could also interpret to mean that the sooner you trade it in the greater the cost recovery, but not necessarily the cheapest over a longer period of time.

Trade-in values can change drastically. My iMac Pro had a trade in value of over $3K. A few months later it had dropped to $600.
Click to expand...
No as it’s kind of a logarithmic curve. The biggest hit is as soon as you open the package.
As for all products.
 
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CrossCheckKing said:
Definitely not one year. My M2 Max MBP lost 61% of the value for trade-in in less than a year.
Click to expand...
Similar situation. Bought my M2 Max MBP in May 23. Fully loaded with 2TB SSD. Pretty surprised to see an upgrade so soon. Not overly thrilled. Would have waited.
 
HDFan said:
So the sooner you trade it in the less the loss.
Click to expand...
Look if your only point is to save money in the first place you shouldn’t buy it at all.
If you want to minimize price/„usage time“ than keep it as long as possible. buy a used model helps also.

Trade it in as soon as possible makes no sense except for Apples bank account.
 
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To someones earlier point, if you buy used, like a Best Buy open box (if you're in the US), you can potentially pick up a machine that's already been discounted 25-30%. If you flip the machine in 1-2 years, you'll probably only have taken a 20% hit and can upgrade again.

If you buy new and anywhere close to MSRP, there's no easy way to not lose 40-50% if you have it for very long.
 
In order to maximize resale value, you have to sell as soon as possible. But having to more frequently replace that thing you’re selling, you end up spending way more out of pocket. So optimization between the two is an impossible goal.

I think the curve in the depreciation is causing some confusion. The thinking may be that there is a best time to sell along that curve. But the only thing that curve does is make it financially even worse if you choose to resell early, because of that sudden drop in value in addition to buying a new device. So in that way, I suppose it creates “an optimal time” in that you just shouldn’t sell right after that drop if it can be helped. But still the longer you wait after that drop, the better. Because if it’s just about saving money, no matter if the depreciation is linear or curved, the longer you keep a device, the more you save.

I think what you really want to know is how do you gain as much improvements to the MacBook as possible while spending as little as possible. And that type of optimization is just a personal judgement call because it depends on how you assign value—both to improvements and to the dollar. But upgrading every year is probably still the worst value proposition for most, not only because of the sharp dollar value drop off but also because it’s the smallest incremental improvement to the MacBook.

For any optimization, you should wait as long as you’re willing. If it’s 3 years, then 3 years is your optimal.
 
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Norco said:
If you buy new and anywhere close to MSRP, there's no easy way to not lose 40-50% if you have it for very long.
Click to expand...
i wouldn’t call 2 years very long. Thats the time usually u can get it for 50% off.
The 16“ m1 i see now for that price used on ebay.

I usually buy all MB used:
1y old 13“ M1 pro for 30% off
4y old 15“ for 75% off
 
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