I need to buy a MBP my budget is up to $700 .

[terry007]

I m looking to purchase a used MBP I would prefer a 15 " because its easier to see what I am editing .
I read that I should avoid 2016 to 2019 is this true? Lots of confusing information on the net

I did find two possibilities for $600 each

The 2018 comes with new battery and logic board
2.2GHz Six-core Intel Core i7
16GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
256GB

or

2015 Series Macbook Pro 15" Retina 2.5,16GB .512GB SSD
AppleCare just replaced the entire bottom case-- Keyboard, Trackpad, Battery and Logic Board!!

Thank you

 

[ilikewhey]

yes, avoid 2016-2018 like a plague, these butterfly keyboards are basically designed to fail, to replace one key is to replace the entire top case which apple charge something like 600 bucks.

for 700 bucks, and if you can go smaller, definitely get a m1 macbook air. plug in a external monitor and use it in clamshell if you are desk bound anyway.

 

[Fishrrman]

Fishrrman's rules for used MacBook buying:

DO NOT BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 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

 

[dizmonk]

yes, avoid 2016-2018 like a plague, these butterfly keyboards are basically designed to fail, to replace one key is to replace the entire top case which apple charge something like 600 bucks.

for 700 bucks, and if you can go smaller, definitely get a m1 macbook air. plug in a external monitor and use it in clamshell if you are desk bound anyway.

100% this... I'd stay away from Intel macs these days. Despite the smaller screen, the m1 is going to be better supported, with better battery life and you probably could grab a base m1 air for that price.

 

[parlem]

I'd buy an M1 MacBook Air, refurbished if possible. Stay away from Intel. It's the past.

 

[phrehdd]

I don't know if this helps but here you go - muti core and single core using Mactracker

 

[ChelseaDrew]

I m looking to purchase a used MBP I would prefer a 15 " because its easier to see what I am editing .
I read that I should avoid 2016 to 2019 is this true? Lots of confusing information on the net

I did find two possibilities for $600 each

The 2018 comes with new battery and logic board
2.2GHz Six-core Intel Core i7
16GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
256GB

or

2015 Series Macbook Pro 15" Retina 2.5,16GB .512GB SSD
AppleCare just replaced the entire bottom case-- Keyboard, Trackpad, Battery and Logic Board!!

Thank you

Look at front page of this site. If you can afford $100 more I'd say that is your best bet. M1 Air for $799.

 

[MBAir2010]

OWC macsales sell MacBooks and even Pros!
this prices are very good, reliable service, warrantees, good battery life
and better price and service than ebuy™ and they include ram-ssd upgrades.

 

[TSE]

I would not get anything with Intel. You can surely find a used MacBook Air or MacBook Pro M1 for $700 or less.

 

[MPclk2006]

yes, avoid 2016-2018 like a plague, these butterfly keyboards are basically designed to fail, to replace one key is to replace the entire top case which apple charge something like 600 bucks.

for 700 bucks, and if you can go smaller, definitely get a m1 macbook air. plug in a external monitor and use it in clamshell if you are desk bound anyway.

I've had the 2017 since early 2018 and never had an issue with the keyboard, recently I am having issues with the battery dying after it's been plugged in and I unplug it but then if I turn it back on it shows almost full battery.

 

[ilikewhey]

I've had the 2017 since early 2018 and never had an issue with the keyboard, recently I am having issues with the battery dying after it's been plugged in and I unplug it but then if I turn it back on it shows almost full battery.

you must be in the minority, i had a 2016 mbp, 2018 mbp, all had keyboard issues at one point or another.

 

[MBAir2010]

I would not get anything with Intel. You can surely find a used MacBook Air or MacBook Pro M1 for $700 or less.

both my Intel MacBooks are working fine, not as cool as the M1, but still can function in 2023
but I would not trust a used MacBook M1 for under $700 shipping and tax
because there might be something wrong with the Macbook, meaning they are not perfect.
this is tough advice and for an extra $300 they can get a brand spankin' new MBA
and wait until then somehow.

Many users and makers here love their MacBook Airs from 2012-2017 and they feature 8GB RAM
the ssd drive can b upgraded and the newer ones run Monterey, which should last longer
support-wise than Catalina.

 

[h.gilbert]

As the others say, avoid Macbook Pros from 2016 to 2019. On top of the keyboard issue they have a flexgate issue where the cables for display and camera break over time because they were too short (may only be an issue for 2016/17 models, 2018/19 models fixed this issue I think).

I have one such 2016 Macbook Pro. I had a keyboard replaced once and a new screen because of the broken display cables. Now, 2 years later my camera cable has broken again so I can't use the camera at all. The display cable will probably break soon.

And also, like many others said, I think it's very much worth sacrificing the 15" requirement and getting one with Apple silicone because of better performance, battery life, and likely longer support. The cheapest would be the Macbook Air 2020 which comes with Apple's first computer chip, the M1. You could always get an external display down the road when you get the cash.

 

[dizmonk]

The other day, Amazon had an m1 macbook air on sale for $799. Best Buy probably has some open-box models.

 

[DaveEcc]

During the start of butterfly-keyboard era, I thought people must be exaggerating how bad it was. The next time I was near an Apple Store I tried typing the "The quick brown fox..." text on the display models. Not a single machine had a working keyboard.

The Apple Store may not be able to keep things in absolutely pristine condition, but it's not like people are eating toast over top of them in a store. You're mostly just going to get minor everyday dust and fine debris... and it was enough to make these machines unusable.

 

[orionquest]

People offering advice on M1 Macbook Air

I m looking to purchase a used MBP I would prefer a 15 " because its easier to see what I am editing .

Context is important, right in the first sentence..

Good advice given already on what to avoid because of keyboards.

 

[zorinlynx]

Fishrrman's rules for used MacBook buying:

DO NOT BUY:
MacBook Pro 13" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
MacBook Pro 15" -- 2016, 2017, 2018, 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

It's wild how there's an entire generation of "cursed" Macbooks. I used an older-than-I-wanted Macbook for several years just to avoid that generation, hoping that Apple would finally fix the keyboard again, and they did.

I still wonder what they were thinking. Those keyboards had terrible feel, too. They brought absolutely nothing new of value to the platform compared to the older design. Thankfully Apple made the right choice in the end.

 

[ilikewhey]

It's wild how there's an entire generation of "cursed" Macbooks. I used an older-than-I-wanted Macbook for several years just to avoid that generation, hoping that Apple would finally fix the keyboard again, and they did.

I still wonder what they were thinking. Those keyboards had terrible feel, too. They brought absolutely nothing new of value to the platform compared to the older design. Thankfully Apple made the right choice in the end.

same here, hence why i stuck with my 2015 mbp til i jump to the m1 platform.

 

[Fishrrman]

zor wrote:
"I still wonder what they were thinking. Those keyboards had terrible feel, too. They brought absolutely nothing new of value to the platform compared to the older design. Thankfully Apple made the right choice in the end."

Although I have no direct evidence, I sense this is one of the reasons Jony Ive is no longer with Apple...

 

[pshufd]

I'd get a 2014 or 2015 MacBook Pro which should run about $200 - $250. Make sure that the battery was replaced within the past 2 years. Use the remaining money to save up for an Apple Silicon MacBook Pro down the road.