Repair broken MBP 2018 or get a new one?

[gyrus_dentatus]

Hi!

So, I poured a glass of water over my MacBook Pro 15" (2018, 16GB Ram, i7 Intel processor, Radeon pro graphics card) the other day. It still turns on, but none of the USB ports work anymore and the screen keeps turning on and off again randomly. Apple says it will cost around 1.6k Euro to fix it.

My dilemma is now that I do not know if i should suck it up and get it repaired or get a new MB instead. My broken MBP is still fast enough for the things I use it for (mainly data analysis with MatLab, Python and R), so I would not need a new one per se. But for 1.6k I could nearly get one of the newer M1 13" MBPs, which seems like the smarter move compared to getting an older model fixed.

I know that the newer models are supposed to be quite fast and efficient, but would I even gain performance (or maybe even loose) for my use-cases by upgrading to a newer model (I am not doing machine learning ... yet)? I guess I would not be able to run Windows with a M1 model as well (I do not rely on Windows heavily, but it is nice to have)? I guess even if I go for one of the newer models it would not make much sense to get it now, but wait for this years models, which are supposedly being announced soon?

 

[usagora]

Hi!

So, I poured a glass of water over my MacBook Pro 15" (2018, 16GB Ram, i7 Intel processor, Radeon pro graphics card) the other day. It still turns on, but none of the USB ports work anymore and the screen keeps turning on and off again randomly. Apple says it will cost around 1.6k Euro to fix it.

My dilemma is now that I do not know if i should suck it up and get it repaired or get a new MB instead. My broken MBP is still fast enough for the things I use it for (mainly data analysis with MatLab, Python and R), so I would not need a new one per se. But for 1.6k I could nearly get one of the newer M1 13" MBPs, which seems like the smarter move compared to getting an older model fixed.

I know that the newer models are supposed to be quite fast and efficient, but would I even gain performance (or maybe even loose) for my use-cases by upgrading to a newer model (I am not doing machine learning ... yet)? I guess I would not be able to run Windows with a M1 model as well (I do not rely on Windows heavily, but it is nice to have)? I guess even if I go for one of the newer models it would not make much sense to get it now, but wait for this years models, which are supposedly being announced soon?

If none of your USB ports work and your screen is on the blink (literally), I'm not sure how you can hold out for something that's not released yet unless you have a backup system you're using. I'd say go for the M1 13" MPB if you're all right with losing the screen real estate. Definitely wouldn't pay 1.6k Euro to repair a used Mac if the difference between that and a new MPB is not much, as you say.

 

[Fishrrman]

$1.6 thousand Euro?
Nope, not worth it.

Put that money towards a replacement instead.

Sounds like you're in the "I need it NOW, so I've got to BUY it now" position.
(in other words, you may not be able to wait until the upcoming MBP 14" and 16" models are released)...

 

[gyrus_dentatus]

Thanks for your opinions! Yeah, my gut was also telling me that blowing 1.6 thousand on a repair might be a bit ridiculous. But nice to have some confirmation on that

The hotline person initially quoted around 750€ for the repair, which I would have been fine with, but the technician seems to think they have to replace the logic board, which makes the whole thing more than twice as expensive, apparently.

I luckily have an old Windows machine lying around, which I can use in the meantime. It is not optimal, but I guess good enough to keep working on my thesis until the new MB models are announced.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

Ohh sorry to hear that. Perhaps there's a 3rd party maccentric shop that replaces on a component level? It's what I did over a decade ago, MBP was in its last year of Apple Care and warranty was refused. So I went from an Apple quote similar to yours, to 1/5th of the price repaired. Typing on it right now actually.