Upgrading Black MacBook from 1st to 3rd gen?

Hi guys!

Need some advice...

Got a Black MacBook (1st generation, CoreDuo 2 Ghz, HD 80 Gig, RAM 1.256 Gig), in a month the 1 year warranty expires...

a) should I buy the Apple Care Protection Plan to extend the warranty for 2 other years (that means 319 Eur)?

b) should I trade my 1st gen Mac for the latest one (3rd gen, Black, CoreDuo2, HD 160 Gig, RAM 1 Gig, faster wi-fi and double layer DVD recorder): my Apple Store asks 460 Eur to make the deal

c) should I stay with my trusty 1st gen and not buy any warranty extension (maybe upgrading the HD to 160 Gig for about 120 Eur)?

Any advice is appreciated, but the temptation to make the jump to the new little jewel is very strong )

Ciao!

Sergio

 

I don't know, that seems like a lot of money for what would essentially just be a hard drive update and optical drive update and wifi update.

I guess the question is, how much do those things matter to you...... because honestly, the CPU upgrade I don't think would make any real noticeable difference.

Personally I would use that same money to just buy a bigger hard drive and more RAM for my current MacBook.

WHat specifically is tempting you about the updated model? Because outside of specs, it isn't going to really be noticeably different. It looks the same, will perform generally the same, etc.

Regarding the AppleCare, it's usually not a bad idea, because it can come in handy if something does go wrong down the road. But it's really ultimately a personal decision.

Granted, if you do want to do that, that isn't necessarily a terrible price..... you'd probably end up sacrificing about that much anyway if you tried to sell your current MacBook yourself and then had to pay the difference to buy a new one.

Honestly if I were in your position I'd stick with what I had, maybe buy a new HD and more RAM, but that's it. I'd wait for a real noticeable update to the MacBook, unless the current one really isn't suiting your needs (i.e. you really need dual layer burning, or you really need 802.11n wireless).

-Zadillo

 

Considering the difference between the applecare extension and the upgrade to the 3G macbook is about 200.00... I think I'd have to recomend going with the upgrade.

 

Ahh, I didn't see that was part of the question I guess..... so the idea is, rather than extending the current MacBook's warranty, getting an udpated MacBook without AppleCare?

Still not sure I quite see the point in that (the upgraded MacBook would either need or not need AppleCare just the same).

 

has your macbook broke during its first year? if not then there is a good chance that if your're using like you always use it (careful with it, not moving around much), then it will last a long time.

if it does broke down during its first year, and you think it gonna broke down again then by all mean get the APP.

 

Well, a new macbook will get you another 1 year warranty. Buy it with a credit card that extends your warranty and that could be a two year warranty.

 

How much was the Macbook? and how much would be a new one without the trade-in? I'd say that between purchasing AppleCare at that price and trading, I would trade, but it depends on the price of a new one.

 

I understand how you can get a new MacBook for the price of AppleCare, but I think its better to just stick to the original MacBook. One, buying AppleCare will give you unlimited calls to AppleCare (limited warranty only gets you one call within first 90 calls), and I don't think that the little updates that are occuring to the MacBook are worth the extra money when you could just use the cash to get AppleCare.

Because after all, when the limited warranty of the second MacBook expires, will you trade that in for the next gen MacBook again? Then you'd just be spending close to $300 every year, while you could spend $300 for an extra two years of good warranty and service.

 

Hey guys,

many thanks for giving me your support with my decision

Yes the differences between 1st and 3rd generation aren't that much and don't mean a lot for my kind of use; the reason why I was tempted to go for the 3rd gen was the "only" 140 Eur to add to the Apple Care 2 years extension plan to get it (but basically postponing the choice if extending the warranty to the next year...).
Apart a little (and solved) problem with the mag-safe plug, my trusty 1st gen MacBook has always done great, so maybe "risking" and not going to extend the warranty and keeping it until something more radically better comes out shouldn't be that bad idea...

Need some sleep to think about it!!!

Ciao for now

Sergio

 

Hi guys!

It was and hard decision, but in the end I opted to keep my trusty Black MacBook 1st gen and bought the AppleCare extended +2yr warranty (I've found a good deal for 277 Eur from my local e-store against the 319 Eur from Apple Store).

After all, it served me well for 1 year, and it was not fair to give it away so soon

Thanks for all your suggestions

Ciao

Sergio