What to look for in a used laptop ?

Hey guys,

I'm looking to get a 13 - 14" laptop. I'm new to apple, so I'm not sure which models translate into what years. I'm trying to find a good bargain, an entry level apple, that runs for a good while on battery, and can run snow leopard when it comes out. What models, or feature sets would you recommend looking for on E-bay etc ? What price ranges would be stellar for those ?

Thanks a ton in advance guys!

 

You'd want to make sure it's an Intel-based unit for one thing. Macbooks are 13" and Macbook Pros are either 15.4" or 17" with nothing in between (the Air is probably out of the question if you're on a tight budget).

The price difference between the MBs and the Pros can be steep even on the second hand market. If you get a second hand unit it would obviously be of great benefit to you if it has applecare still on it even for a few months so that you'd be covered if something all of a sudden dies on you after you receive it.

Go to this site and it gives you a relatively fair market price for second hand Macs.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'm looking to spend 500$ or less on it. This would be school only, so I would love to spend as little as I could, while maintaining a reasonable investment.

The applecare would be great. However, at my price range I don't think it would be feasible, I'll hold out hope however!

 

$500 might be tough, but by all means cruise eBay and Craiglist. If you're willing to consider a PC, you'll have a lot more good options. There's even some good ones for $500.

 

Its low, I know. It isn't a pressing concern so I'm planning on hunting for awhile.

 

Yeah, the OP would be much better off in that price range if they're looking for a windows-based notebook. The unfortunate part of macs (fortunate if you're a seller) is that the mac second hand market is very strong and hardware seems to depreciate little over time. I still am shocked at the number of interested emails/calls when I had my MBP for sale on Kijiji.

 

You can probably get an early white Macbook for $500.

 

I know this well. I just sold my Mac for more than I paid for it.

 

Im also wanting to buy used.. How do we know were not getting a lemon??

What kind of things do you check???

 

Definitely look for an Applecare'd machine if it's beyond a year old. Apples are comparatively (with similarly-then-priced machines from the Windows world) unreliable unless it's used by the lightest-duty of users.

 

I am sure you would want to look at a "used laptop" with all of the components in it