Replace or Repair Laptop?

[Gimesalot]

My husband's MacBook is dying.  We took it to the Apple store and we were told it needs a new power cell, hard drive, memory cradle, top cover, and bottom cover.  They will do the entire repair for $475 plus tax.  The issue is that the 2012 models have a known issue with the memory cradle, so this part will likely fail again within the nest few years.

I used to be a huge Apple/Mac fan years ago, but honestly, I haven't had a good experience with the durability of their products in at least 10 years.  I feel like since they have 2 to 3 year product cycles, they build everything to last at most 3 years so you'll upgrade.  Also, I hate that their designs now make it impossible to do a repair or upgrade yourself.

So now I need help deciding between getting a new computer or repairing the old one.  Issue complicating the matter are that my DH wants an actual laptop and it has to have a optical drive.

Are there any computer experts that can give me some guidance on the repair vs replace debate?

Thanks in advance

[EarthSurfer]

There is definitely a lot going on here! If new top & bottom covers are needed, this machine must have seen a lot of travel or rough handling. If the "memory cradle repair" includes a new / refurbished motherboard, it may be worth it. Otherwise, I wouldn't put $475 into a computer with that legacy.

If the computer must be a Mac, and an optical drive is a "requirement," I would look for a quality refurb from one of the vendors on Refurb.me https://www.refurb.me/en-us.

If access to an optical drive is occasional, I would purchase refurb MacBook Air 13 from Apple and either a 3rd party external USB optical drive or a refurb Apple SuperDrive.

Personally, I have put about $550 into DIY upgrades & repairs for my early 2011 MacBook Pro 15 refurb, and it continues to serve me well. (16GB DRAM, 1TB SSD, battery replacement, GPU repair reimbursed by Apple)  My MacBook does not travel often.

[Gimesalot]

There is definitely a lot going on here! If new top & bottom covers are needed, this machine must have seen a lot of travel or rough handling.  If the "memory cradle repair" includes a new / refurbished motherboard, it may be worth it. Otherwise, I wouldn't put $475 into a computer with that legacy.

According to the Apple Store, they can't replace any of the components inside without also installing new top and bottom covers.  To me, it looks almost new on the outside.  I will ask if that included a new motherboard.

If the computer must be a Mac

Doesn't need to be a Mac.  I just want something that is going to last a while longer than 3 years.

[ketchup]

I would not put $475 into a five year old laptop (especially if it has known problems that you're not 100% solving with that).  You could definitely get a recentish Dell Latitude or Lenovo Thinkpad for $475 or less.  Optical drive will be the tricky requirement if you go too recent; those are becoming less standard.  Is there a particular specific frequent use he has for one?

[Gimesalot]

Optical drive will be the tricky requirement if you go too recent; those are becoming less standard.  Is there a particular specific frequent use he has for one?

I know, this is what is making it really difficult to find something.  My husband likes to burn mix CDs and watch DVDs. 

I can't really bring up the subject of optical drives being old technology that is being phased out because he JUST turned 40 and he's still a little bothered by being "old".

[marielle]

You can get a portable read/write drive that plugs into USB. <$25 online.

[ketchup]

You can get a portable read/write drive that plugs into USB. <$25 online.

That's why I said frequent.  If it was infrequent that would work, but it'd be obnoxious to have that tethered to a laptop all the time.