Can I afford a laptop?

[Mr Mark]

Old thread, but fyi. My son wanted a mac for college. A friend suggested Craig's list for a second hand macbook. Mac owners tend to be careful, well off, and upgrade often, she said. So around Xmas, you can get a 2 yr old machine at half price.

Hmmm. I thought. Asked the IT guy at work. He recommended MacBook pro post late 2009 with the duo core and that they were still pretty impressive machines. Don't get the air, as it's a big plastic sandwich that can, t be fixed or upgraded.

Went on Craig's list after discussing with my son. Found a nearby guy, late 2010 MacBook pro, upgraded to 8 GB and a 500GBP hard drive. Not a scratch. Original box, manuals and windows office 2011... $750.

Did the deal in starbucks, and he's super happy. Fast and a sweet machine.

Half price of new.

I used a checklist from the net on what to look for, test, etc. Took about 15 mins. But you could tell right away he didn't get the original box from the back of a car.

Would really recommend this.

[NumberJohnny5]

Ok, you really really want the retina display?  Get a used/refurbished iPad.  Still need something with a bit more oomph for heavy processing tasks?  Get a cheap(er) laptop, mac or pc (whatever has the apps you need).  Heck, you can get a macbook and dualboot with Windows (will have to provide your own windows license).  Now you have a laptop and a tablet for less than the $1,600 price you were looking at, with much more functionality.

Just don't fall TOO much in love with Apple, I hear it can be quite an expensive habit.

[grantmeaname]

Old thread, but fyi. My son wanted a mac for college. A friend suggested Craig's list for a second hand macbook. Mac owners tend to be careful, well off, and upgrade often, she said. So around Xmas, you can get a 2 yr old machine at half price.

Hmmm. I thought. Asked the IT guy at work. He recommended MacBook pro post late 2009 with the duo core and that they were still pretty impressive machines. Don't get the air, as it's a big plastic sandwich that can, t be fixed or upgraded.

Went on Craig's list after discussing with my son. Found a nearby guy, late 2010 MacBook pro, upgraded to 8 GB and a 500GBP hard drive. Not a scratch. Original box, manuals and windows office 2011... $750.

Did the deal in starbucks, and he's super happy. Fast and a sweet machine.

Half price of new.

I used a checklist from the net on what to look for, test, etc. Took about 15 mins. But you could tell right away he didn't get the original box from the back of a car.

Would really recommend this.

I just scored one of these babies for $400--craigslist is really an incredible place for knowledgeable computer buyers. $750 is a good deal for a two-year-old macbook only in the context of macbook prices -- it's still pretty expensive for having to deal with craigslist and uncertainty to get a computer. They do tend to be good computers owned by people with an incessant upgrade itch, though -- I'll give your friend that.

And regarding the air: your friend is right about its total lack of repairability, but I'm confused why he thinks the other macbooks are better. You just as thoroughly can't do anything with a unibody macbook pro or macbook as you can't do anything with an air.