Is it worthy to buy a preowned MacBook Pro 16 inch?

HiyaThereLovely wrote:

So I found a preowned base model type intel 16 inch MacBook Pro for only about $500. It's in all good condition. Should I buy it?

Absolutely not.

First of all, never buy a used Mac. Absolutely never. Maybe it's had liquid damage. Maybe it has an iCloud lock. Maybe it has an MDM lock. Maybe it has a bad logic board and kernel panics on a regular basis. No way to tell which is going to happen in this case, but it will definitely be one of those.

Secondly, even if it were new and still in the box I would tell you not to buy it. It's Intel. Those are dead, dead, dead.

I feel like it's a very good deal. My budget is around $1000ish.

If your budget is around $1000ish, then that probably means you don't have another $1000ish to spend in 4 months, or 36 months when this computer dies or can no longer be updated.

A much better idea would be to purchase a refurbished Mac directly from Apple: Refurbished Mac Deals - Apple

There, $1000ish would get you a 15-inch MacBook Air Apple M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU. That's the computer I'm using right now. It's slightly faster than my top-of-the-line 2020 M1 MacBook Pro. It crazy faster than my old Intel Mac. That MacBook Air will be fully supported for years to come.

MacBook Pro 16” Intel 2019 tends to have a higher-than-average failure rate, based both on my experience with it, and on reports from another here with experience.

It’s also the previous architecture, and will lack Apple Intelligence among other features.

Unless you need Intel for native boot of Microsoft Windows x86-64 or such, I’d go with Apple silicon models only.

HiyaThereLovely wrote:

So I found a preowned base model type intel 16 inch MacBook Pro for only about $500. It's in all good condition. Should I buy it? I feel like it's a very good deal. My budget is around $1000ish.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

I am guessing that this would be for a 2019 MacBook Pro 16-inch? That is an older Intelmodel, but it will be able to run Sequoia, the latest MacOS. But it is much slower than the newer silicon Macs. Also, according to what I have read, that model with the T2 chip is prone to various hardware failures. I should also say that my daughter and I each use 2019 16-inch MacBook Pros which we purchased new and have had no issues.

I would NEVER buy a used or refurbished Mac sight unseen, unless I can access it, test it out, and run some extended tests. And I would never buy one from eBay or other online sources, with the following exceptions where I would buy online:

• Apple refurbished units with warranty and return guarantee
• OWC refurbished units with warranty and return guarantee

I noticed OWC is offering this model for $579 with warranty and 14-day return no questions asked.

For me, the ideal way to get a refurbished Mac would be from a local Apple Authorized Service Provider where I could physically examine and test it before purchasing, with a 14-day return policy and a warranty of at least 90 days included. Second best if not in person would be the two I mention above.

If you are considering buying from a private owner/seller, ask yourself: why would they be selling such a computer? What is wrong with it? Our MacBook Pros 16-inch 2019 are running great and are still quite fast and usable. My sense is that generally, these devices are sold at low prices when something is wrong with them. I would never sell mine, it works too well. The worst would be the device just doesn't work; but also insidious is intermittent problems that might not be apparent until after in use for weeks or months. My employer requires replacement of our laptops after 3 years, and for good reason, the likelihood of expensive repairs goes up significantly after 3 years.

So I would be very wary of a $500 MacBook Pro unless purchased under the scenarios I outline above.

P.S. As etresoft explained, you can do a lot better with $1000, he gave examples, including their personal experience with some models.

Also, rereading your post more closely, I see you say it is a "base model." Well, Apple sells brand new base model M2 MacBook Airs for $999 and base model M3 MacBook Airs for $1099. These come with full warranties, would be something like 4x or 5x faster than an Intel 2019 model, and ... they are brand new, versus a 5-year old computer whose hardware is likely starting to wear out. They are also using the far superior newer silicon architecture, versus the older Intel systems.

It's really up to you. If you expect that it will meet your needs now and for a reasonable time to come, then it may be worth it. Keep in mind, however, that depending on which exact model it is, it probably won't support the latest version of macOS (and quite possibly not the last version either), and almost certainly won't support the next major version.

I would strongly suggest that unless this Mac is being sold by someone you know personally, you buy only if you can examine it yourself to verify that it's not locked and that it's working as claimed, or can be bought through a site like eBay that offers buyer protection. Otherwise there are too many possibilities of a scam.

Regards.

Another potential consideration here is when Apple might announce new Macs. Those announcement tend to bring another crop of now-older models onto the used-equipment market, as well as usually creating some refurb availability from Apple and others.