Buying Suggestion on buying Used MacBook Pro

kvnMac,

I bought my 13-inch Core 2 Duo Mid 2010 MacBook Pro used from a private seller. The one difficulty with my purchase was that the seller included the wrong set of grey installation DVDs with it, and he didn’t have the proper set for it among his collection of grey installation DVDs, so I had to purchase a replacement set of grey DVDs for it elsewhere. If you’re not comfortable with troubleshooting a computer in case of problems, then you might prefer purchasing a refurbished model from Apple, an authorized reseller, or a reliable local refurbisher; it’s not likely that a private seller will offer support to you in case of problems beyond “dead on arrival”.

For personal documentation, browsing, and e-mails, an older MacBook Pro would be fine. For movie watching, do you mean watching online, watching on DVDs, or both? My guess is that an older model would be fine for both kinds of watching as well, but I’m not much of a movie watcher myself, so I’ll let others comment on that. For these purposes, the amount of RAM is probably more important than which CPU it has. My MacBook Pro has a 1280 × 800 display, and I find it enough for my needs; if you have a nearby used computer store in which you can see the 1440 × 900 and 1680 × 1050 displays side by side, that might help you to decide which one you would prefer. The 15-inch displays also come in glossy and matte finishes; some people have strong preferences one way or the other. My 13-inch display only comes in a glossy finish, and for me, it’s fine.

If you prefer a 15-inch display, then you should avoid the 15-inch Mid 2010 model — this particular model is known to have a defect with its NVIDIA graphics card, and Apple no longer services this defect gratis.

My preference was for a model that came with grey installation DVDs; the more recent models (Late 2011 and newer) come from the factory with their reïnstallation software on a hidden part of the internal hard disk, and in case of trouble with that part of the hard disk, or upon replacement with a new hard disk, one can reïnstall the OS over the Internet from Apple servers. If you live in an area with excellent Internet service, then the Internet recovery feature of the newer models could be preferable to you. I don’t, so I preferred having the DVDs, so that I could reïnstall as needed without depending upon Internet access.

As far as a preferred OS version, mine originally came with Snow Leopard, and currently has Mavericks on it, and both have been good in my experience. (Some people on the Mavericks forum here have reported problems with the Mail application, but I don’t use it, so those problems haven’t affected my usage.) I haven’t tried either Lion or Mountain Lion, so I can’t comment on those versions. If you have a particular software package that you would like to use, that might help to form a more definitive idea of which OS would be best for you.

You can get perfectly good machines through Craigslist - though the prices aren't necessarily competitive with better machines. eBay can sell equally nice machines, but good shopping skills will work to your advantage. That's why I'm bullish about going the Apple refurb route: the machines are top quality - as good as, and often better than brand new models. Full year warranty. I can't speak for the reliability of refurbs from other sellers.

11 and 13" MBPs are pretty reliable. The same is the true of most 15" models, but the mid-2010 and Spring 2011 batches should be avoided because of possible problems with the logic/graphics board. Certain of the 2007-8 run had the aforementioned NVIDIA issue.

If you're getting the 15" MBP, your heat should never exceed 160F at any time, for whatever reason.

i5 vs i7 isn't going to make a lot of difference in speed, but swapping out the drive for a SSD makes a lot of sense: booting a typical HD is around 35 seconds, while an SSD is maybe ten seconds, with overall heat reduction and better performance.

My advice is to be sure, if you buy used, get a Square Trade warranty, or the like. I bought a used 2007 MacBook Pro on eBay in September. Got it home and had issues with it, right away. The video chip went out and the logic board was history and had to be replaced. The fans were shot, as well (no mention of this in the auction listing). I luckily purchased a Square Trade warranty and it covered all the repairs. With out the warranty, I would not have had the money to have the repairs done, although, Square Trade would have given me back, the money I paid for it.

Shop carefully for used laptops. 🙂

Good advice about the Square Trade warranty. One reason someone might be selling their machine prematurely is to get rid of a lemon; without a warranty, you may not have a recourse.

The only time in my life I have ever been scammed was trying to buy a Macbook from Craigslist. Granted, the warning signs were there, mainly that it was a wire transfer, which is the classic indicator of a scam. I was stupid, but it soured me on buying any high priced item off of Craigslist. I would go with an Apple refurb or Amazon from someone with a high seller rating as the other poster said. The best thing about buying directly from Apple is that you have their warranties, which you may not have with a 3rd party seller. Also, if there are any Apple authorized sellers in your area, then I would visit them too. Hope that helps. Oh, and on this forum it goes without saying, but buy the Mac. 🙂

I would avoid the mid-2010 unless you can get it tested by an Apple repair facility. That's the only way to detect the video switching defect. I just found out about this when my mid-2010 started having regular kernel panics. Check out my thread here.

7 kernal panics on Quicken website!

I have bought three Mac towers from eBay, and got good working machines each time, although one needed to have new heat sink compound applied. I would be more leery of buying a laptop second-hand, unless I knew the seller, simply because laptops are easier to damage by dropping or spilling liquid on them. If I were going to try to get a MacBook Pro on eBay, I would refine the search by location, searching for nearest first. Depending on where you live, this could mean that the seller will let you pick up the machine, which gives you a chance to inspect it a bit, and also eliminates the risk of the seller doing a poor job of packing and shipping. Obviously you have to be careful about where you meet potential sellers, especially if you deal with Craigs List.

You could also check out the Low End Mac Swap List.

If you don't need the portability of a laptop, you could get a Mini and a decent monitor for less money.

You can certainly get a Windows laptop for less, even factoring in antivirus software, etc.