Liquid damage

I also found on ifixit that the cost of a top assembly is indeed $500. I'm just not a 100% sure if in a liquid spill scenario this replacement is always strictly necessary.

You know what actually strikes me as odd. If you look up the top assembly on ifixit you find that it consists of the aluminum case of the macbook, the keyboard, the trackpad and the battery.

Now, obviously the case can be easily cleaned. The keyboard is in all likelihood ****** in any case. And the battery and trackpad *might* be ****** but don't have to be.

I'm just a little suspicious when a repairmen sais it's 100% certain all these parts need to be replaced as a $500 assembly unit without even opening it when possibly a $50 keyboard replacement would suffice.

Edit: I just learned that the Apple designed the top case of the late 2012 model in such a way as to require a the entire top assembly to be replaced when the battery needs to be replaced. Keyboard also appears to be extremely hard to replace on this model.

Sounds like a near total loss (depending on where you bought it). Well, I guess now I wait. When I go back to discuss options I'll be sure to ask to talk to the technician. Good tip @Ogelthorpe

Just wondering: the people who had water damage repaired, was there any kind of warranty on that? I mean if you shell out big bucks to repair a Mac (that was under warranty and now isn't anymore), do you get any kind of guarantee that it'll work or is it "hope for the best"? Would be a shame to pay your $1.2k and find out a month later that it breaks down after all

Thanks. At the end of the day, I wonder why Apple doesn't design a protection that doesn't allow any liquid that enters the keyboard from getting to the vital components. On a laptop as expensive as this it should be a question of just replacing the keyboard. This is very common problem with devastating results and of course it's possible to engineer a solution. Just like the MagSafe solved the problem of people tripping over wires and damaging the power plug, or designing a Samsumg S5 to survive a drop in the water, so the keyboard should be in an enclosed compartment with minimal entries to the mainboard that are protected against liquid. It's probably not even that hard to do. You just gotta put your mind to it

I understand that point but the people at Apple are very smart, so I think it's all about making a choice.

If Apple decides, we're going to liquid proof our devices so that they are more likely to survive common accidents, it's going to happen. Until the Samsung S5, dropping a Samsung in the water meant it was over. Now, it isn't anymore. The S5 is one of the thinnest devices in the line yet, more power, more everything. It's just a matter of choice. Yes, there will be engineering challenges but no way anyone can tell me that it's not possible. As I'm typing this, my gf tripped over the power chord. Glad Apple made the choice to design a solution for that way back.

Nice, just got the repair offer and in stead of $500 for the top case here that was stated when I brought it in, in Brasil they charge $1030 for that same part making it a total loss.

One thing I noticed in the repair offer I got is that it said that the replaced part would go back to Apple. In this case that would be the top assembly, including the aluminum case, the keyboard, trackpad and the battery.

It just seems that there's quite a bit of refurbishing value here. If it's just the keyboard that's damaged, and you have another assembly with a damaged battery, presto! That's one shiny refurbished ($575 new including trackpad) top assembly. I mean, given the excessive parts pricing, I wouldn't mind getting a discount based on that returned part. Or better yet, I wouldn't mind being able to choose a cheaper refurbished part in stead of a completely new one.