Any advice on buying a 2nd hand MacBook?

[rich83]

^
You getting another Mac, Rich?

Or is it to fund the bigger brakes and suspension you now need after your remap?  

Possibly a new mac 15" i7 

[monte]

£65 from Apple Store.....If I can prove Im gonna buy it 4college/Uni
^^^(any1 know of a way round this...I'm no student)

Does anyone know of any other deals on the MacBook Air?

....You have to show both your Student ID Card and your official Uni/College email address. It's quite rightly strict. Apple's edu discount is only about 10% and you still have to pay the wretched vat. Surely you're not scratching around just to save £26-£65. Buying warranty is far more important. Personally I would never buy from the likes of Currys and Tesco - A friend of mine used to work in sales at Curry's and he strongly advises against regarding longterm warranty.

AFAIK Robin the warranty is with apple, and Argos, Currys etc sell the extra AppleCare too. Argos actually have the AppleCare at £159 for the extra 2years

Would you advise going through the Applestore then Robin?
I take it, I can buy the AppleCare anytime during the first 12mths since the purchase date? From any retailer?

Thanks again 

[Ifti]

You can buy AppleCare from wherever you want within the first 12 months.
For example, I bought mine for my MacBook Pro when it was at 11 months, and I bought it from Amazon.

[RedRobin]

....You have to show both your Student ID Card and your official Uni/College email address. It's quite rightly strict. Apple's edu discount is only about 10% and you still have to pay the wretched vat. Surely you're not scratching around just to save £26-£65. Buying warranty is far more important. Personally I would never buy from the likes of Currys and Tesco - A friend of mine used to work in sales at Curry's and he strongly advises against regarding longterm warranty.

AFAIK Robin the warranty is with apple, and Argos, Currys etc sell the extra AppleCare too. Argos actually have the AppleCare at £159 for the extra 2years

Would you advise going through the Applestore then Robin?
I take it, I can buy the AppleCare anytime during the first 12mths since the purchase date? From any retailer?

Thanks again 

....Apple are notorious for not giving their resellers much profit margin, so if you are buying new you'd be better off buying from Apple direct because you'd be better looked after if any probs. My new iMac was Dead On Arrival and I'm very glad I bought direct!

Yes, you have 12 months from your purchase date to extend your warranty a further 2 years at any time so that it totals 3 years cover. I only ever buy from Apple so I don't know about other retailers.

[no golf clubs at all]

If you live near an Apple Store there is little benefit to buying elsewhere, as I have also discussed with you there is also the no quibble option of buying from Apple and returning for a full refund within 30 days.

Personally, I would just bite the bullet and go for it at Apple, but its easy for me to spend your money!  

Have you tried your local Gumtree yet? there may be some selling their last gen mac airs as many mourned the loss of the backlit keyboard and may be selling to get the new one with that cool feature. (just my 2p worth).

eg 2secs returned this in my local area...
http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/apple-macbook-air-11-64gb-bnib-latest-model-full-warranty/87597142

[monte]

Prob a silly question but if I go to the Apple store in Sheffield, what's the chances that they will have the upgraded MacBook air I want in stock?

Do they have all configurations in store?

I know I want 4GB RAM, 256GB SDD and i5 processor....but I'm still contemplating whether or not to get 11" or 13"

I like the idea of the bigger screen and battery of the 13
but also the portability of the 11.
 

I will see.

[RedRobin]

.
Difficult to know what they have in stock but they usually get what you need fairly quickly. The timing may depend on which country a unit is being built in. Apple use an international network and are pretty good at it and keeping you informed.

[Hendo]

Just out of interest why you going for the Air?

[rich83]

11" is way too small... especially if its your only computer. 13" is just about passable but 15.4" is absolute minimum in my  personal opinion.

[monte]

.
Difficult to know what they have in stock but they usually get what you need fairly quickly. The timing may depend on which country a unit is being built in. Apple use an international network and are pretty good at it and keeping you informed.

Thanks Robin I'm gonna go over to Sheffield Meadowhall Applestore today and have a good look!

[monte]

Just out of interest why you going for the Air?

I'm in love with the thing, silly I know.  But also it's everything I need, and the new models are very capable.

[monte]

11" is way too small... especially if its your only computer. 13" is just about passable but 15.4" is absolute minimum in my  personal opinion.

Thanks Rich, great answer! Just what I wanted to hear really. I was kinda thinking the same.... A little worried that the 11.6" would be too small as a main lappy.
My 15" DV6 was a good size, but I alwYs thought I would go smaller come changing time.
13.3" seems perfect 

[monte]

Sorry guys, one more question...

I know I would prob never notice the difference, but for an extra £100 should I be upgrading from the i5 to the i7 processor?

It's more money I could do without spending, but if I get the i5, am I gonna regret not upgrading when I had the chance?

[vRS Carl]

Get the best processor you can afford.

If you can afford to get the i7 then do so. You may not notice the difference now but you will if you start doing processor hungry tasks like editing photo's or video's.

[monte]

Thanks Carl 

Do you think I can walk away from the Applestore today, MBA in hand with the configuration I want, or are the upgrades made to order?