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should I repair my MBA 2012? spill liquid...

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omg8899

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 13, 2013
3
0
Hi all,
Yesterday night, I spilled "a lot of soda" on my macbook air mid 2012. It won't turn on now. Today, I went to Apple store to see what I can do in order to get my laptop back to work. They opened my laptop's botton cap. It's pretty bad. A lot of soda was there. They said that for liquid damage, the only option is to replace whole components. The charge has a flat rate which is $750 + plus tax. My laptop is 1 year old and still has warranty for another 2 years. Do you guys think it is worth to fix it? It costs me a lot. But if I get new one, it will cost me more, like that for a new macbook air 13" 2013( 128gb ssd, 8gb ram - my current configuration) will be $1200+ plus tax. My thought is that if I pay $ 750 to fix it and coutinue to use this old laptop, I may sell it next year and get $600 back. If I buy a new one and do the same thing (sell this laptop next year), I may get only $800 back. What do you guys think about? What should I do?:confused:
Thank you very much.
 
cedwhatev

cedwhatev

macrumors 6502
Oct 22, 2011
316
38
Canada
I'd be fixing it. I just sold my wife's 2012 13" MBA with the same specs you have for 1000.00. But with AppleCare on it, I probably could've gotten 1100-1200 for it. You'll get more of a return for a fixed notebook with warranty than you would for a liquid damaged one for parts.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,031
7,872
I'd fix it and do 2 other things. $755 is Apple's standard rate. You don't buy a computer based on resale value. Let's face it. Computers age quickly. In 2 years, no one cares if it is a Core i5 or a Core i7, or whether you have 4GB or 8GB. The bottom line is that it's an "old" PC and something new is available for the same or less than what your PC was new. Just bite the bullet, pay the $755 vs the cost of a new Mac, and then 1-2 years from now get yourself a new Mac.

Once you get it fixed, consider the following purchases:
  • Keyboard cover - The $25 might prevent a future liquid spill from getting inside.
  • Personal Articles Policy - Your homeowner/renter's insurer might be able to sell you one for about $50/year. It will cover accidental damage, loss, or theft. You'll pay a deductible (in my case it was $250), but that's still better than $755. A few months ago I accidentally left my 2012 MacBook Air on an airplane and even after reporting it and "finding" it a few days later with Find My Mac, never got it back. :( But I was able to take the insurance proceeds and $500 and get myself a 13" Retina MacBook Pro. :)

Having once killed a MacBook Air with an errant glass of wine in the past, I can attest that Apple does a really nice job with the repairs. I got a new motherboard, battery, keyboard, and lower case. It came back as good as new.
 
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newdeal

macrumors 68030
Oct 21, 2009
2,510
1,769
I would sell it for parts on ebay, get what you can out of it and buy a new computer. It is still worth something, sell the power adapter separately. By the time you get it fixed it will cost almost as much as just getting a refurb one that doesn't have liquid damage. now that it is damaged even if you get it repaired your applecare is likely void anyway and things that they wont replace such as the display may have had their life limited by a surge from the spill.
 
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omg8899

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 13, 2013
3
0
They told me that all warranty will be back once I get it fixed through apple store, but yeah you're right, the display might not be replaced. So, I still hesitate to do or not. Refurbished one sounds good. Anyone knows that can I refund my applecare? It haven't started yet.
newdeal said:
I would sell it for parts on ebay, get what you can out of it and buy a new computer. It is still worth something, sell the power adapter separately. By the time you get it fixed it will cost almost as much as just getting a refurb one that doesn't have liquid damage. now that it is damaged even if you get it repaired your applecare is likely void anyway and things that they wont replace such as the display may have had their life limited by a surge from the spill.
Click to expand...
 
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newdeal

macrumors 68030
Oct 21, 2009
2,510
1,769
not sure, perhaps you could get it transferred to a new device since it hasn't begun yet but who knows. I really feel like if it were me and I was looking at a $750 plus tax bill vs. $849 plus tax for a refurbished base model I would sell the one for parts and get the refurb, you will likely come out ahead as you can get something for your air for parts, you could get $50 at least just for the power adaptor. You could take out the SSD and if it still worked you could put it in an OWC enclosure and use it as a really fast external, I think they make an enclosure for that. Unfortunately the base model with 8gb of ram doesn't seem to come up on the refurb store on a regular basis
 
cedwhatev

cedwhatev

macrumors 6502
Oct 22, 2011
316
38
Canada
I would think the display will be fixed as well considering you're paying almost 800.00 for it... might want to ask them about this before you decide to get it fixed.
 
O

omg8899

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 13, 2013
3
0
cedwhatev said:
I would think the display will be fixed as well considering you're paying almost 800.00 for it... might want to ask them about this before you decide to get it fixed.
Click to expand...

just got it back. total paid $755+ NY tax 8.875%. yeah, the display has been replaced. Basically I get a whole new mid 2012 MacBook Air. From product repair summary, I saw display module, Left I/O board, Logic Board, Top case with keyboard, SSD, Airport/BT, battery, and L&R speaks have been replaced.
And I noticed all scratches are gone. So I think I get refurbished one. Not bad though.
 
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