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jshelton

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 4, 2008
528
8
I have a early 2008 white Macbook 2.4ghz that I am very happy with. I upgraded the memory to 4GB and still have the 160GB HDD which is sufficient. My warranty expires in August and I am torn on what to do. Should I spend the $$$ on AppleCare and let my Macbook slowly become obsolete, or sell it and get a unibody?

Do a lot of people sell after one year? How much is my model going for on eBay these days? It is in perfect condition. Who knows?
 

The Samurai

macrumors 68020
Dec 29, 2007
2,051
738
Glasgow
I have a early 2008 white Macbook 2.4ghz that I am very happy with. I upgraded the memory to 4GB and still have the 160GB HDD which is sufficient. My warranty expires in August and I am torn on what to do. Should I spend the $$$ on AppleCare and let my Macbook slowly become obsolete, or sell it and get a unibody?

Do a lot of people sell after one year? How much is my model going for on eBay these days? It is in perfect condition. Who knows?

It depends on what you do with your machine - if your the sort of person who relies on speed quite a lot (video/graphic designer), then it makes sense to get a faster machine.

If your not, then there is little point in moving to the unibody. Yes, obviously its much nicer to look at but not worth the extra to spend on if its going to make little or no difference to your requirements.

I would get Applecare and you can always upgrade the hard drive to a SSD one at a later stage.
 

aznguyen316

macrumors 68010
Oct 1, 2008
2,001
1
Tampa, FL
I suggest selling it and paying the extra dough for a new unibody =) tis what I did, b/c I wanted the nvidia graphics.
 

akutad

macrumors regular
Jul 12, 2008
150
0
London, Ontario, Canada
I have a early 2008 white Macbook 2.4ghz that I am very happy with. I upgraded the memory to 4GB and still have the 160GB HDD which is sufficient. My warranty expires in August and I am torn on what to do. Should I spend the $$$ on AppleCare and let my Macbook slowly become obsolete, or sell it and get a unibody?

Do a lot of people sell after one year? How much is my model going for on eBay these days? It is in perfect condition. Who knows?

Statistically extended warranties in the electronic business is a waste of money. It's one of the companies major profit centers. I upgrade every 2-3 years. I wouldn't be too concerned about your warrantee ending. My wife has a MacBook pro that's approaching 3 yrs. Just upgraded the HD to 7200.3 320GB HD. Still pretty fast. Perhaps it'll last another year or so before choosing to upgrade. You may want to consider spending a few hundred dollars more and get a MacBook Pro. I find that it lasts longer for what we use it for.
 

relativist

macrumors regular
Jan 13, 2009
179
0
I have the same model. I"m upgrading to the 9400m MB white model, because my warranty expired (oops), and I want the faster graphics. I don't want to Aluminum MB because then I can't use the 4GB ram, nor the other accessories I have. Plus I want to spend as little as possible in the upgrade. Eventually I'm going to get a MBP after SL and intel cpu update occurs, maybe next year.
 

alumac

macrumors member
Mar 31, 2009
40
0
I just got Unibody but only after using my Blackbook for 2 years +
In my opinion it is definitely worth the extra bucks but keep in mind that you should buy AppleCare even if you upgrade to the Unibody.

I had atleast a dozen issues with my Black Macbook that AppleCare took care of. These included a faulty logic board, dysfunctional speakers, faulty display (problem with some circuitry), cracked palmrest, etc. Every single one of these happened in my second year and cost a lot. AppleCare has saved me over £800 in repairs.

So, I'd advise buying AppleCare regardless of whether u upgrade or not.
 

The Samurai

macrumors 68020
Dec 29, 2007
2,051
738
Glasgow
I just got Unibody but only after using my Blackbook for 2 years +
In my opinion it is definitely worth the extra bucks but keep in mind that you should buy AppleCare even if you upgrade to the Unibody.

I had atleast a dozen issues with my Black Macbook that AppleCare took care of. These included a faulty logic board, dysfunctional speakers, faulty display (problem with some circuitry), cracked palmrest, etc. Every single one of these happened in my second year and cost a lot. AppleCare has saved me over £800 in repairs.

So, I'd advise buying AppleCare regardless of whether u upgrade or not.

I would never pay the full price for Applecare. I am lucky in that I am a student - thus, I only paid £50 for three years worth of Applecare. I think its quite a bargain.
 

Darkroom

Guest
Dec 15, 2006
2,445
0
Montréal, Canada
if you sell it make sure you do so before the first year warranty expires so the new owner will have the option to buy 2 additional years or applecare.

there are authorized apple resellers that sell apple care for MUCH cheaper than apple does. search the threads here.
 

silverblack

macrumors 68030
Nov 27, 2007
2,680
840
I would never pay the full price for Applecare. I am lucky in that I am a student - thus, I only paid £50 for three years worth of Applecare. I think its quite a bargain.

Go ebay, you don't need to be a student to get a good deal.
 

gsampson

macrumors member
Dec 3, 2007
46
0
I would upgrade to the Alum because of the looks :) and because it just seems more durable to me. But, if you're not interested in those, I would suggest just upgrading the hard drive and purchasing Applecare.

Applecare is a must for me. I have taken my Macbook Air in twice for repairs. I had a BlackBook that was taken in a few times. My iPhone was exchanged 4 times for repairs.
 

iLog.Genius

macrumors 601
Feb 24, 2009
4,903
451
Toronto, Ontario
Yeah, I'm usually against extended warranties, but because Apple locks you into their "ecosystem" (you can't really do anything to your Apple hardware without Apple blaming you for damage because of 3rd party hardware), it's really a no brainer. Even if you do purchase AppleCare at retail, what's another $200+ if you extend the life of a computer you just spend $2000+ on? (especially seeing how Apple quality has taken a hit.)
 

sallythemac

macrumors 6502
Jun 16, 2008
274
8
Sucks to be in the UK eh?

Cant get them on eBay here.

What? Of course u can. And even if u can't find one, get one from eBay.com - AppleCare is international. Buy ur mac in the uk, AppleCare from the USA and then your mac breaks on a business trip in Japan - AppleCare still applies and it can be fixed.
 

Vulcan

macrumors 65816
Jul 17, 2008
1,167
0
Pittsburgh, PA
If it does everything you need of it, there's no point in upgrading. AppleCare costs only $129 on eBay and is worth every penny.
 

jshelton

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 4, 2008
528
8
Thanks for all the responses. If I could get $900 for my current Macbook, I would be pretty pleased. If I go that route, I think I will definitely be looking at refurbs. It seems much more logical considering they are basically brand new.

Do education discounts apply on refurbs from Apple.com?
 

sn00pie

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2008
593
0
United States
I was offered $1300 for my polycarbonate Macbook. I've got 4GB RAM, 2.1Ghz, 120GB HDD, Combo Drive, and 3 year AppleCare.

I chose to keep it because I really don't need to upgrade to anything else, I'm in the midst of ordering a new iMac for home use.
 

brop52

macrumors 68000
Feb 26, 2007
1,620
3
Michigan
I was offered $1300 for my polycarbonate Macbook. I've got 4GB RAM, 2.1Ghz, 120GB HDD, Combo Drive, and 3 year AppleCare.

I chose to keep it because I really don't need to upgrade to anything else, I'm in the midst of ordering a new iMac for home use.

Why would someone pay $1300 for such an old machine?

Anyway, no education discounts do not apply for refurbs. Just wait for the summer and get an iPod out of it during the summer promo and sell that too.
 

sn00pie

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2008
593
0
United States
Why would someone pay $1300 for such an old machine?

Anyway, no education discounts do not apply for refurbs. Just wait for the summer and get an iPod out of it during the summer promo and sell that too.
Beats me. Then again here in Canada, they still sell for $1149 for a new one, $199 or up for 3 year AppleCare, $60-70 bucks for 4GB of RAM, I guess it's pretty decent.
 

jshelton

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 4, 2008
528
8
So, I have some people interested on Craigslist. Should I be happy getting $900 for my MB? Again, it is the 2.4/4GB/160GB Penryn in great condition...
 

brop52

macrumors 68000
Feb 26, 2007
1,620
3
Michigan
So, I have some people interested on Craigslist. Should I be happy getting $900 for my MB? Again, it is the 2.4/4GB/160GB Penryn in great condition...

Yeah $900 is probably the best you can hope for for that machine. That's what people on ebay are buying it for.
 

aznguyen316

macrumors 68010
Oct 1, 2008
2,001
1
Tampa, FL
So, I have some people interested on Craigslist. Should I be happy getting $900 for my MB? Again, it is the 2.4/4GB/160GB Penryn in great condition...

yeah that's a good price. Then look for a new alu MB on craigslist! If you live in a populated area, bet you can find a alu MB for ~1000. Got my UMB w/ 3 year applecare for $900, 6 charge cycles on battery w00t
 

iboost79

macrumors member
May 28, 2008
56
0
New York, NY
I have a early 2008 white Macbook 2.4ghz that I am very happy with. I upgraded the memory to 4GB and still have the 160GB HDD which is sufficient. My warranty expires in August and I am torn on what to do. Should I spend the $$$ on AppleCare and let my Macbook slowly become obsolete, or sell it and get a unibody?

Do a lot of people sell after one year? How much is my model going for on eBay these days? It is in perfect condition. Who knows?

I'd say keep the Macbook and replace the HD to a 320GB+ 7200 RPM drive for about $85. You're definitely not going to sell it for the same price you bought it for. And honestly, the early 08' MacBooks aren't bad for everyday usage. If you desperately NEED the faster memory and upgraded intergrated graphics card, then sell it.

Oh, for the 08' MacBooks and earlier models, you definitely should get Applecare. The topcase cracks like no other. You can pick one up for about $125 on eBay or Craigslist.
 
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