Ditto. Thanks!
Alternatively, I am curious on individuals predictions of the 8GB resale in 3 years. I know a 4GB Air was a great purchase in 2010, but I wouldn't touch one myself now.
I would say either will be under $1000 in value 3 years from now. We don't have a 2013 macbook pro yet, and the 2010s are already there. Look at it this way, such features could become standard in the lineup, meaning the rmbp models could filter down through the line within 2-3 cycles. Add in that you're competing against Apple refurbished sales and that whatever macbook air is out by then is likely to compete with the performance of the one you buy today. The display won't prop it up as much then. Displays are unstable by their nature, and they degrade with use. If the battery is on its way out due to use, which is possible depending on how many cycles are on it by then, expect that to further impact the value. It's a $200 replacement. Resale value takes a dive on electronics, and it's more volatile when you buy bleeding edge technology.
It has nothing to do with whether 16GB is required for the latest software 3 years from now. The issue is why would someone buy yours at a high percentage when they can have something new and at least as good with zero wear on the keyboard, display, battery, charger, and cosmetic features around the $1100 mark? Buy what you need and sell it for what it's worth at that time or wait.
I think this may be an argument the wrong way around. In 3 years time there will be a base price for a Retina. The question is how much of a premium people will pay for the additional RAM, over the "cheapest" second-hand Retina available. I suspect it won't be a great deal higher...
I also agree on that. Two years ago 16GB of ram cost over $1000 via 8GB dimms. Today that would be $60-80. People can complain how much they paid for it, yet if there's nothing wrong with the performance of the machine as they would claim to a potential buyer, they have no need to upgrade.