2012 MBA 13": Upgrade to 2013, add AppleCare, or let it ride?

[dmk1974]

While my house has the same models of 2012 MacBook Air 13 laptops, my buddy also has one that is very close to having the initial 1-year warranty expire (in about a week).

I told him that if he wants to upgrade to the 2013, he better order one soon tonight from Best Buy because they have a very good sale price and he also has a .edu coupon for an additional $100 off. Then I'm sure he can sell his current 2012 MBA for about $750...resulting in a net upgrade cost of ~$160 after RZ certs earned.

OR he can keep his current 2012 MBA 13" and add AppleCare for $180 (B&H) or $183 straight from Apple.

OR he can keep the 2012 MBA 13" and let the warranty expire and hope for the best (let it ride) at a cost of course of $0.

What do you all think is the best option? Thanks!

 

[triple-tap]

I vote for the 2013 upgrade. The battery life alone is worth it in my opinion. Plus the standard hard drive space is doubled now.

I do suggest apple care even if u get a new 2013 MBA though. Better safe than "$~950 sorry".

 

[dmk1974]

I vote for the 2013 upgrade. The battery life alone is worth it in my opinion. Plus the standard hard drive space is doubled now.

I do suggest apple care even if u get a new 2013 MBA though. Better safe than "$~950 sorry".

For the 13" models, both 2012 and 2013 have the same 128 GB SSD size.

 

[jadAce]

With the new Haswell processor, you would still get greatly improved battery life and performance (with improved integrated graphics) for a relatively low price. And dual mics (not a big thing, truthfully). You would also future-proof your MBA for another year or so. And Mavericks is probably going to significantly improve the battery life even more.

Plus, not to mention something obvious, a brand new MacBook Air for a net of $160.

Also, I think AppleCare would be a great investment - try to get the Educational discount if you can on both the 2013 MBA and AppleCare (if that's what you decide to go with).

I hope that helps!

 

[Ronnoco]

For the 13" models, both 2012 and 2013 have the same 128 GB SSD size.

The PCIe SSD is a game-changer IMO. The first thing I noticed when I got mine was just how blazing fast this new PCIe SSD is...astounding, really. I've never seen or used anything like it.

Oh, and get the AppleCare. Worth the $180.00

 

[dmk1974]

The PCIe SSD is a game-changer IMO. The first thing I noticed when I got mine was just how blazing fast this new PCIe SSD is...astounding, really. I've never seen or used anything like it.

Oh, and get the AppleCare. Worth the $180.00

Other than from the benchmarks, does that new SSD speed really make a difference in the 128 GB models? I have see that the 256 and 512 have faster bench speeds, but the smaller the drive, the slower it is.

Of the 3 choices, it's basically:

Pay $0 for 1 more month of warranty, 2012 machine
Pay $160 for 13 months of warranty, new 2013 machine
Pay $180 for 25 more months of warranty, 2012 machine

 

[jadAce]

Other than from the benchmarks, does that new SSD speed really make a difference in the 128 GB models? I have see that the 256 and 512 have faster bench speeds, but the smaller the drive, the slower it is.

Of the 3 choices, it's basically:

Pay $0 for 1 more month of warranty, 2012 machine
Pay $160 for 13 months of warranty, new 2013 machine
Pay $180 for 25 more months of warranty, 2012 machine

"Pay $160 for 13 months of warranty, new 2013 machine" is what I would do. IMHO, battery life, Haswell processors, faster SSDs all make it worth it.
--
This may not apply to your case, but I heard that in the United States, purchases made on American Express have warranties extended by another year by AmEx (for "free", as long as you use the card).

 

[AXs]

new machine obviously. Why buy warranty for old tech, when you can buy new tech for less than what you'd pay for warranty. Should be automatic.

But again, when you factor it - Assuming your numbers are accurate and he could sell it for $750, who who would pay that much for an out of warranty product considering they can just pay $160 more for a brand new and latest model Air?

 

[Ronnoco]

Other than from the benchmarks, does that new SSD speed really make a difference in the 128 GB models? I have see that the 256 and 512 have faster bench speeds, but the smaller the drive, the slower it is.

Of the 3 choices, it's basically:

Pay $0 for 1 more month of warranty, 2012 machine
Pay $160 for 13 months of warranty, new 2013 machine
Pay $180 for 25 more months of warranty, 2012 machine

Get the new tech.

 

[dmk1974]

Get the new tech.

Yeah, you are probably right. Best Buy has all of the MBA's on sale again for $100 off across the board for the next 2 days.