2012 MBA Value

[Trvlngnrs]

Hi guys, I just emailed a guy who has a 2012 11" MBA for sale for $580.

I wasn't paying attention to them back then... can you tell me what the lowest spec MBA was that year?

Assuming it the lowest spec'd, is his asking price of $580 a great, OK or lousy deal?

 

[Kaylor]

IIRC the base 11" MBA was $999 in 2012.

 

[Trvlngnrs]

Thanks for that info.

I got some info from the seller:
Mid 2012
1.7 i5
4gb 1600Mhz RAM
64GB storage

Is the SSD upgradeable?

 

[capathy21]

Thanks for that info.

I got some info from the seller:
Mid 2012
1.7 i5
4gb 1600Mhz RAM
64GB storage

Is the SSD upgradeable?

Yes the SSD is able to be upgraded. It's not a bad deal in my opinion. You won't get the Haswell battery life of a 2013 or 2014 model, but other than that it's still a great machine. I'd offer 500 and see if he will come down at all. But to answer your question of 580 being fair? I think it is on the high side of fair.

 

[cyber16]

Agreed the $580 is high for that with 64GB
I purchased used a year ago at a much lower cost
Not knowing your location also does not help as prices can vary greatly around the globe
Here is one locally that has not been sold after weeks and it is still under the first year of apple care.
As you can see for just a few more $s IN ASKING PRICES that may or may not be firm you can be in a mid 2013 model with 2x the storage and gain USB 3 along with the benefits of the 4th gen icore
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/sys/4527700744.html

I am not suggesting that link as a good buy, nor is it mine, just using it as an example.

I suppose if you purchased a 64gb model, you could sell that ssd for around $75 USD and purchase the 128GB for around $120

What-ever you do if purchased used, be sure to have the seller do a complete restore/reset of the OS OR make sure it is removed from his account so that it does not some how get efi locked later.

btw:
my error, the mid 2012 model do have usb 3, sorry for the error

 

[Trvlngnrs]

I called the seller and he will sell it for $500.

I called Apple with the serial number and it's never been in for service.

I'm researching a larger SSD right now. Is there more manufacturers than OWC that will work.

Crucial or Samsung preferably.

 

[cyber16]

Keep in mind that some of the Toshiba SSD drives have a fatal flaw
http://www.apple.com/support/macbookair-flashdrive/
Not the end of the world if apple exchanges it.
If you upgrade, try to find the Samsung drives, they are much faster.
The 2012 SSD drive was not shared within the 2011 OR 2013 models.
The 2010/11 shared a drive, not the case for the 2012, therefore not many entered into the after market for a one year model.
Toshiba - Apple OEM
Samsung - Apple OEM
Sandisk - Apple OEM
OWC
I believe are your only choices

 

[Trvlngnrs]

Good advice, thanks!

Can I get the blade type SSD's from Samsung or do I have to get them from MBA upgraders on Ebay?

 

[cyber16]

You will ONLY find them as pulls from other Airs or maybe new old stock from a apple repair center "NOT APPLE" Unlikely
eBay would be your best bet or forums.
The samsung 128GB are a hard find, the 256GB & 512GB much easier, but at a hefty price

btw:
The 2010/2011 and the 2012 and the 2013/14 all use what looks to be a blade style SSD
They ARE NOT interchangeable between model years.
It would have been nice to see apple use the mSata and then the m.2 drives, actually the 2013/14 is using a variation of the m.2

 

[Trvlngnrs]

Thanks Cyber16!

I'm reading about the Transcend Jetdrives right now. Seems the OWC SSD's had some problems.

 

[Ronnoco]

Does the MBA still have a year of AppleCare left on it? That will add some value to the unit (and the price) and it is nice to have.

 

[Trvlngnrs]

No there's no warranty. Apple does have a recall on some of the 64gb/128gb SSD's that is good for 3 years so the SSD has a warranty, of sort.

 

[capathy21]

I'd pull the trigger at 500. If it is in good shape, it's not a bad deal.

 

[Trvlngnrs]

I'd pull the trigger at 500. If it is in good shape, it's not a bad deal.

I'm seriously thinking about it. Along with the Transend Jetdrive 240gb SSD ($190). I'll have <$700 into it, and I can probably get the seller down another $50 or so.

The speeds for the Jetdrive are faster than the Apple SSD for the 2012 model: Seq. Read: 570MB/s, Seq. Write: 460MB/s. Warranty: 5 years

 

[g35]

I called the seller and he will sell it for $500.

I agree with Capathy21 based on my own purchase.

Last year I got a 13" 2011 base model for $650. If you consider upgrades to lose half their value when used, I'd take off $100 for the smaller screen and $50 for the smaller SSD. So $500 sounds fair to me.