2016 rMB valued at 70 euro

[navaira]

Here I am, typing on a laptop that STILL feels like future (we do not talk about the keyboard), barely weighs anything, and as Apple trade-in is valued at €70. Replacing the battery, which is the main problem (we do not talk about the keyboard) would cost €229. I tried a reseller/buyer website we used before, but with battery that requires service – 75% capacity – they will not accept it at all. 8/m5/512 2016 model running Monterey.

I am NOT doing trade-in for 70 euro. I admit it's my own fault for missing the battery replacement programme window. Is really the only sensible thing tossing it in the drawer in case I need an extra laptop for… reasons? The 12" isn't exactly a 2 kg brick or non-functional or even all that slow for what I'd do with it (nothing heavy obviously). What's the smartest thing to do here? (I'm in the EU, so American solutions won't work for me.) I was thinking of going to an Apple Store and doing Shrek cat eyes, hoping they take it and my 32GB 7th gen iPad and give me a 64GB 2021 one in return, but even that feels like wasting a laptop that works perfectly well. How can it be worth €70 at Apple and NOTHING at a reseller website which values the 32GB iPad at €228? (We'll gloss over €1299 I paid for it…) Is the rMB the fastest depreciating Mac ever?

 

[jav6454]

The recycling world works differently. It's sad to say, but I doubt that you'll get any value via trade-in. If anything, you'll get more value from it by selling it to someone else with full disclosures about the battery and the Bruno.

 

[Eggtastic]

I have the same model. Battery is about the same as well.

Last time I considered a trade in through apple and best buy it was under $200 sadly. Now I did spend $200 less than retail as it was a refurb and only had 12 battery cycles and in flawless condition. It still doesn't help it deprecated this much.

I don't have a solution other than selling locally through facebook or whatever the EU uses for a local online "yard sale" (craigslist here in the US).

Honestly at this low of a price I may just gift it to a family member but haven't decided what to do yet as I am in between the 14" mbp and the new m2 air.

Technology moves fast unfortunately for resale value unless you hit that sweet spot to upgrade to something better.

 

[Webster's Mac]

What battery replacement program are you talking about? I'm not aware of any for the 2017 rMB. If you take it to Apple, they *might* replace the battery even if it's not at their threshold for replacement as long as you are willing to pay for the replacement

 

[Webster's Mac]

But try a clean install and don't restore from backup, SMC reset, PRAM reset, etc so you can skip all of that at the Genius Bar and go straight to the part replacement

 

[theriddler]

That sounds about right because the price of a used 12" rMB in the UK is around £350. Try selling it to enthusiasts who value the 12" size

 

[navaira]

That sounds about right because the price of a used 12" rMB in the UK is around £350. Try selling it to enthusiasts who value the 12" size

The euro is dropping, but not bad enough for £350 = €70 I decided to keep it as a spare laptop. It's not exactly a relic incapable of running anything newer than MS-DOS. Just shocking to think that there are Chromebooks with worse battery life than the rMB's 75% that cost five times as much.

 

[theriddler]

If you replace the battery, you could sell it for €350 too. €70 is because of the non-working battery taking into the account the cost of the battery replacement

 

[Aoligei]

The euro is dropping, but not bad enough for £350 = €70 I decided to keep it as a spare laptop. It's not exactly a relic incapable of running anything newer than MS-DOS. Just shocking to think that there are Chromebooks with worse battery life than the rMB's 75% that cost five times as much.

First of all, you should not compare price with used devices vs new devices. New devices will always cost more even if it is Chromebook. New devices comes with warranty, new battery, new internals and probably longer life.

Second: Chromebooks probably have longer software support than old MacBook. Your 2016 Retina MacBook is already out with newest macOS, so you probably have two years software support left (and 2017 Retina MacBook probably won't get macOS 14). While Chromebook will probably still supported years to come.

Third: There are only small population who likes Retina MacBooks. I didn't like the retina MacBook when it came out and still not. It has underpowered CPU, worse cooling system and the deal breaker for me is single USB-C port. This probably reflects on resell value. I see people who selling retina MacBook for over 400CAD two month ago, and the ad is still up.

 

[CooperBox]

The title of this post and related comments make very sad reading, and just reflects on how Apple's quality and non-evolutive products have declined over the years.
To put this into perspective, as an example the Macbook Pro 15" mid 2012 Non Retina was and still is a marvellous machine, and here in Europe in good condition still sells upwards from 300euros to 600euros (US$305 - 610). I sold one quite recently for 500euros, and had several interested buyers. I still use the very same model and after very easy installation of a Crucial 500GB SSD for approx 55€ (US$56) and upgraded memory to 16GB these Apple laptops do almost all tasks I ask of it, speedily and well. It truly is one of the last totally upgradeable, great laptops, and will still be performing with OS X or even Linux OS in 10 years time when so many current 2020 machines are confined to landfill.