$700 MacBook Pro - To Buy Or Not To Buy?

[Eddyisgreat]

Someone enlighten me on how the x1600's for 700 bucks are scams. How much can you expect to get for one? If the 08's are selling for 1500 brand new in box,06's brand new probably wouldn't go over 1000.

I've seen great condition Powerbook G4 12" go for 5-600. People know the resale value on these machines so i'm sure they are in ok condition.

But because I am a conformist, i'll say no.

 

[weekend warrior]

I dont see this being a scam. The guy has tons of feedback on laptops he's sold. A would be VERY wary of a MBP without warrenty. $700, flush down the drain if something happens to it. I think the 1.83's were the first gen of MBP's.

It's a nice deal though. 1350 + 350 for applecare= 1700 compared to $700 even/ no warranty.

 

[steamed.hams]

I find something funny with you people doubting power sellers, with thousands of positive transactions.

If you don't get the product you were advertised, then you get your money back.

Your only issue with this regards the fact that many may find this to be an inferior machine by today's standards.

But if you're happy with it...

 

[areusche]

Go for it! For 700$ you're definitely getting a good deal on it. Sqauretrade warranties are definitely good. I have one on my xv6800. I had an older xv6700 who's S button wouldn't work. I ended up getting a refund on the entire unit since they couldn't find anyone to repair my older unit.

 

[bmwpowere36m3]

Seems legit, since this is for the 1st Gen MBP and Santa Rosa MBP (2.2) go for about ~1k. PLus he has 99.9% (11000 users) feedback.

 

[Firefly2002]

It's a scam. He doesn't have ten of them. I've seen things like this before. Just walk away.

Maybe not. It's an original 1.83 GHz bottom-of-the-line MBP. $700 isn't too outrageous.

 

[alphaod]

I hope you read that all the machines are used…

 

[mBurns]

OK, some 'myths' to bust here:

A) I wouldn't worry purchasing from a PowerSeller as other have mentioned. I have rarely had issues buying from people with great feedback on eBay. The goal of the feedback system is to be able to discern who is a great buyer/seller from a terrible one.

B) I purchased my MacBook Pro Core Duo 2.16 Ghz brand new 2 years ago. Mine is still under AppleCare. I personally would not purchase a the 1.83 Ghz Core Duo due to the 128 VRAM. Some 2.0 CDs and ALL 2.16 CDs had a 256 ATI card.

I believe the newer Core Duo builds were of better quality then the older ones. When I purchased my machine, I had 3 DOAs from the Apple Store. The manager could not believe my luck (shows the quality of some of these older machines). Mine has been PERFECT once I got a working one. No dead pixels, no hum (as some owners -- especially 1.83s have expressed), not running extremely warm. Granted, I have not used a Core 2 Duo.


C) This machine is plenty fast for today's standards. Even though there is a 2 GIG RAM limit, this machine performs flawlessly and fast. I upgraded my small 100 GB HD to a whopping 500 GB (obviously I am VERY happy with my machine). I do not feel technology has progressed enough to upgrade from a Core Duo to one of the newer unibodies or Core 2 Duos.

Basically, what I am trying to say is you cannot go wrong with a Core Duo. It will run Leopard perfectly, play most games at excellent settings, run Vista via Bootcamp or Parallels/VMWare, etc. These machines are plenty fast. The only reason I would go for a Core 2 Duo is if you are a heavy user of Parallels/VMWare. I find the 2 GBs to spread thin between Leopard and Vista Ultimate side-by-side. That is why I prefer to use BootCamp.

Let me know if you have any specific questions about Core Duos.

EDIT/Forgot to add: my only AppleCare issue was getting a replacement battery under the battery exchange program. Many of the Core Du knowledagble os had bad batteries which, if the owner was at all, could get switched for a new battery. I believe the program is still running on a case-by-case basis.

 

[SFStateStudent]

You get what you pay for, and I'm not about to spend $700 on a USED '06 MBP from anyone and especially not EB. They are out of warranty and you are unable to purchase AppleCare, so for me bottom-line is: HELL NO!