Advice for new/used mbp on a budget??

[CWSounds]

Okay so I'm wanting to buy a MacBook Pro now (I know new ones are coming out in the fall) and I'd like to know where I am gong to get the most bang for my buck. I'll be using it for music production but nothing too intensive. It doesn't have to have a retina screen but I'm trying to figure out how much better the retinas are over the non retina models. I'm absolutely capable of replacing ram, battery and putting a new ssd in or replacing the smaller flash hd with a bigger one. I found a used mid 2012 15" 2.6 quad core with a glossy screen for $900... Is that the best I'll get for the price? Is it worth the extra money for a retina at my price range? (My max is 1500 when its all said and done)
Specs I'll want are 1gb ssd 16 gb ram and new battery
Thanks in advance!

 

[thats all folks]

1TB SSD? that is going to be such a rare option that you may be looking for a long time (especially at your price limit). no one here has a magic source for used computers at a great price. if you want to maximize your dollars, do the research, find what is minimally acceptable in a machine, see what things are selling for, dig back through completed auctions on eBay...

here is one point of reference,
http://www.macofalltrades.com/MacBook-Pro-15-inch-R-2-6GHz-QCi7-Late-2013-p/mbp-15-26-l13r.htm

 

[kiwipeso1]

Okay so I'm wanting to buy a MacBook Pro now (I know new ones are coming out in the fall) and I'd like to know where I am gong to get the most bang for my buck. I'll be using it for music production but nothing too intensive. It doesn't have to have a retina screen but I'm trying to figure out how much better the retinas are over the non retina models. I'm absolutely capable of replacing ram, battery and putting a new ssd in or replacing the smaller flash hd with a bigger one. I found a used mid 2012 15" 2.6 quad core with a glossy screen for $900... Is that the best I'll get for the price? Is it worth the extra money for a retina at my price range? (My max is 1500 when its all said and done)
Specs I'll want are 1gb ssd 16 gb ram and new battery
Thanks in advance!

You can still get the 13" non retina mid 2012 brand new from Apple.
That one is still upgradable to 16GB ram (although Apple says it'll only do 8GB ram, it actually handles 16GB)
and you can upgrade the 2.5" HDD to a 1TB SSD.
As this model is still on sale, you can get a new battery for it.

So, to answer your question, yes you would be good to go with the used mid 2012.
It is easy enough to upgrade the ram to 16GB, and the HDD to a SSD of your preferred size.
As the glossy screen is 1680x1050 , this is a reasonable resolution for music production in Logic Pro.
As you intend to run it off a SSD, it will open and load every plugin for Logic Pro in 5 seconds based on the time it takes on my friend's early 2011 17" with 1TB SSD upgrade.

Batteries are the only thing where it takes a little care to replace, but as long as you know what you are doing and you follow the instructions that are available on ifixit if you need a reference, no worries.

 

[grahamperrin]

MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video Issues - Apple Support

We had a MacBookPro8,2 repaired under that programme. Coinciding with that repair I asked the AASP to remove the failed battery. Anecdotally: soon after the repair, the Mac (without its battery) ceased to recognise its keyboard and trackpad.

More generally: from what I read elsewhere in MacRumors forums, it's not clear whether the replacement parts for video issues are less likely to fail, over time, than the original parts.

Postscript

Who is the baseline MBP without retina for? (2015) – for a few months, I planned to get one.

 

[kiwipeso1]

So after the currency conversion to US$, that's around US$1566 for the retina model on mac of all trades, with all the spec bar the new battery, which would not be too much to get fitted later.
(As the battery only becomes useless at 1000 cycles, it is not a big issue while supported. 5 years from introduction.)