Best deal on MBP (UK)

[davidjearly]

Hi,

Hoping you guys can help. I'm looking to buy a new MBP and wondering if there were any deals that I might not be aware of.

I've got my eyes on the 2.66 uMBP.

I qualify for HE discount so would get this for £1274. I would probably also get the AppleCare for £57.50 at the time of purchase. This would bring my total to £1331.50. Another option would be to buy the iPod touch 8GB and get the £145 rebate and also sell the iPod touch. This would hopefully give me a further £150 off the price.

Thus, my crudely estimated total would be £1180 for a 2.66GHz uMBP and Applecare.

Thoughts? I'm open to other suggestions too!

 

[londonmystery]

I bought the same thing recently and also got the ipod touch. You get 18% discount on MBP"s and if I remember right the applecare was £47. Kept the ipod for one of my kids and sold an iphone 3g instead so total price was under £1000.

 

[davidjearly]

Really? The online HE store has that model listed at £1274. This is compared to £1499 retail. 18% of £1499 is £270 => £1499 - £270 = £1229.

Where did you get your HE discount?

 

[alexmadison]

I've seen verious prices around the internet. I think the Apple store has the best price.

 

[Jelite]

You wont get a better price than HE discount.

I got my 13" MBP from dabs for £875 + £50 email voucher £825.

Still £50 more than HE.

 

[will0407]

I bought the same thing recently and also got the ipod touch. You get 18% discount on MBP"s and if I remember right the applecare was £47. Kept the ipod for one of my kids and sold an iphone 3g instead so total price was under £1000.

you don't get 18%, it's 15% on MBP, and 14% on the white macbook

 

[Adapsys]

Just in case you were not aware, if you buy the macbook pro online through the HE store (access it from University) you get applecare for free... The £50 price is just to extend telephone support to 3 years.

But 3 years hardware cover is free!

Also they have the same spec macbook pro on the refurb store for £1299. Don't know if that's any good. Doesn't include applecare though.

 

[suekitch]

Are you sure about the free AppleCare thing these days?

Admittedly I got my Macs in a retail store, so I bought my AppleCare, but I would have thought if this offer were still running they'd do it in-store too?

OP; the best deal you can get is, without doubt, through HE discount. Refurbs don't represent such good value for money compared to new models for students because we can't get the HE discount on them Even comparing to duty free, it's still slightly better, plus the added extras you get like you mentioned.

Do bear in mind that you can only buy one desktop and one laptop per year with it though.

Also the percentage discount you get depends on what you're buying. Maybe something does net you 18%, but for the MBP it is 15%, the MacBook it's 14% and the iMac it's 11%. Peripherals like the Mighty Mouse and Apple Remote are also 11%, but stuff like an inCase sleeve and an iPhone screen protector are 0%

 

[Adapsys]

Are you sure about the free AppleCare thing these days?

QUOTE]

Yep, I asked Apple two weeks ago using the chat function on the HE online store.

If you don't live near an apple store I would recommend paying the extra £50 for telephone support.

 

[BA Baracus]

I have just bought a new 2.13 white macbook from Apple for £544 (list price £749) which includes three year warranty.

Macbook from HE store £644
iPod Touch £165
Sold iPod Touch -£120 (could have got a wee bit more)
Apple iPod Rebate -£145
Difference £544

I did NOT buy the extended Applecare and look what Apple says about my warranty-

2. Warranty information about your product
Our records indicate that your product is covered under the AppleCare Custom Agreement which is estimated to expire on 30 May 2012.

Your product is eligible for complimentary phone support which is estimated to expire on 30 May 2010.

Bargain if you ask me!