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Broken Macbook: Sell As-is or piece by piece...and how?

J

Jborkdugan

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 6, 2009
13
0
Hi,

On a school trip abroad for a few months I've caught myself in a bit of a sticky situation. I accidentally dropped my cell phone on my screen, causing it to shatter. This was this extremely frustrating considering the phone only dropped about a foot, and the screens are pretty flimsy...But apparently shattered/cracked screens are not covered by the Applecare Protection plan. It costs about 800 dollars to have apple repair it, and 400 dollars for a 3rd party retailer to do it. I've decided my old Macbook (White, 13 inch) has given me enough trouble, and its time to replace it, instead of spending what a new computer basically costs on replacing the screen alone.

So once I buy my new (refurbished) MBP I'm going to be left with a basically fully-functioning macbook. I want to get something out of it, because it will help me with the costs of my new MBP. Is it possible to sell it as is, even with the broken screen, to a 3rd party retailer, and how much will I get? Or, is it better to take it apart, and sell each piece separately? I could probably sell the memory, harddrive, optical drive, and battery on ebay. Whats easiest, what will get me the most money, and how do I do it?

Any info would be really helpful please, i'm not sure exactly what I'm doing, but I want to get as much money out of my old computer as possible.

Thanks
 
Buy screen from eBay and install it yourself. LCDs for MacBooks goes for less than 100$ but it'll make your Mac fully functional. Tell me which MacBook you have so I can find right one for you
 
If you are competent enough, I would do what Hellhammer suggests. If you are like me, you will sell it as is.:eek:
 
You can sell it on ebay as-is broken machines sold auction style to end at the right time can nice a nice chunk of money for what it is.

Parting it out and/or replacing the screen is a great experience if you want to learn how to do that kind of thing yourself. Look at ifixit.com for instructions on how to disassemble it to see if you want to tackle it.
 
Response to Hellhammer

I considered buying a screen and installing it myself, but I have a friend who used to work at the apple store, and he said that the interior of their computers have what he called "traps" where they can see if you have been inside your computer instead of an apple guy, and if they see you've installed stuff yourself, your protection plan is voided...

But whether or not this is true, I've got a 13-inch white macbook, 2 GHz Duo Core...I think thats all the info you need...its the mid 2007 make.
 
Jborkdugan said:
I considered buying a screen and installing it myself, but I have a friend who used to work at the apple store, and he said that the interior of their computers have what he called "traps" where they can see if you have been inside your computer instead of an apple guy, and if they see you've installed stuff yourself, your protection plan is voided...

But whether or not this is true, I've got a 13-inch white macbook, 2 GHz Duo Core...I think thats all the info you need...its the mid 2007 make.
Click to expand...

I actually just bought a 2006 white MacBook a few weeks ago with a cracked screen. I then bought a new one off eBay (just be aware, the screens on eBay are mostly NOT the ones Apple officially uses - it's a different brand, make, etc. However, they DO work beautifully), and installed it myself. The MacBook is out of warranty, so your thoughts might be slightly different (it will definitely void the warranty), but the process itself is not that bad. The worst part is actually the hinge clutch - I couldn't put it back on *just* right, but you can't really see the cosmetic defect anyway.

The point is, I got a great functioning MacBook for a lot less than what it's worth if I bought it without any broken stuff. I love it.
 
Jborkdugan said:
I considered buying a screen and installing it myself, but I have a friend who used to work at the apple store, and he said that the interior of their computers have what he called "traps" where they can see if you have been inside your computer instead of an apple guy, and if they see you've installed stuff yourself, your protection plan is voided...

But whether or not this is true, I've got a 13-inch white macbook, 2 GHz Duo Core...I think thats all the info you need...its the mid 2007 make.
Click to expand...


Here is one. Yes it does void it but you'll get a lot more from it than selling it as broken
 
Agreed with the others. Just replace the screen yourself. So what if you void the warranty? It's not like they're going to cover your screen in the first place. Sell it on eBay and market it with brand new screen or something like that.
 
It seems like a really good idea, because I'd make so much from it, I'm just worried about making a mistake during the replacement process (I've never taken apart a computer before). Also, if nobody buys it, I wasted 100 bucks on a screen...I dont know how well i can advertise it, and whether somebody would trust it enough to buy it....

Lets say I did repair it well enough, how much do you think it would go for?
 
I think the best option is to do what a lot have suggested and buy a screen off eBay. With the iFixIt guides and right tools it's not that difficult if you put time aside. You might fix it so well and be happy with the result that you continue to use it and not bother about getting a new MacBook Pro.

AnDy
 
Jborkdugan said:
It seems like a really good idea, because I'd make so much from it, I'm just worried about making a mistake during the replacement process (I've never taken apart a computer before). Also, if nobody buys it, I wasted 100 bucks on a screen...I dont know how well i can advertise it, and whether somebody would trust it enough to buy it....

Lets say I did repair it well enough, how much do you think it would go for?
Click to expand...

Don't mention about the replaced screen, then it'll sell like a hot cake ;) If you fail something during the installation, then sell it piece by piece. If everything goes well, you get a nice amount of money that will help you with next Mac purchase.
 
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