Buying second-hand 2019 16" MBP: risks of failure in 2025.

[wjdavis]

I had an i9. I expect the i7 was less terrible yes. I swapped it for an M1 air in the end and it was faster!

I dunno, my i9 is more reliable than my i7.

 

[penelope_bk]

As far as I know, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro is much more reliable than the 2011-2013 models, especially in terms of the GPU and cooling, and it uses an improved Magic Keyboard that solves the problem of the failure-prone "butterfly" design.

 

[Parowdy]

Have to agree with Salamander above.

STAY AWAY from ALL MacBook Pros with the butterfly keyboard.
The 2019 DOES NOT have the scissors ("magic") keyboard -- still has butterfly.

These will soon be declared vintage (and then obsolete) by Apple.
That means no more repairs.
So... if the butterfly keyboard fails... there will be "no fixing it".
And even if you could fix it -- the repair will cost upwards of $800, because you can't replace "the keyboard" -- the entire top case must be replaced.

Consider yourself as having been duly warned by reading this post.

I have to disagree strongly with this post.
It DOES have a Magic Keyboard and it is a fairly capable machine.
We got one for the occasional Windows session, and while it does have obvious drawbacks, it’s a good laptop and probably enough for OP, as long as they don’t try to game on Windows because that’s a miserable and loud experience.

 

[wjdavis]

As far as I know, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro is much more reliable than the 2011-2013 models, especially in terms of the GPU and cooling, and it uses an improved Magic Keyboard that solves the problem of the failure-prone "butterfly" design.

I had a 2011 MacBook Pro that had discrete GPU blow on two different logic boards--first time was just days after the one-year warranty had expired. I did manage to get the board swapped basically for free by the reseller, but then that one blew 3 years later or so. It seems to me that the 2011s at the very least were far crappier than the 2019s.