Buying Second hand mid 2012 retina macbook 15

[noob17]

Hi Guys,

I am scheduled to meet a guy on thursday to buy this 15" retina macbook pro which was the baseline mode.

2.3ghz i7 + 8 gb ram + 256 ssd.

Its out of warranty to i want to make sure that what i buy will be worth it.

What are the standard checks i should do on the laptop before handing over the money?

I know there are known issues with the display etc but the owner has stated that it has been working perfectly since day 1.


Also, as its out of warranty, i would like to get it listed under my home insurance, he can provide me with an online receipt, is this enough? Do i need to get them to sign something to say that they are transferring ownership to me? (as the receipt is under his name).

Thanks

 

[MacInTO]

As long as it's working and it is what it is advertised to be, it should be fine.

The only thing that might be problematic is the image retention issue. You can see a thread here, it's a monster thread with 9500 replies and 1.5M views,

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4034848?tstart=0

Check it against a grey background. Change the wallpaper to a basic grey, go to a website with contrasting colors or a black and white checkerboard pattern and wait a minute or two and then go back to the background. On a patterned background, it's more difficult to detect.

It's always good to get proof that you purchased the machine from him. A written note (with the serial number) or email should suffice.

 

[alexmarchuk]

As the above poster mentioned, my mid-2012 model was indeed image retention prone. After gathering advice from these forums back in 2012 I confronted Apple and explained the issue (knew already it was bad, just wanted to use their own terminology). They had this test on their servers which they ran and eventually I got the display replaced on warranty. Took a week and I was at school, but at least I wasn't stuck with another LG screen...

Anyway, I'm curious how much this seller is asking for their model? I'm thinking of upgrading mine. No display issues, no hardware issues, no cosmetic issues. Probably one of the cleanest first revision rMBPs around. Thats without a case too!

My specifications are : 15" rMBP, 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM, 2.6Ghz i7 (with NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M)

 

[brdeveloper]

Image retention seems to be a less concerning problem than uneven yellowing. Actually it depends on how you use your Mac. If you want color uniformity, displays with image retention look better in this sense. If the retention is too much distracting, get a uneven yellowish one.

 

[noob17]

I am going to pay $1100 for this. is that a good price?

They have agreed to provide me with original receipt etc and let me inspect it before purchasing.

So just check for the image retention issue. Any other chinks to keep an eye out for?