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Dropped MBA, need help

Kirixis

Kirixis

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 4, 2012
33
0
'Straya
I recently dropped my MacBook Air whilst in its bag. The bottom line is it now has a bend in the lid and an abrasion and warping in the bottom. I want to replace the enclosures for the LCD and the keyboard and ports area. I don't need to replace anything else.

Please do not tell me to "live with it" or anything similar. I'm set on fixing this for as little as I can. I want to keep that brilliant design immaculate for as long as possible.

Is it feasible to replace these parts on my own without going to an authorised repair shop? I have some limited experience but I'm not super sure about the process involved. If anyone can give me ballpark estimates for the cost to have a shop repair it it'd be appreciated. Better still if anyone works in a repair shop, I'd appreciate it even more if you could tell me what sort of process you go through to repair these enclosures, the cost and sourcing parts.

Can I also purchase just the shell without including an LCD or a keyboard etc? I want to reduce the cost of this to $200-300 Australian. (Yes, I live in a land down under). Better yet, can I buy an unworking MBA and salvage it? I have the 2012 model which means I'd probably have to find the keyboard plate from another 2012 (owing to the Mag Safe 2. Those bastards!). Can I at least use the 2011's LCD enclosure?

If anyone knows where I might be able to source the 2012 or (assuming they'd work) 2011 parts, please post links. If anyone has a 2012 or 2011 MBA good for undamaged enclosures, please PM me.

Thank you in advance.

Regards, Kirix.
 
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Do you have house and contents insurance that covers accidental damage like this? If the costs of repairing it are greater than the excess you'd pay to make a claim, that would be the best option.
 
Did you buy it with a credit card? If so, many cards (at least here in the US) provide "purchase protection" against damage or theft in the first 90 days of ownership. I'd look into that. Also, since it's 2012 there won't be many parts available online. The best bet is to take it back to Apple and get an estimate from them.
 
With the carbon tax added on you'd be looking at anything from $900-$1100 dollars I think.
 
I'd do this:

Plan A - See if there is someone insurance you can claim. Homeowners, renters, credit card, etc.

Plan B - Buy parts and fix. To find the cheapest parts: find part numbers on ifixit.com and copy+paste the apple part numbers into froogle.com and ebay.com

Plan C - Sell and buy a new one. Have you considered doing the reverse? You can sell it on ebay as "as-is" or "broken", or part it out.
- Part out the dropped macbook air
- Sell all the good parts on ebay
- Use those funds to pay for a new one.


If Plan A doesn't pan out, do a cost-benefit analysis on Plan B vs. Plan C. Research prices that you could get for the parts, or how much replacement parts would cost.

I predict Plan C will turn out to be the best option. Usually selling the parts yields a surprisingly large return.

I dropped (from a lofted bed) my old pre-unibody Macbook Pro which destroyed the screen and cracked the logic board. However, I made a decent amount of money from selling the keyboard, trackpad, bluetooth module, wifi module, disk drive, DC-in board, IO board, heatsink, etc. The most surprising was that the little fans in there sold for $70 each!
 
OneMadRssn:

I don't think plan A will pan out :L

I like the idea of plans B and C. I can't actually get an 2012 model parts yet (hence the 2011 parts question) so unless I wait that's out too.

Plan C seems the best to me and I am looking through that now. How much can I expect to ask? I was thinking about $750-800.
 
Kirixis said:
OneMadRssn:
Plan C seems the best to me and I am looking through that now. How much can I expect to ask? I was thinking about $750-800.
Click to expand...

I would start the auction at $95 and let it go. It's difficult to predict how much it will go for given that I don't know the extent of the damage, nor even what kind of MBA it is. Is it 13" or 11"? In any case, if it's damaged but functionally fine, it should go for 75% of average ebay price.

Also, it's more work, but you'll get way more money if you part it out yourself. Just going off approximate 2011 model prices:
$300 - SSD
$400 - Logic Board
$100 - Wifi/Bluetooth module
$100 - Battery
$10-$20 each for the 10 or so misc parts (fan, heatsink, speakers, trackpad, microphone, IO board cable, etc)
----------
$1000 TOTAL

And that's assuming the case, keyboard, and screen are unsellable.

Note those prices are very much approximations and some guesses. It's best to look up completed auctions on ebay for same or similar parts to get a better idea. For example, obviously a 512GB 2012 model SSD will sell for more than a 128GB 2011 model SSD.
 
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Sorry Rssn, don't think I'm advanced enough to deconstruct it :L The ding only prevents the lid from shutting snug and I'm sure if it was deconstructed that you could heat the aluminium and mould it flat. It is a 13" base with Samsung screen. I never checked the SSD. The bottom plate is untouched too.
 
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Keyboard is a real bitch to replace since it is bonded to the aluminum bezel so you have to replace the entire assembly. Had to swap it out on a 13" air that had a coffee spill. In terms of difficulty I would say it's very doable if you are careful and take your time. But realize that you have to pull ALL the guts out to get to the top in order to replace it! That alone cost me $200, and probably 1-2 hours of repair time, couldn't help you on cost for the other components.
 
So I must buy a keyboard as well? The bottom dent I could live with if I could get it flat.
 
I know you don't want to live with it - heard you clearly in your original post. But I'd seriously reconsider all of the replacement parts you will be dealing with here, especially since you self-admittedly aren't super techy in terms of disassembly and assembly. I would really only consider either a) living with it or b) buying a new one and selling the current one for parts.
 
TheRealDamager said:
I know you don't want to live with it - heard you clearly in your original post. But I'd seriously reconsider all of the replacement parts you will be dealing with here, especially since you self-admittedly aren't super techy in terms of disassembly and assembly. I would really only consider either a) living with it or b) buying a new one and selling the current one for parts.
Click to expand...

We ended up panel beating it. With hammers. And pliers. It came up pretty good to be honest.

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