Ethics of selling a late-2011 Macbook Pro?

F

Flabasha

macrumors 6502
With Radeon-gate, a huge number of 2011 MBPs are blowing logic boards/GPUs... but I've had zero problems with mine (maybe because I never drive an external monitor?)

So is Radeon-gate something you would tell a potential buyer? Seems like it would scare most people off, but the laptop has had no problems...

Thoughts?
 
If it was me, I offer to sell it with a disclaimer of the potential issues, but make it known you haven't had any yourself. Then let the informed user make the choice.
 
I wouldn't mention it. It is the buyer's responsibility to research the product they are buying. All you need to specify is that the computer comes with no warranty and that you don't accept returns. Give them a reason to suspect there could be an issue, and they'll find a way to make that happen and possibly steal both your money and the computer.
 
Flabasha said:
With Radeon-gate, a huge number of 2011 MBPs are blowing logic boards/GPUs... but I've had zero problems with mine (maybe because I never drive an external monitor?)

So is Radeon-gate something you would tell a potential buyer? Seems like it would scare most people off, but the laptop has had no problems...

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Caveat emptor always applies (the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality and suitability of goods before a purchase is made).

If the buyer doesn't do his homework to research about any known issues on the model, it's his/her fault. That said, I'd still put a disclaimer stating that it's part of the Radeongate lawsuit.
 
Well, count me in as one of the schmucks who bought a 2011 without doing research. I bought a used one in pristine condition, it's still on its way to me, but now I'm worried im sitting on a time bomb. I think I will just resell the computer instead of worrying about a potential failure down the line.
 
DoNoHarm said:
Well, count me in as one of the schmucks who bought a 2011 without doing research. I bought a used one in pristine condition, it's still on its way to me, but now I'm worried im sitting on a time bomb. I think I will just resell the computer instead of worrying about a potential failure down the line.
Click to expand...

Why would you buy such an old machine? But yea to be safe id sell it and try to get something newer.
 
This is a funny (not really) post because about 4 months ago I bought one. I got it for a great deal of $640 and now I know why.

It had about a week left of applecare on it when I bought it and the day before it ran out it started showing signs of it's death. I'm on my 3rd logic board now and kinda just hoping this crap will fail so they'll give me a new MBP.

To answer your question, no I don't think it's unethical to not tell them about the potential problems of this computer. If it was actively showing signs of it's failure that'd be pretty unethical.

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Nocturnal22 said:
Why would you buy such an old machine? But yea to be safe id sell it and try to get something newer.
Click to expand...

Not everyone can justify spending $2000 on a new laptop.
 
I almost wonder if I should sell it to Gazelle. Presumably they'd offer a limited warranty to whoever they sell it to, right?
 
IIRC, ebay and PayPal now have six month buyer satisfaction periods. Given how favorably buyer complaints are handled, I'd be cautious about using either if you sell it.
 
My 2 cents.

I don't think you need to advertise that there's an issue with that era of MBP, I think that's on the buyer to research and be aware of.

OTOH, I think that you should clearly state in the specs (if you sell on eBay, etc.) that the GPU is an ATI Radeon; I have browsed a great number of eBay listings and there are a lot of folks who are attempting to conceal this by omitting from the specs. You really have to dig around (i.e. - look up the model elsewhere) to determine that is one potentially affected by the problem; I don't think that is particularly fair.

At that point, it's up to the buyer to make an informed decision.

Again, just my opinion.
 
Do you -need- to sell it? With an SSD upgrade it isn't that far off the pace compared to current machines. I would just keep using it and maybe you'll get lucky if the lawsuit plays out.
 
This issue is not officially recognised by Apple. I don't see why you would have to disclose a potential issue based on forum posts and and rumor sites.

Of course if your machine was already showing signs of malfunction, then you should disclose this. Similarly if you had any repairs done in the past.

I just passed on my late 2011 MBP to my mum. It withstood 3 years of heavy work, running with heavy loads during the day at work and gaming in the evening. No issues so far.
 
yjchua95 said:
It's more likely a 'when' than 'if' given how widespread the issue is, to the extent that a class-action lawsuit has been filed.
Click to expand...

It's not like I escaped the issue, so I know here you are coming from...

Anyway there's plenty of other 2011 dGPU threads kicking around to discuss the big picture.
 
MagicBoy said:
Age ain't nothing but a number. ;)

Install an SSD and they're barely slower for most usage than a current 15" rMBP.
Click to expand...

My early 2011 died hard. It's up on ebay for parts now. It had 16G of ram and a Crucial M4 512G SSD. Bought a mid-2014 rMBP. The difference in speed between them blows me away.
 
Oh the irony!

https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/19/2011-macbook-pro-repair-program-apple/

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K4LK said:
My early 2011 died hard. It's up on ebay for parts now. It had 16G of ram and a Crucial M4 512G SSD. Bought a mid-2014 rMBP. The difference in speed between them blows me away.
Click to expand...

Apple replaced mine (upgraded with 8GB and a the same Crucial M4) with a late-2013. It's a bit quicker in general use due to the insanely quick PCIe SSD, but it's not night and day. I'd put the seat of the pants increase at 20-25% - it's nothing like a few years ago where CPU speed would double every 3 years or so. 25% far from blows me away if I'm honest given three years development and the 70% higher list price of the rMBP.

I'd have been perfectly happily still using the upgraded 2011 at this time and a few years into the future.
 
thundersteele said:
This issue is not officially recognised by Apple. I don't see why you would have to disclose a potential issue based on forum posts and and rumor sites.

Of course if your machine was already showing signs of malfunction, then you should disclose this. Similarly if you had any repairs done in the past.

I just passed on my late 2011 MBP to my mum. It withstood 3 years of heavy work, running with heavy loads during the day at work and gaming in the evening. No issues so far.
Click to expand...

MagicBoy said:
Oh the irony!

https://www.macrumors.com/2015/02/19/2011-macbook-pro-repair-program-apple/
Click to expand...

Wow, didn't think what I said would be invalidated that quickly :D
 
DoNoHarm said:
Well, count me in as one of the schmucks who bought a 2011 without doing research. I bought a used one in pristine condition, it's still on its way to me, but now I'm worried im sitting on a time bomb. I think I will just resell the computer instead of worrying about a potential failure down the line.
Click to expand...

Nocturnal22 said:
Why would you buy such an old machine? But yea to be safe id sell it and try to get something newer.
Click to expand...

I'm downgrading from a retina because I needed more space on my 256 gb 2014 model, yet apple purposefully prevents other companies from selling SSD's to me at a reasonable cost. The pre-retina models cost less than the SSD upgrade alone, I can fix anything that goes wrong in about 5 minutes thanks to ifixit.com, and I will be able to upgrade the HD to my hearts content - maybe even 2TB when I need it. What I really wanted was a 2012 model, but they are double the cost due to the graphics card issues. The 2011 model actually had a benchmark score that was less than 10% lower, yet it cost half as much. I guess I found out why..... But what amazing luck to have APPLE START THIS REPAIR PROGRAM THE DAY AFTER MY COMPUTER SHIPS TO ME!!! :):D:D

http://www.apple.com/support/macbookpro-videoissues/
 
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So I guess the question now becomes if you sell a 2011 15" MBP should you tell the buyer that there is an acknowledged problem with the GPU's BUT Apple will fix it for you no problem? Seems like an easier thing to do without affecting selling price to much.
 
If you were selling me that mac and tell me for this issue, i 1000% would not buy it from you.


I would spend a little more cash and go for 2012 model. (non-retina) And also get the better GPU.
 
To me its just like buying a used car. People should do their homework.

If it DID have the problem, IMHO it would be the ethical thing to disclose it. I can't sleep at night screwing people over.

Fortunately with the free repair this issue should go away.
 
Yeah, the announcement is a double-edged sword for me as a seller - on one hand, it's like a year-long warranty for the buyer, but on the other hand it means this problem is SO widespread that Apple has to acknowledge and fix it.

I'm leaning toward just selling it to an online retailer. I get less money, but I'd probably get even less by disclosing it to a craigslist buyer.

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Part of me thinks I should just run After Effects ray-tracing renders sent out to two monitors just to force the issue, so Apple has to fix it or get me a new computer. ;)
 
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