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Dubba

macrumors regular
Original poster
Last Monday, I received a brand new 15” MacBook Pro (2.0GHz, 80GB HD) from AppleCare (UK) as a replacement for a 12” PowerBook which had to be repaired three times.

I have pretty much decided to go with a White MacBook, although I had some inclinations towards the 17” Macbook Pro (primarily because of screen size, but the casing and option of a matte screen also appealed).

Anyway, I have to sell the 15” MacBook Pro in order to finance the MacBook, and I have finally been able to (well, in a few hours – I am meeting the buyer in 4 hours). Basically, I sold it for £1,000 ($1,882), which is £399 less than the UK retail price, and £286 less that the UK Education price. However, it is very close to the US Education price (£1,012/$1,907), which is where I would have bought it had I gone retail. Hence, I am £12 short, but I should be able to recover that by selling my spare 12" PowerBook Battery, which gets me to a break-even point.

I am planning to use the proceeds to buy a 12” MacBook (120GB) + AppleCare at the US Education store for £1,007 ($1,897), which is only a few pounds/dollars more than what I am getting for the MacBook Pro. Basically, I feel that I got a 40GB larger hard drive and AppleCare for the same price as a MacBook Pro, which I would have had to buy AppleCare for.

I am going to up the RAM to 2GB in any case (whether I had kept the MacBook Pro or the MacBook).

What would you have done?

P.S. My needs are simple: e-mail, browsing, office applications, iPhoto, and iTunes – no gaming or editing.

P.P.S. My original 12" PowerBook cost me £952/$1,793, if that makes a difference to your thoughts.
 
Thanks for all the feedback and validation - it is nice to know that many of you would have done the same.

I have just come back from completing the transaction and look forward to ordering my MacBook soon... although, my wife's iBook is working perfectly well for me, so now I am thinking about perhaps waiting for Leopard, but we'll see how long she can handle being without her lovely Mac!

Dubba
 
Buying is a personal decision. So, as long as you are satisfied with the arrangement you made, that is what counts.
But, if I were you, I would have kept the MBP because of my personal preferences.
 
Dubba said:
I am planning to use the proceeds to buy a 12” MacBook (120GB) + AppleCare at the US Education store for £1,007 ($1,897), which is only a few pounds/dollars more than what I am getting for the MacBook Pro. Basically, I feel that I got a 40GB larger hard drive and AppleCare for the same price as a MacBook Pro, which I would have had to buy AppleCare for.

I think it is a very bad idea to sell your laptop and purchase product that does not exist.....😛
 
kalun said:
I think it is a very bad idea to sell your laptop and purchase product that does not exist.....😛

I may be a slow morning starter but what do you mean?

Anyways, I wouldn't have done it. Just so you know and make you feel bad.
 
I thought it was a great decision. I did something similar when I sold my 17" Macbook Pro and got a 15" instead. The 15" I got included Applecare as well as a few extras. The price difference wasn't an issue since I had gotten the 17" at 1/3 below retail from a local guy who was also downgrading. I think using some of the savings towards Applecare is an excellent choice too. 😉
 
YS2003 said:
Buying is a personal decision. So, as long as you are satisfied with the arrangement you made, that is what counts.
But, if I were you, I would have kept the MBP because of my personal preferences.

Ill second this, I prefer the MBP to the MB, especially if the only difference you are getting is applecare. You have 1 yr to buy the Applecare, why not just save up for it? Anyways, if you are happy, then you have made the right decision.
 
get the Applecare on ebay instead and get yourself an external monitor if you want the extra real estate 🙂
 
Jiddick ExRex said:
I may be a slow morning starter but what do you mean?

Anyways, I wouldn't have done it. Just so you know and make you feel bad.

there is no such as a 12 inch macbook...at least not yet...😀
 
There's going to be a new Macbook released soon so I guess it was a good choice. Although I would have stuck with the powerbook.
 
I've got a MacBook 2Ghz 512RAM 60GB HD (White). Well to be honest, I'd have kept the MacBook Pro because I believe they are superior laptops. That said, MacBook definitely holds it's own and I sincerely doubt you'll suffer dissapointment.
 
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