Late 2012 (650m) or 2013 base?

[RMXO]

Sorry to hijack your thread OP but I'm kind of in the same boat as well.

I can get a used early 2013 15" rMBP with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD for $1800 or spend another $1000 on a brand new late 2013 15" rMBP with 16GB and 512GB SSD. The only thing that really intrigues me is the PCI-E SSD and Intel Iris Pro... But to save $1000?

What do you guys think?

I was in same boat and decided to go the cheap route (used mid 2012 MBP). but it really depends on you and what your needs are.

For me, having Haswell for battery life, network AC and pci-e storage would of been nice but I could live w/o it and plus 750m is just an underclocked 650m, so I went with the cheap used route. Plus, knowning I'll be upgrading to newer model once they switch to Broadwell & 800 series Nvidia dGPU was an easy decision for me.

 

[lorcharlie]

That's what I'm also thinking. If I'm going to jump to Broadwell within the year (or Skylake in 2015), I should just go cheap and get Ivy Bridge.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Essenar]

I see the refurbed 750m option is $2200 (new one is $2390 with my discount).. does anyone know:

• Can you get the employer discount on refurb too?
• Can you buy apple care within a year and have it apply then to 3 years from the date of initial purchase?
• Do they allow 18 month financing on refurb?

I'm guessing I will probably buy the new one w/ my discount with 18 month financing, but I'd like the option of buying applecare independently a month or so after the big purchase.

I am looking into my company's BYOD policy because I can't stand the piece of junk Lenovo I have now hehe... hoping I could buy this new toy and use for work daily. I'd probably have to bootcamp or parallels to run Author IT (program I use for work daily as a tech writer).

1) Discount usually doesn't apply to refurbished models. And if it does, it won't be the high end ones. Those are discounted considerably to begin with.

2) Apple Care+ is the only one that needs to be made at the time of purchase because it covers incidents outside of normal wear&tear like dropping it, water damage, etc. You can buy Apple Care on any warrantied Apple product within the first year of ownership and it applies at the time the warranty expires. A one-year Apple Care will add one calendar year of coverage from the first day after your one-year warranty expires. This is true whether you buy it at purchase date or on the 363rd day before the warranty expires. The only advantage to time of sale purchases is that some vendors offer a discount on Apple Care if you buy it together.

3) Financing is financing. It has nothing to do with what you buy with it. Apple's Financing is a Master Card. I've bought headphones, laptops and even plane tickets with my Apple credit card. The 18 month 0% interest is an incentive from the bank offered to Apple customers as an incentive to boost Apple sales for the sake of having exclusive placement in Apple stores as their official financial credit institution. It's almost like, if I own a car dealership and you own a bank. You want to be the bank I use to finance the cars I sell, so I tell you, "Okay, but you have to offer customers incentives. I want 0% interest for 12 months". You get the loans, I get the sales and customers get the car they want at a price they're willing to play because you helped neg the deal. So short answer: Yes you can buy refurbished laptops with Apple 'financing'.

PS: Buy the $2200 refurbished model. You get discrete graphics, processor upgrade, upgraded ram and a 512GB SSD for $2200. That's a $500 discount.

 

[Praxis91]

Just picked up the 2013 with 750m! I couldn't wait for a refurb, so I went to the store and got it new! This thing is blazing fast! Now to find a case for use at work that isn't too bad on airflow.

 

[shadow82x]

Just picked up the 2013 with 750m! I couldn't wait for a refurb, so I went to the store and got it new! This thing is blazing fast! Now to find a case for use at work that isn't too bad on airflow.

Welcome to the club. Be sure to check for the common defects people have been having while you're in the return period still. (Yellowing in parts of the screen, uniform colors & backlight bleed, dents, creakiness, etc.)

 

[accountforit]

Just picked up the 2013 with 750m! I couldn't wait for a refurb, so I went to the store and got it new! This thing is blazing fast! Now to find a case for use at work that isn't too bad on airflow.

Well I hope that instant gratification was worth all the money YOU DIDN'T SAVE.

 

[Praxis91]

Well I hope that instant gratification was worth all the money YOU DIDN'T SAVE.

haha me too!

I guess I was concerned with the # of battery cycles on a refurb, since I will be using it daily at work..mostly plugged in, but frequent trips to conf rooms.

 

[Brian Y]

haha me too!

I guess I was concerned with the # of battery cycles on a refurb, since I will be using it daily at work..mostly plugged in, but frequent trips to conf rooms.

0-5 cycles. They all have a new battery .

 

[Praxis91]

0-5 cycles. They all have a new battery .

Oh haha.. hmm.. okay I'll cut back on the whiskey budget the next couple months and I will break even.