Mac Notebook that will hold its value the best.

[mojay12]

Long story short. I am without a computer and this will be my first Mac. I have been waiting patiently for Haswell rMBP since like march/april and need a computer for school and other reasons.

I think the Haswell Air is sufficient for me but I really hate the idea of buying this and then the product I actually wanted all along releases.

So, I would like to purchase the Mac notebook that will retain its value the best until about October and then I will liekly sell if the loss is not too much.

So,

Which notebook would it be 11 in MBA or 13 in MBA or something else?
And
How much of a loss can I expect after back to school promo and education pricing? $200? $250? $300?

Please let me know I would like to be make my decision before I leave for vacation shortly.

 

[alexrmc92]

Long story short. I am without a computer and this will be my first Mac. I have been waiting patiently for Haswell rMBP since like march/april and need a computer for school and other reasons.

I think the Haswell Air is sufficient for me but I really hate the idea of buying this and then the product I actually wanted all along releases.

So, I would like to purchase the Mac notebook that will retain its value the best until about October and then I will liekly sell if the loss is not too much.

So,

Which notebook would it be 11 in MBA or 13 in MBA or something else?
And
How much of a loss can I expect after back to school promo and education pricing? $200? $250? $300?

Please let me know I would like to be make my decision before I leave for vacation shortly.

for the most part the depreciate equally, but i would say the 13" would be easier to sell as it seems more popular. Your looking at about a $200 price cut providing you keep all of the original packaging and it says in good shape.

 

[BMNEUR]

Likely the 13" 2013 MBA. Considering you are going into school, I highly advise you get the one with 256 GB of Flash Storage for the extra $200. Because once you select a storage amount and run out, everything becomes external.

 

[MaxinMusicCity]

Likely the 13" 2013 MBA. Considering you are going into school, I highly advise you get the one with 256 GB of Flash Storage for the extra $200. Because once you select a storage amount and run out, everything becomes external.

And since you can't later upgrade the memory, I'd also opt for 8GB of RAM.

 

[mojay12]

Ok. Do yo. Really think I should do all these upgrades if I am going to sell in such a short time. I was told that for every upgrade I pay for new its worth much less on used market.

So, are you sure I should upgrade? Should I just buy the base 13 in MBA model?

 

[keysofanxiety]

Ok. Do yo. Really think I should do all these upgrades if I am going to sell in such a short time. I was told that for every upgrade I pay for new its worth much less on used market.

So, are you sure I should upgrade? Should I just buy the base 13 in MBA model?

Nope, BTO. Base 13" will be the most common so those are the first with prices to drop with resellers due amount of stock. Get BTO with as much RAM & storage as you can afford to.

I'm willing to bet that after a while you wouldn't even want to part with your MBA. But that's a different story

 

[simmonsj]

I think the original advice was wise.

Unless you need loads of RAM for video editing, I'd disagree with the suggestion to go for 8Gb RAM.

Storage - the tricky thing is that storage costs perpetually come down so you're definitely buying something that'll lose its value. But if I was going to upgrade anything, this is what I'd chose.

If it was me, i'd probably stick with the base model and save the $300 (Storage + RAM) towards your next purchase

 

[philosopherdog]

Anything stock or entry level always retains its value. Why not just buy a used air and then sell it. You will lose the least this way. Buy something with a warranty if you're worried. But you could break even or even make some money if you know what you're doing.

 

[talmy]

If you are expecting to sell in a few months the best thing to do is buy a used MBA now. That way you would minimize the depreciation hit. If you buy a late 2010 MBA for a good price you might break even or make money depending on how savvy you are. At least if you are scared to buy used, buy an older refurbished model on the Apple store.

It is certainly true that options on a new machine don't give you back much when you sell -- that's because purchasers of used machines are generally more cost conscious, otherwise they would just buy new. But if you are buying then selling a used machine this factor cancels out.

 

[mojay12]

Thanks for the help. I wouldn't mind buying used but there are bone for sale in my area. And as I mentioned earlier I would like to do this before I go on vacation and that doesn't give me a lot of time to search for a solid used deal as I am prepared to leave shortly. So, I think the consensus if buying new is the base 13 in. Model?

 

[RUGERMAN]

refurb Store

Thanks for the help. I wouldn't mind buying used but there are bone for sale in my area. And as I mentioned earlier I would like to do this before I go on vacation and that doesn't give me a lot of time to search for a solid used deal as I am prepared to leave shortly. So, I think the consensus if buying new is the base 13 in. Model?

Look on the refurb store on Apple site, they have some there most all the time.