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Macbook air resale value?

W

Wuway

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 29, 2014
4
0
First the question, I'll write the story underneath. Basically, I'd like people's opinions on what price I'd realistically be able to get if I bought a macbook air 2014 (i5/8GB/128gb -- 1300$) today, and sold it on in a year (presuming I take really good care of it, of course). I've been looking around a bit on some websites, but I don't really have a big selection of used macbook airs in my country... (apparently people like to hold on to their macs here!)

Thanks!
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Right now I only have a desktop windows pc. I really like it, but I miss having a portable computer. And it doesn't get more portable than a macbook air, which I've had my eye on for a long time now.

So this morning I get an e-mail from a store around here, saying they're running a rather nice discount on the macbook air i5/8gb/128gb, AND that it's available for free financing. Free as in: no interest, no costs for setting up the financing, or anything. Just pay the store price split over 12 months. In other words 1300/12 = 108,33$ a month.

Now I never finance anything. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it. But Apple is an exception. I used to own a macbook pro I bought in 2008. I sold it in 2012 for around 650$. You can't do that with any other brand laptop. So everytime apple comes up, there is an extra argument in my head for buying that says "resale value". I sort feel it's like buying a german car, it tends to lose value more slowly.

All I'm looking for is some educated(or not) guesses of people who may or may not have experience selling their own macbooks.
 
Even if it is a little less than that, it's not bad at all. I mean, there's a lenovo ultrabook that does offer more powerful hardware for a little less money ... but I'm almost sure that if I want to sell it on in a year from now, I'm not gonna get anywhere near 800 for it.

I might be wrong of course.
 
Wuway said:
First the question, I'll write the story underneath. Basically, I'd like people's opinions on what price I'd realistically be able to get if I bought a macbook air 2014 (i5/8GB/128gb -- 1300$) today, and sold it on in a year (presuming I take really good care of it, of course). I've been looking around a bit on some websites, but I don't really have a big selection of used macbook airs in my country... (apparently people like to hold on to their macs here!)

Thanks!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Right now I only have a desktop windows pc. I really like it, but I miss having a portable computer. And it doesn't get more portable than a macbook air, which I've had my eye on for a long time now.

So this morning I get an e-mail from a store around here, saying they're running a rather nice discount on the macbook air i5/8gb/128gb, AND that it's available for free financing. Free as in: no interest, no costs for setting up the financing, or anything. Just pay the store price split over 12 months. In other words 1300/12 = 108,33$ a month.

Now I never finance anything. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it. But Apple is an exception. I used to own a macbook pro I bought in 2008. I sold it in 2012 for around 650$. You can't do that with any other brand laptop. So everytime apple comes up, there is an extra argument in my head for buying that says "resale value". I sort feel it's like buying a german car, it tends to lose value more slowly.

All I'm looking for is some educated(or not) guesses of people who may or may not have experience selling their own macbooks.
Click to expand...

Why are you set on buying a MBA with (only) 128 GB, even if it is offered at a good price? And then, why the need to sell it on in a year's time? Personally, I wouldn't buy a MBA with 128 GB; while it is adequate for some (and this was the memory of my first MBA, which I bought in 2010 but was no longer sufficient for my needs by 2013), I would not regard it as sufficient, not least because my iTunes library now exceeds 80GB.

In the summer of 2013, I ordered a 13" CTO (i7/8/512), and my brother inherited my old MBA. Unfortunately, the CTO wasn't ready by the time I was due to return to work abroad.

Therefore, as an emergency stopgap, I bought a 2012 11" MBA (as I had always wanted to check out the form factor and see whether I could work with it long term). This 11" came with i7/8/256 and I subsequently added Applecare to the mix. Anyway, a colleague asked me to sell it to him some months later, as he wished to give it to his wife, from whom he was divorcing amicably. Now, I'm not an entrepreneur, and have little interest in the elaborate choreography of bargaining, haggling, and engaging in a battle of wits in order to conclude a sale. I sold it to him for €700.
 
Well ... I'm not set on buying that particular model per se. But I get what you are saying.

Honestly, I think I just saw this offer and since I've been eyeing one for a long time, I'm probably just trying to justify buying one now. I've been waiting for a "need" to arise, but going back to school might get postponed to 2016 and I am not going to need a laptop for the work I am currently doing any time soon. So that "need" just isn't happening, and I'm just really fascinated by the air. It would just make my life a little easier. (can't just pick up a desktop and move it into another room!)

I don't make that much money, but I live well within my means, and now I could afford a macbook air without it hurting my savings. And since I was under the impression an Apple laptop holds it value longer, and considering all the software it comes with, it is actually the financially wisest laptop to buy, right?

Maybe I need to change the question in my OP to "Basically, I really want a macbook air and I need people to draw me over the line!" I've been in saving-mode for so long, a purchase like this is kind of a big deal to me. And being able to more or less recuperate 700 in a year on a 1300 purchase, sort of gives me piece of mind. (of course, a lot of IF's there, but still)

Thanks for your input, made me reflect on my question. And maybe I should look at the 256gb model instead.
 
Get yourself a refurb. You safe some 15% and I do not think it makes any difference to the resell value.

I agree with above comments to get at least the 250GB version, the price difference of $100 is worth it and will make it much easier to sell (if indeed you still want to sell it then ;) )

I would not bother with AppleCare, try to sell it before the standard 12 months warranty is over so that the future buyer has the possibility of adding AppleCare.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_air
 
MarvinHC said:
Get yourself a refurb. You safe some 15% and I do not think it makes any difference to the resell value.

I agree with above comments to get at least the 250GB version, the price difference of $100 is worth it and will make it much easier to sell (if indeed you still want to sell it then ;) )

I would not bother with AppleCare, try to sell it before the standard 12 months warranty is over so that the future buyer has the possibility of adding AppleCare.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac/macbook_air
Click to expand...

Excellent point; and my apologies as I should have added that the 2012 11" MBA that I bought (in a hurry as an emergency stopgap - and it was an excellent computer) was also a refurb.

Precisely because I knew I would be collecting a brand new, maxed out CTO, I didn't need another 'brand new maxed out' model, merely a stop gap, (and I also wished to see what working with the 11" for a few months would be like, as I loved the portability). Hence, I bought refurb, and would highly recommend that you think of going that route

Re Applecare, again, personally, I would never buy a computer that was not under warranty, which would mean either still less than a year of when I can add Applecare, or with Applecare.

Every Apple computer that I have either given away (such as to my brother), or sold, (as I did my 11" MBA last February, or my original MBP in 2010) still had several months of Applecare left to run.

And, I will reiterate my advice about getting 256GB at least.
 
I would go to eBay in your country and look up what 2013 MBAs are selling for.

Be careful that you don't get confused with "buy now" prices--nobody is necessarily paying that much. Try to find auctions that are nearly over or are recently finished. That will give you an excellent idea of the laptop's hypothetical value in a year.

As for 128GB vs. 256GB, I wouldn't take other peoples' advice about this. YOU are the only one who knows exactly how much storage you need.

For everybody who ran out of space with 128GB, I can tell you that I'm only using half that much space on my 2014 MBA and I'm perfectly happy.
 
Regarding warranty, I think in the country I'm currently residing, you get standard 2 year warranty (by law) (I think) so apple care doesn't seem that interesting to me.

I tried to check ebay but there isn't a local website for this country, I just get directed to ebay.com with DKK as a currency. So prices might not be completely representative.

I checked the localized apple website for refurbished macbooks, but they had nothing. I'll keep an eye on it, but I'm not sure I should wait for something to come up there.

And as for 128 vs 256 ... How much space does Mac OS take? I know windows takes about 40-50 gb which is a serious chunk out of the HD. I don't plan on storing too many movies or music on it though. I also plan on maybe using an external HD, and maybe cloud storage, things like that.
 
Wuway said:
Regarding warranty, I think in the country I'm currently residing, you get standard 2 year warranty (by law) (I think) so apple care doesn't seem that interesting to me.

I tried to check ebay but there isn't a local website for this country, I just get directed to ebay.com with DKK as a currency. So prices might not be completely representative.

I checked the localized apple website for refurbished macbooks, but they had nothing. I'll keep an eye on it, but I'm not sure I should wait for something to come up there.

And as for 128 vs 256 ... How much space does Mac OS take? I know windows takes about 40-50 gb which is a serious chunk out of the HD. I don't plan on storing too many movies or music on it though. I also plan on maybe using an external HD, and maybe cloud storage, things like that.
Click to expand...

Applecare does two things: firstly, it gives peace of mind to the buyer for three years - rather than the two years, or one year warranties that Apple computers normally come with. For what it is worth, I have needed to use it well into the third year, and found it exceedingly useful.

Secondly, if you are thinking of selling the laptop on, (as your OP suggested you may wish to do), Applecare will give any future buyer peace of mind, too. Personally, if I was to buy a used Apple computer, I wouldn't touch any that didn't have Applecare.

Re space, well, while some are happy with 128GB, I'd have a think about that, especially if you wish to sell it on, as your post would seem to suggest.

Thirdly, if you don't need it just now, then don't buy it. You can wait. I have had one since 2010, and they are a brilliant computer, a fantastic fusion of power, performance and portability. However, apart from two MBAs, I don't have any other computer.
 
Wuway said:
... And as for 128 vs 256 ... How much space does Mac OS take? I know windows takes about 40-50 gb which is a serious chunk out of the HD. ...
Click to expand...

Yes, and Windows tends to expand too. Apple does better than that. With all their stuff installed (including iMovie, Pages, GarageBand, blah blah blah) I estimate that it takes 25-30GB. You can cut this down significantly if you don't need all of the stuff Apple gives you. And I haven't seen the OS expand over time.

I would guess that movies and music tend to take up most peoples' space. So if you aren't going to store a lot of those on your computer then I suspect you'd be happy with 128GB.
 
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