Repair or replace late 2013 MacBook Pro with broken display

[max6166]

I am in the midst of a real conundrum, as I am a freelance web programmer who is currently very ill and without work, and my MacBook Pro is broken.

The LCD in the retina display of my late 2013 Macbook Pro cracked. As well, the battery is a giant swollen mess that has distorted the enclosure. Just as an extra factor, I have a 250 GB SSD, which I have always had to struggle with keeping just all my work on, nevermind anyything else.

I think I can get a display and battery off eBay for about $500 shipped. I don't think I can afford to buy a new Macbook that is equivalent, but I wanted to check here for opinions as I am not very familiar with what options and models are out there and how they compare to my MBP.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as I have to make a decision asap.

Thanks,
max6166

 

[maflynn]

If the battery is swollen, then for saftey sake you need to stop using it.

for 500 dollars you can get a decent windows laptop, have you considered that, even as a temporary solution?

 

[max6166]

If the battery is swollen, then for saftey sake you need to stop using it.

for 500 dollars you can get a decent windows laptop, have you considered that, even as a temporary solution?

Yes, I have considered getting a non-Mac laptop, though I would greatly prefer if it ran some flavour of Linux if possible.

Incidentally, I forgot to specify that I was referring to 500 Canadian dollars, which is $375 USD.

So I guess the question is if it is worth sinking in $375 to repair a 2013 MBP, or would I be better off putting that money towards something else?

 

[kschendel]

Not the simplest call, but I'm thinking that US$375 isn't all that much of a start towards a new $1700-or-more laptop; it leaves you with a long way to go and no laptop to do it with.

I think I'd repair the one you have, as long as there's nothing else wrong with it (no goop damage on the logic board, for instance.) The 2013's were very decent machines -- I'm typing this on one -- with plenty of life left in them when they are running right. If there's any hint that there is more waiting to go wrong with the MBP, I guess you'd need to look at a Windoze laptop for a while. (Or, is a desktop an option?)

 

[maflynn]

So I guess the question is if it is worth sinking in $375 to repair a 2013 MBP, or would I be better off putting that money towards something else?

Is it 375? because you mentioned the swollen battery so you need to factor in the cost of that as well - unless I missed something in your post.

 

[charlyham]

I am in the midst of a real conundrum, as I am a freelance web programmer who is currently very ill and without work, and my MacBook Pro is broken.

The LCD in the retina display of my late 2013 Macbook Pro cracked. As well, the battery is a giant swollen mess that has distorted the enclosure. Just as an extra factor, I have a 250 GB SSD, which I have always had to struggle with keeping just all my work on, nevermind anyything else.

I think I can get a display and battery off eBay for about $500 shipped. I don't think I can afford to buy a new Macbook that is equivalent, but I wanted to check here for opinions as I am not very familiar with what options and models are out there and how they compare to my MBP.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as I have to make a decision asap.

Thanks,
max6166

Have you checked with Apple to see how much the after warranty costs would be for the repairs. You might even get lucky with the swollen battery and have them replace that under warranty. A battery replacement for my 2013 air was $129 US. Not sure how much a screen cost though.

 

[max6166]

Is it 375? because you mentioned the swollen battery so you need to factor in the cost of that as well - unless I missed something in your post.

Yes, the $375 includes both a display and battery through eBay, with me doing the installation myself. The Apple prices are cost prohibitive.

I have repaired a few Macbooks in the past, and watched videos on how to do the procedure on my own model. It will be a PITA, but I should be able to handle it.
[doublepost=1481906255][/doublepost]

Not the simplest call, but I'm thinking that US$375 isn't all that much of a start towards a new $1700-or-more laptop; it leaves you with a long way to go and no laptop to do it with.

I think I'd repair the one you have, as long as there's nothing else wrong with it (no goop damage on the logic board, for instance.) The 2013's were very decent machines -- I'm typing this on one -- with plenty of life left in them when they are running right. If there's any hint that there is more waiting to go wrong with the MBP, I guess you'd need to look at a Windoze laptop for a while. (Or, is a desktop an option?)

Thanks for the feedback. I wasn't sure if the late-2103s were still decent machines. I am not familiar with the models released since then, or how they stack up in practical terms against my model.

I was just browsing the classifieds and it seems that even my model still goes for about $750 USD, so I probably can't afford anything newer anyway.
[doublepost=1481907765][/doublepost]

Have you checked with Apple to see how much the after warranty costs would be for the repairs. You might even get lucky with the swollen battery and have them replace that under warranty. A battery replacement for my 2013 air was $129 US. Not sure how much a screen cost though.

No, I haven't. I only got prices for the parts, which alone was enough that I didn't think it was worth it at the time, mainly due to the cost of the display.

You are right though. It is generally very good advice to check with Apple, especially about the battery. I had a string of bad experiences a few years ago that really soured me to dealing with them for repairs, but one never knows.

 

[tugger]

If the battery is swollen, then for saftey sake you need to stop using it.

True that. My iPhone 6 was almost a full year out of warranty when the battery swelled, partially pushing the display out of the case. I took it to Apple and they replaced the phone for free. My understanding is that when batteries structurally malfunction like this (not simply failure to charge, and not the result of physical damage) Apple also considers them a safety issue and more than likely lawsuit material as well and, at least for the iPhone, Apple will do these kinds of repairs gratis for up to 3 years from purchase date. I would check it out .. worth a try. You'll probably be out of luck though if Apple concludes that the battery was damaged in the same event that caused the cracked screen.

I bought a late 2013 rMBP (see signature) which continues to amaze me in terms of performance and reliability. It has traveled with me all over the US and EU. I'm totally satisfied with it and use it every day for custom database development. If I was looking at a $300-400 repair versus ~$2K for a current model, I'd fix it.

Good luck with it.

 

[max6166]

True that. My iPhone 6 was almost a full year out of warranty when the battery swelled, partially pushing the display out of the case. I took it to Apple and they replaced the phone for free. My understanding is that when batteries structurally malfunction like this (not simply failure to charge, and not the result of physical damage) Apple also considers them a safety issue and more than likely lawsuit material as well and, at least for the iPhone, Apple will do these kinds of repairs gratis for up to 3 years from purchase date. I would check it out .. worth a try. You'll probably be out of luck though if Apple concludes that the battery was damaged in the same event that caused the cracked screen.

I bought a late 2013 rMBP (see signature) which continues to amaze me in terms of performance and reliability. It has traveled with me all over the US and EU. I'm totally satisfied with it and use it every day for custom database development. If I was looking at a $300-400 repair versus ~$2K for a current model, I'd fix it.

Good luck with it.

Yes, I am leaning towards repairing it now. Thanks to everyone for their input. You really helped me sort things out.

I will give Apple another chance. My final and worst experience with them was actually regarding a bloated battery, but to be fair, that was many years ago now.

 

[Beachguy]

My MBP is a mid-2012 and needs a new clamshell and disk drive. Even if I COULD replace the machine, I wouldn't as I simply don't see the cost being worth it. In your shoes, I would definitely simply repair it.

It may help to know which 2013 MBP you have.

 

[Boyd01]

Seems like there is still a bit of a gamble there, despite the confidence in your repair capabilities, you just might end up with a broken computer that costs even more to fix.

Don't know about the battery issue, but another approach might be to just plug it into an external display, you can get pretty nice one in the $100 range new.

 

[jw12345678]

I am in the midst of a real conundrum, as I am a freelance web programmer who is currently very ill and without work, and my MacBook Pro is broken.

The LCD in the retina display of my late 2013 Macbook Pro cracked. As well, the battery is a giant swollen mess that has distorted the enclosure. Just as an extra factor, I have a 250 GB SSD, which I have always had to struggle with keeping just all my work on, nevermind anyything else.

I think I can get a display and battery off eBay for about $500 shipped. I don't think I can afford to buy a new Macbook that is equivalent, but I wanted to check here for opinions as I am not very familiar with what options and models are out there and how they compare to my MBP.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as I have to make a decision asap.

Thanks,
max6166

[doublepost=1482835700][/doublepost]Neither of those repairs are particularly difficult, with loads of help from places like i fixit .com I've just done a MacBook screen replacement and am very pleased I did it myself and saved hundreds of pounds in the process. Go for it!

 

[charlyham]

Yes, the $375 includes both a display and battery through eBay, with me doing the installation myself. The Apple prices are cost prohibitive.

I have repaired a few Macbooks in the past, and watched videos on how to do the procedure on my own model. It will be a PITA, but I should be able to handle it.
[doublepost=1481906255][/doublepost]

Thanks for the feedback. I wasn't sure if the late-2103s were still decent machines. I am not familiar with the models released since then, or how they stack up in practical terms against my model.

I was just browsing the classifieds and it seems that even my model still goes for about $750 USD, so I probably can't afford anything newer anyway.
[doublepost=1481907765][/doublepost]

No, I haven't. I only got prices for the parts, which alone was enough that I didn't think it was worth it at the time, mainly due to the cost of the display.

You are right though. It is generally very good advice to check with Apple, especially about the battery. I had a string of bad experiences a few years ago that really soured me to dealing with them for repairs, but one never knows.

I just had an iPhone6 with a swollen battery. The screen was popping out. I made an appointment fo rth genius bar and they told me I was 251days out of warranty but the battery was covered for three years so they gave me a replacement iPhone6 right there. Not saying they will replace your Macbook but just that checking with Apple can result in better than expected results. I had no idea about the battery warranty separate from the iPhone warranty. I made the appointment mainly to get an idea of how much the repair would cost and how quickly they could do it there or if I had to send it in.

 

[bernuli]

I am in the midst of a real conundrum, as I am a freelance web programmer who is currently very ill and without work, and my MacBook Pro is broken.

The LCD in the retina display of my late 2013 Macbook Pro cracked. As well, the battery is a giant swollen mess that has distorted the enclosure. Just as an extra factor, I have a 250 GB SSD, which I have always had to struggle with keeping just all my work on, nevermind anyything else.

I think I can get a display and battery off eBay for about $500 shipped. I don't think I can afford to buy a new Macbook that is equivalent, but I wanted to check here for opinions as I am not very familiar with what options and models are out there and how they compare to my MBP.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as I have to make a decision asap.

Thanks,
max6166

How did the screen get cracked? Is there any other damage to the MacBook?