rMBP and issues without an apple store

[dougian]

Hello guys,

I'm currently planning the purchase of my first rMBP (and first mac ever )
and i'm really worried about something.

I live in Greece and because the prices here are just insane (base rMBP 15 costs 2200 euro) I'm planning on buying it from someone who will bring it from UK/US upon traveling.

However after reading all those threads about the creaking/screen faults of the rMBP and see all those guys returning their macbooks i'm really worried.

There is no apple store in Greece, just retailers. This means that the only option is to repair the computer and there's not the easiness of the "return it for a non faulty".
It also means that i can't be sure they'll address the screen problems.

What do you guys think? Is the danger real or am I exaggerating?
Any help would be awesome, as I've literally worked my ass of for this laptop (I'm a university student)

 

[brdeveloper]

Hello guys,

I'm currently planning the purchase of my first rMBP (and first mac ever )
and i'm really worried about something.

I live in Greece and because the prices here are just insane (base rMBP 15 costs 2200 euro) I'm planning on buying it from someone who will bring it from UK/US upon traveling.

However after reading all those threads about the creaking/screen faults of the rMBP and see all those guys returning their macbooks i'm really worried.

There is no apple store in Greece, just retailers. This means that the only option is to repair the computer and there's not the easiness of the "return it for a non faulty".
It also means that i can't be sure they'll address the screen problems.

What do you guys think? Is the danger real or am I exaggerating?
Any help would be awesome, as I've literally worked my ass of for this laptop (I'm a university student)

I live in Brazil and I presume we are in similar situations. There aren't Apple Stores here, only the online store. Refunding can be asked, but it's not so easy as it's in US. You have to pay all shipping since you cannot return it in a physical store. Probably the easiest thing is sending it to repair.

Buying a rMBP is definitely risky these days. I'm on the second repair iteration because my screen had image retention at first and the second had uneven yellowing. The issues with wIPS displays are different from the ones we get with TN screens. If you are slightly sensitive to colors, you WILL get annoyed or disturbed if your screen shows some of the known issues.

If you live in USA, you're always more relaxed as Apple support is even better and you pay a good amount less for a rMBP. Apple support is great, but no one wants getting a good laptop after two, three, five replacements. Some people even gave up from trying to get a good display. I would wait before getting a rMBP until Apple solves the quality control issues.

 

[dougian]

I got to say your response is saddenning...

It feels like I'm never going to buy this macbook

 

[vmflapem]

I got to say your response is saddenning...

It feels like I'm never going to buy this macbook

Not sure about other people, but for me, I had to return & replace my MBPr three times because it had so many little problems that really pissed me off.

But again, maybe I am just the unlucky one..

 

[dougian]

Do these problems apply to rMBP 15 only or is the 13inch as unlucky as its bigger brother?

 

[maflynn]

I'll chime in and state my 2012 rMBP was and is problem free, so I'd not be overly concerned. What you see here in the forums are people posting to complain, or resolve problems. They are not representative of everyone who purchased rMBPs. That is not everyone who buys one problem free comes here to state they got a perfect laptop.

I'd say get the latop and enjoy it