Thinking of buying a potentially broken Macbook.

[Jamiet361]

Hey guys, I have come across an offer for a working ibook G4 and 2010 Macbook both for £130 (Not each).

Problem is, the macbook apparently stopped charging one day and refused to power on. I've asked the seller if it powers on with just the charger, but this doesn't appear to be the case. The seller says that the Charging light will only come on occasionally, so it seems like the MagSafe port could potentially be broken?

Anyway, does anyone have a similar experience of this that was perhaps fixable?

Thanks!

 

[WildCard^]

130 GBPs convert appx to 215 USD

Seems like you could easily sell the G4 for a bit of change, locally or on ebay.

Leaves you with a dead MB2010 for around $150. Seems like a good gamble. Is it possible the guy's magsafe charger was the problem? He might not have troubleshot it even that far. Check pins, too.

I had a 2007 MB that had a finicky power adapter. If it wasn't aligned just so, it wouldn't charge. I just got used to making sure the orange light turned on when I plugged it in.

I am unsure how much the Apple store would charge for the repair, but I don't imagine it would be too much. How much are 2010's selling for locally? Also, I think you can call Apple store and ask them how much they would charge to repair it, as they generally have flat rate repair pricing for issues, right? Here in the US I find it to be the case.

I am leaning on that it's a good gamble. Worst case you sell it for parts or invest in getting it working. Best case you get a 2010 for super cheap.

Caveat: know your seller. If he's a known cheapo reseller, assume all that can be done to fix it has been. Also check the serial number on everymac. Might be fibbing about the model year.

good luck.

 

[Jamiet361]

Awesome, thanks for the very thorough reply

2010s are going for around £300-450 here, so it seems a little sweet to pass up on! I found the seller while randomly browsing on Craigslist, he literally said it gave up on him last week, hence my suspicions. Surely he'd have opened it it up or taken it to an apple shop or something right?

At any rate, I've taken your advice and asked the seller for the serial number and more information about the machine including pictures. So we'll just wait and see.

 

[WildCard^]

At any rate, I've taken your advice and asked the seller for the serial number and more information about the machine including pictures. So we'll just wait and see.

Nice, hope it works out. Keep us posted.
FYI, if anyone objects to sharing a SN, ask them for the last 4 digits. It's all you need to find out everything about it. Some people act like it's a credit card number or something...

 

[Jamiet361]

Nice, hope it works out. Keep us posted.
FYI, if anyone objects to sharing a SN, ask them for the last 4 digits. It's all you need to find out everything about it. Some people act like it's a credit card number or something...

Okay he got round to sending the details! It is indeed a 2010 model, 2.4GHz C2D with 2GB of RAM. Condition is okay for a 3 year old laptop, the bottom is a little scuffed, but who looks at that right?

Had a look on eBay and MagSafe DC boards are going for around £20, so presuming that this is the problem, it looks like it could be a relatively easy fix.

 

[WildCard^]

Hi Jamie,

Lucky you. You likely have a nice buy, looks like a safe bet. Get it, dump the G4, and test the system with another magsafe. Also, as I mentioned, I do have a 2008 that only charges if the magsafe adapter is attached 'just so'. I have to adjust it for a few seconds until I see it colors up.

Try the simple stuff before you go digging around inside. I just replaced an inverter cable on an 2008, it was painful as it was my first trip in the bowels of a Macbook.

Hope it works out.

 

[Jamiet361]

Just a quick update.... I unplugged the DC board and plugged it back in and .... Ta Da!

Wifi/Bluetooth isn't working so I think the AirPort card could be done for, but that's an easy job .

 

[WildCard^]

Impressive, nice work!