Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Used Mac Mini 2018
- Thread starter Falcon80
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I've never really seen much posted about this, because of all Macs, the Mini seems to have the greatest reliability and longevity. Not many issues of "hardware failure", although folks will complain that the bluetooth and wifi can be problematic (usually due to radio interference from the USB3 cables).
I don't use bluetooth or wifi with mine, so no problems to report there.
How does the price compare to buying from the Apple refurbished store? You will pay a little more, but get a full 1-year warranty.
I don't use bluetooth or wifi with mine, so no problems to report there.
How does the price compare to buying from the Apple refurbished store? You will pay a little more, but get a full 1-year warranty.
I have had 8 mac minis that I have purchased for me and my family and I have never had one die.
I even ripped the IR Sensor Motherboard connector off a 2014 in a hard drive upgrade screw up and my Father in law is using that Mac Mini now.
Not saying something can't go wrong, obviously it can and I am sure others have horror stories, but you could buy a brand new one and it could die a year from now and you would have the same issue.
Also think if you took a 2018 to the Apple store they would find a way to repair it for a cost. Not sure how much that would be because it has never been something I have had to do, but I have taken old iPhones in and they have given me a price to fix issues.
I even ripped the IR Sensor Motherboard connector off a 2014 in a hard drive upgrade screw up and my Father in law is using that Mac Mini now.
Not saying something can't go wrong, obviously it can and I am sure others have horror stories, but you could buy a brand new one and it could die a year from now and you would have the same issue.
Also think if you took a 2018 to the Apple store they would find a way to repair it for a cost. Not sure how much that would be because it has never been something I have had to do, but I have taken old iPhones in and they have given me a price to fix issues.
The last Mini with major issues was the 2009 models. I have a 2010, 2012 and 2018 that all get daily use and they keep doing their stuff. Obviously anything with a moving part will eventually fail and that means a spinner will probably fail at some point after years of use. Usually when you switch it off and the drive never spins up again but you can hammer an SSD into all except the 2014.
Actually there’s a 2011 model with AMD graphics... and the 2014 will take an SSD. Just not a RAM upgrade.
Just got my 5th Mini yesterday (two 2012's, two 2014's and a new 2018). Have only had a problem with one - an upgraded 2012 base Mini I gave to my daughter's family. They started having odd crashes which I suspected were caused by a slowly failing original internal hard drive. Pretty hard to diagnose at a distance, but am sure I could have fixed it in-person. Ended up getting them a MacBook Air instead (which they liked much more anyway, LOL).
Would also be curious about the price, it would have to be much cheaper than an Apple refurb to be worth it IMO. They are typically 15% less than the same model new and include a full warranty.
Would also be curious about the price, it would have to be much cheaper than an Apple refurb to be worth it IMO. They are typically 15% less than the same model new and include a full warranty.
I thought they neutered the SSD but I stand corrected. The 2014 is still the least cuddly Mini from what I read.
I think that’s true. That soldered 4GB RAM and step down to dual core didn’t go well.
Unfortunately, there is no Mac mini (2018) on the refurb store in my country. Only 2014 version.
The used mini I am eyeing cost about USD1000 for i7, 32 GB RAM, 256GB SSD. Worth the price?
You can buy that right now brand new (minus the memory) off the apple store for $1099 by picking the i3 base and upgrading the processor. 32GB Memory upgrade would run you ~140 so you are basically getting it for 240 less that it would cost new with a 1 year warranty.
I would probably spend $1099 and spend $99 more to get the warranty and then do the memory upgrade later.
Not sure if it is the same price where you are though. That is a nice setup. Wish I had went with the i7.
None here either in the USA. I payed 999$ for the i5 back in 2018 then added 32GB. I think it were a good deal but think prices dropped since.
That might have been the case in 2018, but there are plenty of refurbs now. You just need a little patience and persistence. I waited a little over a month until the exact configuration I wanted showed up - it arrived yesterday!
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...re.2232630/page-2?post=28505582#post-28505582
Unfortunately that won't help the OP however. But you need to compare the cost of a used machine to a new one with warranty, then decide whether you're saving enough to justify the risk.
Another concern would be there is no way to test it during the meetup unlike when dealing with a laptop.