Used white MacBook - is $380 a decent deal?

[kylera]

I'm looking for a used MacBook for a coworker, and stumbled upon a white MacBook. It's this model: http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...duo-2.0-white-13-early-2009-nvidia-specs.html

The seller says the battery cycle count is at 4 and has uploaded a screenshot of the System Information page showing the battery details. The laptop is physically in near-pristine condition; I notice a few smudges here and there, but that's about it.

The ports are also all in working order. Would 380 be okay, or is it a ripoff?

 

[js81]

Doesn't sound bad to me, but 4 cycles on the battery? Somethings up there, or it's just been replaced. If it's 4 cycles on the original battery, then it sounds like the computer has spent its entire life plugged in; then the battery probably will be bad from lack of use. Otherwise, doesn't sound bad to me at all.

 

[Spink10]

I am all about purchasing Macs used - however that is a really old machine. Good deal if there budget is absolutely that low.

 

[kylera]

Doesn't sound bad to me, but 4 cycles on the battery? Somethings up there, or it's just been replaced. If it's 4 cycles on the original battery, then it sounds like the computer has spent its entire life plugged in; then the battery probably will be bad from lack of use. Otherwise, doesn't sound bad to me at all.

I went back and checked the post - he says he got the battery replaced after the first one died.

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I am all about purchasing Macs used - however that is a really old machine. Good deal if there budget is absolutely that low.

I tried to point that out as well, but the coworker said that budget is an issue at the moment.

Then again, keeping at Snow Leopard shouldn't make things too bad, IMO.

 

[velocityg4]

Seems a little high. You could get a better model off eBay for that price. Say a 2.4Ghz 2008 model or 2.26Ghz 2009 model. That is with the RAM maxed out and Lion.

He should be able to get that model for about $315. This is from looking at completed listings on eBay not just current auctions.

It looks like the 09 model has the better trackpad, supporting four finger gestures (at least the white unibody does). So I would go for that year. I think it also had better graphics but don't recall.

 

[noteple]

Not a ripoff. But not a steal either
Fair price for a 3 yr old plastic machine with a new battery.
I would offer $350 if it had the original 4GB and $320 for 2GB
Should be able to do Snow leopard with 4GB and not too much beach balling.
I have Lion on a machine that's from 2008 and though its not zippy it gets the job done.

 

[phoenixsan]

Imho.....

$250-300 tops will be fair to me, and with reservations.....

 

[js81]

I went back and checked the post - he says he got the battery replaced after the first one died.

Was it replaced with a genuine Apple battery? If so, that's a big plus, because every aftermarket one I've messed with doesn't compare. I still believe that IF it's in excellent condition AND has a new battery that the $380 price is more than reasonable. Still a very usable machine; my Macs are both very similar vintage and only slightly more powerful (2.53 vs. 2.0 and DDR3 vs DDR2) and both run Mountain Lion very well.

 

[Sweetfeld28]

I would say its not.

NewEgg has similar pricing.

 

[vampyr]

I have the same model... in fact, it's the only apple laptop I have and I use it all the time.

Mine came with 4GB of RAM and I am currently running OSX Lion on it. I had thought about upgrading to Mountain Lion but have heard some issues regarding it.

I think it is a great laptop and if it is your first Apple laptop, then that is a GREAT price to get it at. I bought mine as a refurbished unit from Apple and paid about $900 for it and I loved it ever since.

My only complaint is how easily the slightest scuff or scratch shows on the white shell which I can understand why Apple switched to the aluminum design.

If you are looking for an Apple laptop and have less than $500 to spend, then I would suggest picking it up. As long as it is the latest version of the white Macbook, then you can buy a SSD storage for it and it will run plenty fast for just about anything (I currently use mine for Aperture 3 and XCode)

I also run Windows 7 in bootcamp mode and use it for Quicken and other Microsoft only programs.