Worth upgrading early 2013 15" rMBP given F/X advantage?

[nylon]

My concerns really relate to the current F/X rate.

15" rMBP's are currently around ~ $500 cheaper in Canada then in the US due to the huge drop in C$ value vs USD

I have an early 2013 15" rMBP 2.4 GHz Core i7 with 16GB RAM and 768GB SSD. Apple care is valid till March 2016

I can get on average ~ USD $1800 on eBay based on sold listings.

A new machine with the specs that I want will run me USD 2030 at the current USD/CAD F/X (including taxes).

Factoring in eBay fees it would cost me ~ USD $400 to upgrade.

There is no doubt that Apple will raise CAD prices shortly and definitely at the next upgrade cycle.

So the question is. Is it worth it to upgrade now?

Any feedback is much appreciated.

 

[JHUFrank]

Holy smokes! Talk about pure financial analysis.

Does the thing still do everything you want it to do efficiently and quickly? On a purely personal note, I find that if I max out a laptop I can use it for what I do for at least 4 years. That's a pretty maxed out box.

 

[Altis]

This will be brutal when the price of the macs catches up to the falling dollar (for us Canadians). I don't really want to spend north of $2500 for the base 15" Pro.

 

[nylon]

This will be brutal when the price of the macs catches up to the falling dollar (for us Canadians). I don't really want to spend north of $2500 for the base 15" Pro.

That's exactly what's going to happen unless the oil price goes up swiftly. There are going to be a lot of price adjustments especially on electronics, cars etc.

 

[maflynn]

If you can cross into Canada fairly cheaply, and pick up a laptop, then yeah, go for it. If its going to cost you 400 bucks to get there, then it probably doesn't make sense.

 

[nylon]

If you can cross into Canada fairly cheaply, and pick up a laptop, then yeah, go for it. If its going to cost you 400 bucks to get there, then it probably doesn't make sense.

I live in Canada.

 

[sarthak]

I live in Canada.

If you live in Canada, the price is exactly the same in Canadian Dollars as it was before and will probably remain the same as our oil backed (literally) currency surges back by the end of the year.

You're really only going to get $2,000 for the existing machine you have in $CAD after eBay/PayPal Fees and conversion. Unless you list it in USD and sell to the Canadian market, it will be difficult to get a US buyer largely due to import charges (depending on where they are). If you're importing one to Canada from the US, you'll be hit by taxes on the Canadian Dollar converted value.

Now it depends on the specs of the new machine you can get for $2030 USD to determine if the upgrade is worth it.

 

[nylon]

If you live in Canada, the price is exactly the same in Canadian Dollars as it was before.

Unless of course, you have always had savings in USD and simply want to realize the gains from converting it to CAD.

The issue is taking advantage of prices before they rise. Apple has historically raised prices in Canada in line with currency fluctuations quickly. So my concern is if it's worth doing an upgrade prior to seeing a $400-$500 price increase. So sell in USD on eBay and buy in CAD thereby taking advantage of the devaluation.

 

[sarthak]

The issue is taking advantage of prices before they rise. Apple has historically raised prices in Canada in line with currency fluctuations quickly. So my concern is if it's worth doing an upgrade prior to seeing a $400-$500 price increase. So sell in USD on eBay and buy in CAD thereby taking advantage of the devaluation.

Price increases in Canada have usually been $100-$150 and most often done with a new model release.

Given the recent decrease in the value of the Canadian Dollar, it is unlikely that Apple will increase prices overnight (i.e. on the 2014 rMBP with dGPU by $400-$500 est.).

Likely to see the rMBP 2015 refresh (and probably lacking dGPU all together but, upper end model) priced at $2899 - $3199 in Canada if the dollar remains in the 0.74 - 0.80 range.

Though, I strongly believe that our oil backed currency to return to 0.95 to 1.05 of a USD by the end of the year. In the last decade, such substantial devaluations have not lasted for long periods of time (i.e. Sept '08 - Mar '09 with recovery by the summer of '09).

 

[nylon]

Price increases in Canada have usually been $100-$150 and most often done with a new model release.

Given the recent decrease in the value of the Canadian Dollar, it is unlikely that Apple will increase prices overnight (i.e. on the 2014 rMBP with dGPU by $400-$500 est.).

Likely to see the rMBP 2015 refresh (and probably lacking dGPU all together but, upper end model) priced at $2899 - $3199 in Canada if the dollar remains in the 0.74 - 0.80 range.

Though, I strongly believe that our oil backed currency to return to 0.95 to 1.05 of a USD by the end of the year. In the last decade, such substantial devaluations have not lasted for long periods of time (i.e. Sept '08 - Mar '09 with recovery by the summer of '09).

Thanks for the input.

Price rises/decreases in the past have been largely inline with the USD/CAD exchange rate. Apple might not increase prices overnight but will certainly do so when new products are released. Even if products are not being refreshed the next time the Apple Store goes down for updates I would expect prices to rise on existing products. If the exchange rate holds, price rises will be greater than $100-$150. The only saving grace for the C$ would be a significant uptick in oil prices or a booming (non-oil) export sector due to Canadian exports being cheaper for the world (especially the US).

There is a chance that if Apple prices do rise in Canada that the second hand market for Apple machines will also experience an increase in price.