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Would you repair a 2013 15" rMBP for $650 or order the new 15" MBP?

Would you repair a 2013 15" 2.3 Ghz 16GB 512GB for 600€ or order a 15" MBP?

  • buy the new MBP (3300€/$3625)

    Votes: 12 44.4%

  • repair the old rMBP (600€/$660)

    Votes: 15 55.6%
  • Total voters
    27
L

lamunkya

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 6, 2014
14
108
I have a late 2013 15" rMBP that is/was on its last legs.

  • Display coating is peeling. It started on the edges and now affects the whole screen. Apple won't replace it for free, I tried multiple times.
  • Spacebar is no longer working because I spilled water on it. Totally my fault. I've been using an external keyboard for the last few weeks before the new MBP announcement on the 27th.
  • Battery is dying @ 790 cycles
  • Rubber feet are missing
Other than that it's working fine. I just cleaned the heatsinks the other day.

The announcement of the new MBPs left me disappointed because I don't think the pricing for the 15" in the EU is fair, particularly without Kaby Lake. I also dont own a single USB-C device yet.
But I can't keep my machine in its current state.

The parts needed to "refurbish" my machine are available and I'm confident that I could do it myself with ifixit. I've changed the topcase on a 13" air before.
  • new display assembly
  • new upper case & keyboard
  • new battery
  • new bottom case
total ~600€/$660

My new CTO machine (15" 2.7Ghz 460m 512GB) would cost 3300€/$3600.

The old machine has enough CPU power for me. A bit more graphics performance for the odd Blizzard game session would be nice to have. The only thing I'm missing is a larger (1TB) SSD but there's no way I could justify the prices.

What would you guys do — repair the old one and have a refurbished machine that works fine for 1-2 years and can be handed down to the family later on or cut the losses and order a new one?
 
I would buy.
If it was a 2015 I would say fix.
I had a 2014 and broke down and bought the 2015 solely for the track pad.

I would buy new and never look back
 
I'm always the type to save $$$ when I can.

If you don't anticipate any further repairs for the next few years and you're happy with your current machines performance then I say get it repaired and save the roughly $3600 you would spend on the new machine till later.
 
  • Like
Reactions: c0ppo
That's a tough call. If it were a 13" I'd say go and look to buy one used and keep the current for parts.
You've got water damage, which may become worse over time.
I'd probably consider getting a quote from a reputable repair shop - there are a few individuals at least in the US doing board-level repairs and such, not necessarily an Apple approved service shop, and see what comes out of it.
I replaced my 2011CTO battery with a new third party OWC-sold battery, and, well, it's crap, so I'd look to Apple OEM on the replacement battery at the very least.

I was hoping to move from my 2011MBP to the new model but lack of more memory + needing at least 1TB SSD + price 'adjustment' left me cold, so I just picked up a used 2015 16GB 1TB for less than half the price, although sadly no AC on it. That might be another option to consider, especially if we start to see online closeout deals on prior models or refurb prices drop meaningfully.
 
I'm not sure why people keep bringing up Kaby Lake processors as they don't exist in a higher powered form factor yet.
 
AdonisSMU said:
I'm not sure why people keep bringing up Kaby Lake processors as they don't exist in a higher powered form factor yet.
Click to expand...
Possibly because of the expectation and hope they may actually offer a 32GB RAM option and/or something more than the current models, consider more than a few are disappointed with the latest offering?
 
wegster said:
Possibly because of the expectation and hope they may actually offer a 32GB RAM option and/or something more than the current models, consider more than a few are disappointed with the latest offering?
Click to expand...
I've been here since 2010 and even when the retina MacBook Pros came out people were just as angry then as they are now. It's how things are on MR. You hear these same posts every time a new product launch happens.

1. talk about how long and how much time and money you've spent on apple products
2. complain about why you dont like whatever change apple has made to the products
3. say you will buy products for other vendors
3. complain about the presentation itself
4. demand that high level execs heads should roll
5. suck it up and buy the new apple kit anyway
6. rinse and repeat
 
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Reactions: Hal~9000
Looks like the poll is neck and neck so far. $3600 is a lot of damn cash though IMO and much easier for people to say they'd spend it on a new machine when it's not really their money and simply a hypothetical question.

AdonisSMU said:
I've been here since 2010 and even when the retina MacBook Pros came out people were just as angry then as they are now. It's how things are on MR. You hear these same posts every time a new product launch happens.

1. talk about how long and how much time and money you've spent on apple products
2. complain about why you dont like whatever change apple has made to the products
3. say you will buy products for other vendors
3. complain about the presentation itself
4. demand that high level execs heads should roll
5. suck it up and buy the new apple kit anyway
6. rinse and repeat
Click to expand...

I like this post :)

People will always be complaining about something. You can't please everyone and the internet has given this whiny generation of sorts an avenue to voice their displeasure to others. It's like when you see a kid throw a tantrum in the store because his parents said they can't have something since it's too expensive. Some kids have the self control to understand "Ok, I guess I can't have this" and not raise a tantrum but others... well...

Looking back at previous MacBooks dating all the way back to 2008 I'd say Apple has made amazing strides in the technology they put into their machines. Are they pricey? Sure, but whining about it doesn't change anything and is just like the screaming kid at the store you wish would shut up and act like an adult. IMO the base MacBook Pro is a great prelude to the future of the MacBook Air and a better value than last years MBP with 256gb SSD option. Too expensive for you? Then wait for a sale or move on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AdonisSMU
AdonisSMU said:
I've been here since 2010 and even when the retina MacBook Pros came out people were just as angry then as they are now. It's how things are on MR. You hear these same posts every time a new product launch happens.

1. talk about how long and how much time and money you've spent on apple products
2. complain about why you dont like whatever change apple has made to the products
3. say you will buy products for other vendors
3. complain about the presentation itself
4. demand that high level execs heads should roll
5. suck it up and buy the new apple kit anyway
6. rinse and repeat
Click to expand...

Meanwhile, people that are disappointed eventually act.
I've been developing software and been in tech for > 20 years. I seriously disliked the original Macs. When OS X came out, it was a 'cute' Unix variant to me, but couldn't replace a 'real' OS for me - although I was glad to see it had broader appeal.

I had a side bet with some friends on Apple releasing a phone..about 5 years before it happened. I had little use for a 'smartphone' at the time, as honestly, they all sucked but they hit a home run on that one, effectively creating the market as we know it today. My first couple of years with OS X had me daily considering just wiping it clean and turning it into a reasonably decent system running Linux - so I could get work done. Eventually, I settled on running VMs and using OS X for the host OS and apps, invested in various software, ...

I left the iPhone for years as it's limitations annoyed me, while sticking with MBPs and OS X. If Apple doesn't produce something that is worthy of the 'Pro' moniker, moving to a Lenovo or (sigh) MS device running OS X itself inside a VM may be the eventual outcome. I'v put my $ where my mouth is and bought a used 2015MBP to replace my aging-but-upgraded BTO 2011 to see if Apple produces something worthwhile, to me.

Meanwhile, do a search for XPS and you'll see more than a few are also putting their money where their mouths are as well. While there are always some that fit your list above (forums of course, contain far more people and posts of 'unhappy' folks than those quietly enjoying <whatever the forum subject is>), there remains those that do not, or consider it a series of failures (to satisfy their expectations, keep up with the competition, whatever) and move on, which eventually over time can have a serious impact to a brand which would like one device (e.g. a phone) to feed other and ongoing purchases of both goods and services (MacBooks, tablets, cloud, ..).
 
Repair shouldn't cost that much.

Don't need to replace the top case: just the keyboard and the battery.

The keyboard is held in by rivets, but you can watch YouTube videos on how to remove those.
 
tubeexperience said:
Repair shouldn't cost that much.

Don't need to replace the top case: just the keyboard and the battery.

The keyboard is held in by rivets, but you can watch YouTube videos on how to remove those.
Click to expand...

Did you clean the display with any solutions?
 
Do you need to use it as a portable computer?
I have a really banged up MacBook Pro 2012 and I've converted it to a desktop with external screen keyboard and mouse which you can pick up for a good price. It just stays closed in "clamshell mode" with my screen sitting on top :) It will last for years like this and you could get a MacBook for your portable needs.

Otherwise, Repair. These computers last so long and the latest processor upgrades have focused more on energy efficiency improvements rather than actual processing power (generally). On a new computer you'd get the faster SSD which does make a difference thats probably not worth 3k!
 
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