Best way to buy macbook pro 13

Tallien

I'm a long term PC user, but I'm going Mac because I work in music and composition, and a key piece of software that I'm likely to want to use as my career develops only runs on Mac. (Altho I must say that for someone who's still using a 17 inch 2007 vista pc 'laptop', the new pc tablet/laptop combinations do look quite cool too, and were it not for the software thing I'd probably have opted for one of them.)As I sometimes travel a lot, I've decided to go for a macbook pro 13, with the possibility of getting a separate screen/keyboard for when I'm using it at home.

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice about the best way to get most bang for your buck. I'm open to ebay or ex-demos; I have no idea if the retina display thing is a must-have or irrelevant (or if it makes a difference for using another screen); and what I should look out for specs-wise. Ideally this will be my main machine for the next 5 yrs or so.
Thanks!

Mr_Toad

Have a look on the Apple web site as they sell refurbished stuff slightly cheaper but you still get the full guarantee.

chib

Look at Gumtree before eBay. There is a good selection on eBay but they often sell at high prices. I've bought a few over the years, a 15" one last week.

If I'm honest, that was the first time I've bought one on eBay for less than I've found on Gumtree.

Splott

On the 13" if you want to use mic and earphone sockets at the same time you'll need to get one of those adapters that has a 5 pole plug on the end like the iPhone headset does as it only has one 3.5mm jack plug that can be earphones or mic but not both with a standard stereo jack.

Best time to buy new is just after a new model has been released. The "previous generation" will be on sale for around £150 less than the new model. They look identical.

wba31

know any students? student discount in Apple store gives good discount on a new machine, and decent discount on AppleCare (which is worth investing in...)

-TangleFoot-

Mr_Toad wrote: »

refurbished

Like so.

Mr_Toad

-TangleFoot- wrote: »

Like so.

LOL :rotfl:

Still if they don't have any then it's reasonable indicator of overall reliability. :cool:

-TangleFoot-

Mr_Toad wrote: »

they don't have any

There were plenty there earlier... though not of the 13" variety.

Mr_Toad

I thought you were being ironic.

I know it can take a while to get what you want from there, a friend of mine waited ages to get a refurbished Mac mini. :rotfl:

knightstyle

I bought my 13 inch Macbook from the Apple refurbished place, they had just brought out a slightly improved version so mine was brand new.
Plus don't get the 3 year Applecare from Apple, buy one on eBay during the first 3 months to get free help and warranty for 3 years. Make sure you buy a physical product not a code though.