| Looking to finally buy a used Mac and rid yourself of | | | | over to your name after you've paid for it. |
| your PC? With the recession underway, many of you | | | | The third thing that commonly goes wrong in a used |
| might be holding on dearly to your hard earned cash - | | | | Mac is the disc drive or optical drive. It's a good idea |
| after all, Mac's aren't cheap. On average, a Mac would | | | | to bring along a couple of DVD's with you and play |
| cost around two and a half times the price of a PC. | | | | them to see if there are any problems with the drive |
| Second hand Macs are just as good provided you | | | | reading the discs. |
| know what you're getting. | | | | If all the above fails or you don't feel comfortable |
| Here are some useful tips while shopping for a used | | | | with buying a used machine in a private sale, then |
| Mac: | | | | you could consider buying a refurbished Mac. You can |
| The first thing to check for is the battery (if you're | | | | find these available to buy online at the Apple store |
| buying a laptop). It is usually pretty worn down by | | | | and also on other online retailers. Most of them have |
| the time it gets sold. A new Mac laptop's charge | | | | been through standard procedure check, and they |
| would hold about three hours of juice while a used | | | | also come with a 3 month warranty on parts and |
| one will probably be much worse. | | | | labor. This is a much safer option. |
| It's best to test out the laptop you're buying by | | | | Before you put forth your hard earned cash to buy a |
| installing the "Coconut Battery" app which will give | | | | used Mac, do some research and find out the market |
| you tons of information on the battery's status. You | | | | value of the particular machine you're after. How do |
| can easily upload the program onto a small thumb | | | | you do this? You could go to Yahoo stores or eBay |
| drive and take it along with you. | | | | and look at the auctions going on there. It's the best |
| The next thing to do is find out if it's still under | | | | way to determine the approximate value of the |
| warranty. If you are lucky enough to buy a used | | | | computer based on the machine's specifications and |
| mac that's still under warranty, you have truly struck | | | | consumer demand. |
| gold. Apple only provide a default 1 year warranty on | | | | Be wary of private sales where the Mac is way |
| all their computers, but a customer may by | | | | under valued. Second-hand Mac's do have a tendency |
| "AppleCare" to extend their warranty by up to 2 | | | | to hold a higher value compared to PC's, even older |
| years. | | | | the older models. So it is unlikely that someone would |
| If something goes wrong with the hardware, Apple | | | | sell you a Mac for a ridiculously low price. This is a |
| will do a part replacement for free (though you might | | | | sign that there's obviously something wrong with it. |
| have to wait in queue for a week to get things | | | | Finally, don't get over-excited and jump in with your |
| sorted out). Without a warranty in effect, | | | | money. Consider also that you might need extra |
| replacements and labor costs will not be worth your | | | | RAM for the used Mac, or you might need some |
| while to buy a used Mac. Make sure the owner of | | | | extra peripherals like an external USB port, or a |
| the computer transfers their "AppleCare" warranty | | | | wireless modem. |