Should You Repair Your MacBook Or Just Buy a New One?
Oh, shoot! Your MacBook broke. Should you get your MacBook repaired or is it just better to go buy a new one? Well, that depends on several factors, such as what is wrong with it? How old is it? Will a new MacBook be much faster than this one? What are my needs now – have they changed since I bought this one? These are all questions that you need to consider before you decide what to do.
Before reading on, check out our Simple Fix to 5 Common Mac Problems.
Now, here are some other factors to consider.
1. Labor for Checking Mac Problems
First, if the warranty has expired on your MacBook, you are going to be charged, by just about anyone, for them to even look at it and you will most likely be looking at least $80 to $100 minimum fee.
2. MacBook Replacement Parts
Next, does it need replacement parts? How much are they going to cost? Again, that depends on what is wrong. If you spilled a drink on your keyboard, it will depend on how bad the damage is and how old the MacBook is. For some MacBook’s, that might require you to change the whole top case because the battery, keyboard, and trackpad are all integrated. Does the logic board need replacing? That’s expensive.
The hard drive might go wrong. Don’t forget, they are working continuously while your machine is on and, at some point, the heads and the motors are going to wear out. Hard drives aren’t too expensive, and you can also consider the option of an SSD – that will improve your MacBook’s performance no end. The bad news? If you didn’t back those files up, it will cost you in terms of recovering the files or facing the loss of them altogether.
Screen replacement is another repair. If you dropped it or, as some people do, shut the lid with a pen laying on the keyboard, your screen needs replacing. A new screen can cost you up to half the price of a new MacBook!
3. Remaining Mac Life / Usability
There is a point in the life of every computer when a diminishing return must be taken into account. You just know that you can no longer add enhancements to it or anything to improve its performance and, while repairing it might give you a bit more use out of it, it isn’t going to be a long-term fix. At that point, it is most likely best to bite the bullet and buy a new one.
As a general rule of thumb, it is probably better to replace your MacBook if the cost of repair is going to be at least the same as or more than the cost of a new one or if the machine is simply too old to spend that kind of money on anymore. You’ll get a more up to date MacBook that is faster and way more efficient and, even better, it has that all-important warranty on it!
Do be aware – AppleCare and their standard warranty will not cover any damage that is accidental so be careful!