buying used macbook pro

Hi,
I am about to buy a unibody 13" macbook pro on craigslist that was bought in Jan. 2009. Is that model the current one that apple is selling on their site? Could you give me some tips on what to check when we meet in person?

thanks!

 

how much are you paying for it?

 

CL is a great place to get used items for a nice price if you're patient. Just go to apple.com to find out the latest model. Quit being lazy. jk

I have bought 4 laptops from CL and have yet to have a bad experience. The condition ranged from used less than a yr, less than a few weeks old & never used but just recently open to let potential buyers to look at it.

Here are the things I do before I decide to buy it.

Go to apple.com & see if they have a refurbished model of the one you're considering getting from CL. Compare the prices & decide from there.

Look at outside condition
Turn on & off to time boot & shutdown time
boot into OSX & fiddle with it
Go to System Profile to verify installed hardware
Look for dead pixal
Turn on & off to time boot & shutdown time

Ask a ton of questions again to the owner

Good luck & protect yourself. There are lots of scammers out there.

 

i compared the hardware with the apple site and it seems current. i was just afraid that even though it's the same, i might still be missing something, so wanted to make sure
thanks for the advice fins.
masterchef: i am buying a 13" one for $950, i think it is a pretty good deal, but i haven't decide to pull the trigger yet cause there might be a new version coming out i heard, hopefully soon.

 

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB466LL/A?mco=MTA4MzIyODg
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB467LL/A?mco=MTA4MzIzMDA
http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB990LL/A?mco=MTA4MzIzMzA

apple refurb machines:

a) just like new
b) come with a 1 year warranty upgradeable to 3 (like any new mac)
c) come with everything you need (you don't have to worry about missing parts you just didn't know about or damaged components)
d) they will all ship with snow leopard

 

The first two on this list aren't the newer models with the SD card slot. So if you wanted the latest one it would be the 3rd listing only.

 

truth. if you want an SD card slot, that would be #3 for $50 more, but it could be worth it. of course, the machine you were considering originally was not the newer model (it didn't come out until mid 2009).

 

yeah, i will also suggest you to buy the 3rd one...

 

Always be on the lookout on craigslist if you're still buying it from there. The usual common sense is required.

 

Agreed. Ask lots of questions, and not just to make sure the machine has been cared for.

A couple of years back, I helped the local LEOs catch a guy who had been making a tidy profit off of stealing laptops from college libraries and selling them on Craigslist. His deal seemed just a little too good to be true, and he gave me the serials so I could check the configuration. With them, I found out he wasn't the registered owner.

A little research can save you a lot of headache.