Read before you meet the seller
What to check, and what it is worth
The tests tell you whether a part works. These explain what the answer means for the price — which faults are cheap, which are deal-breakers, and what a repair actually costs out of warranty on a machine where almost everything is soldered down.
How to Check a Used MacBook for MDM & Activation LockThe single most important check when buying a used MacBook. One Terminal command tells you whether the Mac is remotely managed or iCloud locked — and therefore worthless. Paste the output to decode it.MacBook Battery Cycle Count & Health — How to CheckFind the cycle count and maximum capacity of a used MacBook battery, and learn what counts as acceptable wear for an M1, M2, M3 or M4. Includes what a replacement costs and how much to knock off the price.Apple Diagnostics (Cmd+D) Error Codes ExplainedHow to boot Apple Diagnostics on an Apple Silicon MacBook and what every reference code means — ADP000, PPT004, VDC001 and the rest — so you know which faults are cheap and which are deal-breakers.Used MacBook Buying Checklist — What to Check In PersonA printable step-by-step checklist for meeting a seller: what to inspect, what to ask, the red flags that mean walk away, and how to turn each defect you find into a price reduction.
When you are stood in front of the machine
Reading is for beforehand. On the day, the guided inspection walks you through every hardware test in order and turns what it finds into a number you can negotiate with.
Start the guided inspection