In person · 0 of 13 done

Everything to check before you hand over the money

Under ten minutes, in the order that matters. The list is ordered by what each fault costs you, so if the seller is in a hurry, the checks you do first are the ones worth doing.

First

Rule out the machine being unsellable

Two minutes. If either of these fails, nothing below matters.

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Then

The parts that cost real money

These are soldered or assembly-level repairs, so a fault here is a big number.

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Finally

The things you notice every day

Cheaper to fix, but they are what make a Mac annoying to live with.

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What to say when you find something

Battery under 80%

Apple charges about $160 on an Air and $250 on a 16" Pro. Offer that much less and show them the capacity reading.

No original charger

A genuine adapter and MagSafe cable is $60–100. It is the easiest deduction to agree on.

Any ownership lock set

There is no price at which this is worth buying. Leave, and do not accept a promise to unlock it later.

Record what you found and turn it into a price.

Open the scorecard

Worth buying alongside it

The bits and pieces most second-hand Macs turn up without

Back Market — Refurbished MacBooksA marketplace for second-hand Macs that have been through a refurbisher, if the one in front of you turns out to be a dud.View ›Refurbed — Refurbished MacBooksMuch the same idea, mostly European stock. Worth comparing against the others before you commit.View ›eBay Refurbished MacBookseBay’s refurbished section, where the seller is a dealer rather than someone you meet in a car park.View ›

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