Refurbished macbook air

[fatsatsuma]

My aged macbook is coming to the end of its life. I want to replace it but not sure I can stretch to £1000 plus for a new one. I've bought several refurbished iphones over the years and am generally positive about them, and am seriously considering a refurbished macbook. I've used Backmarket in the past, and am looking at a 2020 edition which I'm assuming will continue to update to the latest iOS for a while to come. I am worried about battery life though.

Can anyone tell me about their experience with a refurbished Macbook? I want something that will last me at least 5 years as my current one has - is this feasible?

I don't have a Macbook but I've bought refurbished Apple products before usually from the Apple refurb site simply because of the new battery and shell/case - I've bought a couple of ipads - a 12.9" one that is a 2017 model - I bought that in 2020 and it's still fine with it's refurbished battery.

Do you actually need to use it off battery a lot or for long periods of time?

You can send it to Apple to get a battery refurb done - I know there are plenty of other places that do it that are probably cheaper than Apple. I bought an ipad 3-4 years old without a refurbished battery (not from Apple) and the battery life was deteriorating after about 3 years - it was too old to get the latest iOS updates too so I bought another (from Apple) - I know - different device to a Macbook but I understand your concern about battery life.

If you go to
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/mac/repair

you can select a model and get an estimate for an Apple battery refurb.
I selected am early 2020 13" model and the quote was £245. UNder their Apple+ care insurance - if the battery capacity drops below 80% inside the year they replace it for free so 80% battery life is, I guess, around the kind of figure you should be looking for. I don't think the Apple refurb store will offer many, if any, refurb items than are more than about 3 years old.

I've bought a lot of laptops and a couple of ipads over the last 20 years from
https://www.morgancomputers.co.uk/search.php?search_query=macbook&section=content

they don't have much in stock ATM but maybe worth emailing to ask if they think they will be getting any 2020 models in anytime soon.

A lot of musicians use Macbooks in order to use a popular multitrack recording and mixing software "Logic Pro" so a lot of MacBooks pop up for sale on various musicians websites that sell other things in addition to used musical instruments.

I've bought a MacMini with an M1 processor as an alternative to a MacBook (in order to use Logic Pro) because I wanted to use it with a huge 27" monitor I have. It might be worth keeping an eye on this site for instance:

https://www.basschat.co.uk/forum/88-sell-anything/

scroll through and you'll see Macbooks and MacMini's popping up now and then. You'll probably have to create an account (free) to see the postings. I've bought a few things on that site and been on it for years - they are a good lot of helpful and reliable people in my experience.

Like me - do you actually need the portability of a MacBook Pro or Air? A MacMini and a separate monitor was cheaper overall for me and it was what I wanted - no need for portability and I needed an abnormally large screen.

I had a similar issue op, my 2016 MacBook Air was on its last legs so I looked into getting a brand new one from apple. I soon realised that if I was to buy a new one (almost £2000) I would also need to purchase apple care due to the amount of money it cost, and frequent MacBook issues such as dents in the screen etc, which I knew I’d be devastated about after investing that much money.

So, I brought a second hand MacBook Air (2020) gold for around £320 from eBay, however, when I received it, some of the keys were sticky and some pixels were dead. So I returned it for a refund. I then brought a MacBook Pro 2023 (from eBay) for around £600 and it’s been brilliant! I love it so much, and don’t feel guilty for spending out too much money. Also, if it did get damaged in anyway, I could live with it knowing it hadn’t cost me the earth… although I’ve always had MacBook airs… the upgrade to a pro has been fantastic .

If you’re thinking about selling your MacBook, check out Target’s electronics trade-in program—it’s a simple and secure option, and you can get store credit if you’re planning to upgrade.
For the best return, though, consider listing it right here in the forum or on platforms like Swappa, Facebook Marketplace, or eBay. Just make sure to include detailed specs, condition info, and clear photos to help it stand out to serious buyers.
Happy selling!

II bought a refurbed Mac air from Amazon, it works fine , I hate it, really really hate it , and it’s absolutely useless for uni, which is what I bought it for, and now I’m stuck with it as I can afford to replace it with a normal laptop, but yeah it works fine .