[evoLver]

what percentage loss should I expect?

Keeping in mind there will be a major redisign, how much would this "old one" lose in value?

Thinking about getting the new 17" anti-glare, and putting in my own 8gb RAM and a 7200 RPM drive. And then I want to sell it when the 2nd gen of the redesign comes out.

Hmmmm, I guess that could be 18 months before that happens. Any thoughts?

[sparker]

I do this pretty regularly (about 18-24 months between upgrades). I ALWAYS buy AppleCare and that seems to make a big difference in how easy it is to sell.

Depending on the hardware available at the time I sell, I typically get between 50% and 75% of what I bought the machine for, and I "throw in" memory and hard drive upgrades that I almost always do (max RAM and Drives).

[Eug]

I buy AppleCare too on many of my Macs, and it does make them easier to sell, but I don't think I recoup the cost of AppleCare from the premium of when I sell it used, even though I get AppleCare at a discount.

So, the reason I buy AppleCare is because I want the peace of mind of having it for my own use.

The best way of maximizing return from a resale is to buy a one-generation-old refurbished unit, and then sell that in 11 months, with 1 month left in the warranty. Best bang for the buck by a long shot. It's easy to sell because you have AppleCare, but you didn't pay extra for that AppleCare, and you paid much less than a new machine to begin with.

Refurbs of those new MacBook Pros should start to appear in a few months.

[rambo47]

I would expect a 25% to 50% drop in resale value over that period of time. That's a VERY rough guesstimate, but one I've experienced over a decade of Mac laptops.

The best bet for maintaining resale value is to get the max model (fastest processor available, biggest hard drive available, most RAM possible, etc.) initially and ensuring it remains in pristine condition. Not an easy task, but a couple of dings on the casing will hurt resale value even if they're only cosmetic, and can be the difference between a sale and no sale.

If you're looking for a MacBook for a year or a year and a half, consider picking up one already pre-owned and saving some dough. Keep a weather eye on the Marketplace forum here at MacNN.

[SierraDragon]

Originally Posted by sparker 

I do this pretty regularly (about 18-24 months between upgrades). ...I typically get between 50% and 75% of what I bought the machine for...

Wow. You folks who can get 75% back on a laptop after using it for 18-24 months have my admiration. Even 50% is pretty darn good IMO, especially with the (IMO huge) $349-to-warranty-years-2-3 AppleCare cost included. I do not see $349 to warranty a computer already a year old as cost-effective on average, except for the peace of mind and/or the phone support.

Personally I doubt if it will be 18 months to the next round of MBP improvements. There are just too many substantive things that are likely to happen much sooner, like Thunderbolt evolution, SSD evolution, more RAM access.

-Allen