MacBook Pro financing

[resident]

If the only definite income you have coming over the next year is $4k from coaching then you can't afford this laptop. If you happen to have car issues the day after buying the laptop are you going to be screwed? You will look pretty dumb if you have a $1500 laptop and no way to get to your coaching job.

If you still decide that you really want/need it (I just bought a 15" and like it a lot)...
1. Don't pay Apple to upgrade your RAM, as mentioned above. Search online and you can get it for 25-50% what Apple will charge.
2. Don't upgrade your internal hard drive. Just wait and get an external drive if you end up actually needing more space.
3. Wait to get Apple Care until your first year of warranty is about up. No point in giving Apple the money until then.

 

[tm3308]

If the only definite income you have coming over the next year is $4k from coaching then you can't afford this laptop. If you happen to have car issues the day after buying the laptop are you going to be screwed? You will look pretty dumb if you have a $1500 laptop and no way to get to your coaching job.

If you still decide that you really want/need it (I just bought a 15" and like it a lot)...
1. Don't pay Apple to upgrade your RAM, as mentioned above. Search online and you can get it for 25-50% what Apple will charge.
2. Don't upgrade your internal hard drive. Just wait and get an external drive if you end up actually needing more space.
3. Wait to get Apple Care until your first year of warranty is about up. No point in giving Apple the money until then.

I make about $60 a week donating blood plasma, plus a monthly check from the Daily Iowan (usually right around $60). So I have income to keep up with payments, just not enough to have it paid off before the summer. Unless I win a free iPad from a university lottery :biggrin:

But, by taking your advice, that brings the price back down to $1100. Much more affordable :smile:

 

[HandSanitizer]

 

[BigBake]

I have done this (financed) but my finances were drastically different than yours.

If I was in your shoes I'd make darn sure I needed the laptop....and that a $500 Best Buy PC couldn't get me by for a few more years. I'm only saying that because you asked. In the end it's your money and you have to spend it in a way you deem appropriate.

 

[dmclone]

You asked for an opinion so here is mine. Keep in mind that I'm 40 and I've done similar things as your proposing when I was in my 20's.

Unless you have the cash, don't put anything on credit unless you can pay it off by the end of the month or it's a mortgage.

Throw out that it's an Apple because that just brings up the whole Microsoft Vs. Apple debate. Buying something on credit for $1,500 when you only have $400 saved is dumb. Paying $1,500 for a laptop when you can get a new laptop for $400 is a big luxury. I have no problem with people paying $1,500 for a laptop if they have the cash. If it's that important to you to have this specific laptop than weight until you have the cash.

Once again, just my opinion.

 

[bos]

You asked for an opinion so here is mine. Keep in mind that I'm 40 and I've done similar things as your proposing when I was in my 20's.

Unless you have the cash, don't put anything on credit unless you can pay it off by the end of the month or it's a mortgage.

Throw out that it's an Apple because that just brings up the whole Microsoft Vs. Apple debate. Buying something on credit for $1,500 when you only have $400 saved is dumb. Paying $1,500 for a laptop when you can get a new laptop for $400 is a big luxury. I have no problem with people paying $1,500 for a laptop if they have the cash. If it's that important to you to have this specific laptop than weight until you have the cash.

Once again, just my opinion.

Makes sense to me.

 

[fatkid1974]

I have done this (financed) but my finances were drastically different than yours.

If I was in your shoes I'd make darn sure I needed the laptop....and that a $500 Best Buy PC couldn't get me by for a few more years. I'm only saying that because you asked. In the end it's your money and you have to spend it in a way you deem appropriate.

I know 3 different people that have gone the $500 route and within a year they start having problems with the damn things (viruses, freeze up, slow start-up, battery life going to crap, etc). I spent $1000 on the entry level mac 2 years ago and have had 1 virus and it runs just as fast now as the day I bought it. My battery will last about 4 hours now instead of 5 -6 when I got it, but I don't see me needing another laptop for at least another 2 years. You will buy 2 $500 pc's in that same amount of time to get equal performance.

 

[dmclone]

I know 3 different people that have gone the $500 route and within a year they start having problems with the damn things (viruses, freeze up, slow start-up, battery life going to crap, etc). I spent $1000 on the entry level mac 2 years ago and have had 1 virus and it runs just as fast now as the day I bought it. My battery will last about 4 hours now instead of 5 -6 when I got it, but I don't see me needing another laptop for at least another 2 years. You will buy 2 $500 pc's in that same amount of time to get equal performance.

Your friends need to buy better $500 laptops. You can buy a $500 laptop that is just reliable as any mac book. Getting a virus has nothing to do with buying a cheap laptop, freezing up has nothing to do with buying a cheap laptop,etc. I'm on my 2nd $350-$400 laptop in the last 5 years and have only had one issue (battery).

Not saying that there is anything wrong with your $1,000 laptop, I wouldn't mind having one sometime.

 

[fatkid1974]

Your friends need to buy better $500 laptops. You can buy a $500 laptop that is just reliable as any mac book. Getting a virus has nothing to do with buying a cheap laptop, freezing up has nothing to do with buying a cheap laptop,etc. I'm on my 2nd $350-$400 laptop in the last 5 years and have only had one issue (battery).

Not saying that there is anything wrong with your $1,000 laptop, I wouldn't mind having one sometime.

I'm sure that's the issue. They seemed to go for off brand with alot of fancy bells, even though those bells were junk, thinking they were getting the best deal. I'm also sure they probably didn't do any research except for what the salesman told them.

 

[cycfan1]

Your friends need to buy better $500 laptops. You can buy a $500 laptop that is just reliable as any mac book. Getting a virus has nothing to do with buying a cheap laptop, freezing up has nothing to do with buying a cheap laptop,etc. I'm on my 2nd $350-$400 laptop in the last 5 years and have only had one issue (battery).

Not saying that there is anything wrong with your $1,000 laptop, I wouldn't mind having one sometime.

This... you can buy 3 $400 laptops that are quality... just need to know what your looking for.

Don't by an Apple... your paying for the logo and that alone. Apple is not good at making products, just at marketing only.

 

[justcynn]

also look on apple.com in the reburbished section, apple refurbished comes with the same warranty and the macbook/ipod/ipad I bought for my wife were like new..

as far as the financing bit, I have financed plenty over my lifetime, its something each of us have to learn and manage - I learned the hard way, paying with monthly payments got to be pretty easy to justify and they can add up quickly if you are not careful, let me just say unless its a house, if I can't pay cash - its a no go...

 

[dmclone]

This... you can buy 3 $400 laptops that are quality... just need to know what your looking for.

Don't by an Apple... your paying for the logo and that alone. Apple is not good at making products, just at marketing only.

Even though I agree they are overpriced, they are actually some of the most reliable laptops made.

 

[3TrueFans]

Apple is not good at making products,

That's just silly.

 

[cycfan1]

That's just silly.

Mispoke- by making I meant innovation. Name one product Apple 'invented'

Laptop, done before.
IPod, done before.
IPad, done before.

All Jobs was good at is putting a brand name on the above and making them popular. Now they are popular and seem to be reliable... but I have had just as good of luck with plenty of PC offbrands... long as you know what you are looking for.

 

[CyFan61]

Mispoke- by making I meant innovation. Name one product Apple 'invented'

Laptop, done before.
IPod, done before.
IPad, done before.

All Jobs was good at is putting a brand name on the above and making them popular. Now they are popular and seem to be reliable... but I have had just as good of luck with plenty of PC offbrands... long as you know what you are looking for.

If you think that the iPod didn't improve on mp3 player technology, or that the iPad didn't improve on tablet computer technology, you are either a fool or just blinded by an irrational hatred of Apple. Same with Macbooks.

 

[guacamole7]

Hey guys. I'm looking at getting a MacBook Pro in the near future (no later than June), and I saw I can finance it over a 12-month period. Has anyone here done this? I'll have a little over $450 towards a down payment after New Years. Just wondering if that's enough for the $1,500 product, and what the minimum payments are like. I know the interest rates are crazy high (like 24%), but I'm not worried about taking more than a year. I make about $4000 coaching in the summer, so I can make minimum payments (or more if I can afford it) and then pay off the balance once I start getting paid in the summer.

Just wondering if any of you have done this before and would recommend it.

If you can't purchase this device with cash, you shouldn't purchase it.

 

[ISUonthemove]

If it's not in your budget to just buy the computer outright at $1500, then I guarantee you it's not in your budget to finance it in 12-24 months. A lot of businesses, like say...Best Buy, are making a majority of their profits from suckers financing purchases like these and signing up for their credit cards.

 

[Rickybaby]

Originally Posted by dmclone You asked for an opinion so here is mine. Keep in mind that I'm 40 and I've done similar things as your proposing when I was in my 20's.

Unless you have the cash, don't put anything on credit unless you can pay it off by the end of the month or it's a mortgage.

Throw out that it's an Apple because that just brings up the whole Microsoft Vs. Apple debate. Buying something on credit for $1,500 when you only have $400 saved is dumb. Paying $1,500 for a laptop when you can get a new laptop for $400 is a big luxury. I have no problem with people paying $1,500 for a laptop if they have the cash. If it's that important to you to have this specific laptop than weight until you have the cash.

Once again, just my opinion

Makes sense to me.

Have to say I agree with these guys too. If you are donating plasma to pay for a fancy laptop, then your priorities are in the wrong place. Buy a cheaper laptop; yeah it will be windows but it will get done what you need to get done. Years from now you will be thanking us old farts.

 

[bos]

If you think that the iPod didn't improve on mp3 player technology, or that the iPad didn't improve on tablet computer technology, you are either a fool or just blinded by an irrational hatred of Apple. Same with Macbooks.

This.

 

[cycfan1]

If you think that the iPod didn't improve on mp3 player technology, or that the iPad didn't improve on tablet computer technology, you are either a fool or just blinded by an irrational hatred of Apple. Same with Macbooks.

Probably both, moreso the latter.

I have a $20 mp3 player that does things exactly the same, was made before the Ipod, but did not see the marketing effort that Apple put forward.