Waiting for new, or buying used now?
Waiting for a new model and buying used right now are usually framed as opposites. In money terms they are the same question asked twice: what does the machine cost per year of the use you actually get?
The difference is that used hardware gives you a shorter, cheaper ownership block, and waiting gives you a longer one starting later. Both can be the right answer, and both are decided by the same arithmetic.
The comparison, written properly
Buy used now: (used price - its resale value in three years) / 3, plus repairs.
Wait, then buy new: the cost of the wait, plus (new price - end value) / years kept.
The second line has a term people forget: the wait itself. While you wait, your current machine loses value and keeps needing repairs, and that cost lands before the new machine exists. Pricing the wait is the whole point of the waiting calculator on this site, and it is why waiting is rarely as free as it feels in the moment.
What used hardware costs that is not on the listing
A used machine arrives near the steepest part of its depreciation curve, which is good value, and near the part of its life where service costs start. Battery health, storage wear, and the absence of warranty are all real, and none of them are in the price.
The practical rule: add the price of a battery service and one unexpected repair to the used price before comparing. If the comparison still favours used, it is a real advantage rather than an accounting illusion.
When buying used is clearly right
- Your work does not depend on the newest chip generation.
- The machine you want is one or two generations old and widely available.
- You can inspect it, or buy from a seller with a return window.
When waiting is clearly right
- The current machine still does the work and holds value.
- The next model changes something structural for you, not just a benchmark number.
- You are inside the launch window and reviews are weeks away.
The case nobody likes
Sometimes the answer is neither: the current machine is fine, the next model is a small improvement, and buying used in this category is a lottery. In that case the cheapest action is to do nothing, keep the machine, and re-run the numbers in six months. Doing nothing is a decision, and it is usually the one with the lowest cost per year.
Run your own numbers
Any of these three routes can win depending on price, resale, and repair rate. The two calculators here cover both halves of the sum: the upgrade cost calculator prices buying against keeping, and the waiting calculator prices the delay. Use both, then decide, rather than picking the route that sounds most responsible.