Buying a Macbook Pro

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VG008

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Hey Guys,

I hope you can help me. I want to buy a macbook pro for iPhone development.
However the South African price is ridiculous. Using an exchange rate of ZAR7.2 = USD1.00, the 15'' mac with additions cost ZAR17985.60 compared to R19999.00 withoutany extra's.

What are the implications for purchasing a mac outside SA? Will my warranty still be valid for south africa?

Thanks you in advance.
 
VG008 said:
Hey Guys,

I hope you can help me. I want to buy a macbook pro for iPhone development.
However the South African price is ridiculous. Using an exchange rate of ZAR7.2 = USD1.00, the 15'' mac with additions cost ZAR17985.60 compared to R19999.00 withoutany extra's.

What are the implications for purchasing a mac outside SA? Will my warranty still be valid for south africa?

Thanks you in advance.
Click to expand...

You will have to pay 14% VAT as it's an import and due to it's nature, customs may impose a 10% duty on the insured value + 14%.

That's what I know of from studying tax. I don't specialize though so there may be more to it.
 
Cost-Shipping+10%+14%

Warranty is worldwide but you're dealing with Core here...
 
Yeah I forgot to mention that the warranty is world wide. I bought my first Mac in the UK and it stuffed out down here. Digicape in Cape Town honored the warranty and replaced my motherboard and cd drive.
 
If you're importing it then all those extra taxes have to be paid. Or, if you buy it there and bring it back (or get someone to bring it back for you) then you don't have to pay the taxes. You can even claim back the tax you pay where you buy it at the airport.

And it is so much cheaper - especially if you get a good exchange rate. I got my Macbook Pro for just over half the price :)
 
Thanks for all the replies.
I am going to the US, so tax shouldn't be an issue. Good to know the warranty is world wide :)
 
Remember that if you do get searched when re-entering the country you will still be charged VAT if you cannot prove you took the laptop out with you. I've been in and out of the country multiple times without ever being pulled aside by customs, but that doesn't mean it won't happen eventually.

I don't recall if there are any penalties for getting caught trying to sneak something in.

ponder said:
Cost-Shipping+10%+14%
Click to expand...
Not quite. It's customs value * 1.1 * 0.14 - that is how they calculate the VAT. There are no customs duties on laptops at present.
 
Thanks for that tip.

noxibox said:
Remember that if you do get searched when re-entering the country you will still be charged VAT if you cannot prove you took the laptop out with you. I've been in and out of the country multiple times without ever being pulled aside by customs, but that doesn't mean it won't happen eventually.

I don't recall if there are any penalties for getting caught trying to sneak something in.


Not quite. It's customs value * 1.1 * 0.14 - that is how they calculate the VAT. There are no customs duties on laptops at present.
Click to expand...
 
VG008 said:
Thanks for all the replies.
I am going to the US, so tax shouldn't be an issue. Good to know the warranty is world wide :)
Click to expand...
In that case don't forget to factor in sales tax for whatever state you buy it in, though that can usually be bypassed by buying online, but again that depends on the state. I don't think you'll be able to claim that back when you depart.

I've just been told I need to budget in a new MBP for a project I'm starting in the new year so I'll probably buy it in the UK and claim the 20% back when I leave. Now I've just got to decide if I want 15" or 13" :o
 
bwana said:
I've just been told I need to budget in a new MBP for a project I'm starting in the new year so I'll probably buy it in the UK and claim the 20% back when I leave. Now I've just got to decide if I want 15" or 13" :o
Click to expand...

I.e. quad core or dual core... I ad a play with the 15" - it is disturbingly quick!
 
koffiejunkie said:
I don't find the difference between the two to be significant, really. For Portability the i7 MacBook Air is the one :)
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I'd like more than 4gb of RAM, firewire, a DVD, and a 500gb+ hdd . . . but apart from that an air is perfect. :D
 
bwana said:
I'd like more than 4gb of RAM, firewire, a DVD, and a 500gb+ hdd . . . but apart from that an air is perfect. :D
Click to expand...

He he, good point. I haven't used my DVD for anything other than ripping the odd CD, and I have an external BD that I can use for that, so I have little use for the DVD drive. I'd much rather have the option of a second hard drive or more battery.
 
koffiejunkie said:
He he, good point. I haven't used my DVD for anything other than ripping the odd CD, and I have an external BD that I can use for that, so I have little use for the DVD drive. I'd much rather have the option of a second hard drive or more battery.
Click to expand...
At least you have that option available to you if you have the MBP chassis, albeit aftermarket. :) I always have to burn a cd/dvd at the end of a project so I'd prefer not to lug around an external writer.
 
bwana said:
I'm surprised since you can get the kits for Mac's going back to the Powerbook G4s.
Click to expand...

Well, it's not that it's not available. It's just not very practical, given the selection of IDE drives that's available. My ideal setup would be to move my main (500GB) drive to the optibay for data - music and pictures mostly - and put a smallish SSD in the hard drive bay. The biggest 2.5" IDE drive I know of is the WD 250GB 5400rpm - not big enough.
 
i7 Macbook Air is awesome. koffiejunkie how much battery life do you get out of yours and on what brightness setting?
 
koffiejunkie said:
Well, it's not that it's not available. It's just not very practical, given the selection of IDE drives that's available. My ideal setup would be to move my main (500GB) drive to the optibay for data - music and pictures mostly - and put a smallish SSD in the hard drive bay. The biggest 2.5" IDE drive I know of is the WD 250GB 5400rpm - not big enough.
Click to expand...
What macbook do you have then?
 
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