How Much Does it Cost to Replace a MacBook Logic Board?

The cost to replace the board depends on the year/model of your machine, and its specifications. Most logic boards you will find for sale direct to the consumer are on eBay. I do not think eBay is a great option for reasons I outline below, but it is an excellent place to ascertain the market value for the logic boards in question. 

This makes sense on older machines when they are available cheaply. If you have the time to hunt down a board & figure out how to install it, and the board is reasonably priced for your year/model, this is a viable option. If you choose to replace the board, you’ll be paying for the whole thing even if only one component is causing the problem. On older machines, the time & kill necessary to track down the problem may not be worth it, when the cost of the entire board is $80. On newer machines, where boards go for over $1000, this is not a viable option. 

Do realize, many board vendors sell defective parts. Expect turnaround time to be longer with this option: the first board you receive will often be faulty. Most of these boards are taken from recycled machines, and many vendors do not test machines before listing parts on eBay. 

Some businesses part out broken devices, list each part separately, and refund whoever complains. Other businesses part out broken devices, figure out why the device failed, sets that defective part aside, and sells all the other working parts. The latter model means a much lower rate of customers receiving defective parts: but requires a trained technician, time, and known good parts inventory for testing. 

It is FAR more efficient to utilize the former business model. Most buyers aren’t mad when a seller issues a full refund and an apology, which is how sellers who do not test components can still maintain very high feedback. Instantly refunding in full anyone who receives a bad part, and occasionally they even send out a second.

This makes sense if spending $100-$200 in labor fees is less worrisome than potentially breaking something as you take apart your machine for the first time. Or, perhaps you simply do not have the time. In this case, the repair shop deals with the hassle of parts sourcing and warranty for you. Even if their vendor screws them, you are the repair shop’s customer: part of their labor price is you dealing with this hassle. Add $100-$200 depending on your area to the prices for the part by itself above, and that is what a repair shop will typically charge for board replacement. This is going to be the most costly option – you are paying the repair shop for their labor, and paying for an entirely new board. Once it gets to this point, purchasing a used laptop of similar specification may be the cheaper route to go. 

Repairing the board can be an excellent option if you have a newer model – a $200-$450 board repair fee is far better than spending $700-$1100 to replace a modern board. Even if your board can be purchased part by itself for a price similar to the price of component level board repair services, a repair shop is going to take responsibility for disassembly, reassembly, and all associated work assuring the machine functions. This saves you time and hassle.

Repairing the board makes less sense as the machine gets older. Access to chipsets & parts as the machine gets older is more and more difficult, and the board itself is worth less. Once the cost to replace the board falls below the cost of highly skilled labor to repair the board, it no longer makes economic sense to repair the board – a $200-$400 board repair charge on an 820-2327 makes no sense when an 820-2327 can be sourced for $38.28.