Bought my kids refurb MacBook M1 Airs. Amazing devices! They love them. 

Battery is tops, screen is tops, just tops.

duckDecoy:

 

Is this an OK option for me to buy for a year 10 student?   The chromebooks we have got are not surviving.

 

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/EXNBKDEL54703/Dell-Latitude-E5470-14-FHD-Laptop-A-Grade-Refurbis

 

I would suggest something a little more up to date- like this:

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/EXNBKHPB8405051/HP-EliteBook-840-G5-14-FHD-Laptop-B-Grade-Refurbis

Stu1:

 

Interesting to see if prices keep going up , I looked at another 1tb SSD the other day less than 2 years ago I paid $199 for Samsung pro , today’s price at p b tech $516 that’s insane increase 

 

Its why chip stocks  are heading to the moon and Samsung are paying their Fab staff USD $400K bonuses.
Demand for Chips and Ram are currently off the chart.

We have an existing HP Chromebook where some of the keys have stopped working.  They look fine on the keyboard (not broken), just don't respond to being pushed.

Does anyone think these are worth fixing?  Trying to figure out if we should pay to have someone assess it and possible fix it, or just give up on buying Chromebooks (this is the 4th!) and switch to getting an ex lease laptop.

Too many unknown variables to say. Price you paid for it, shape it’s in, how old it is etc. Chromebooks aren’t fixed, the parts are swapped out. Keyboard is one of the cheaper things that can go wrong (if that’s all it is) but paying an assessment fee and labour takes the price up to half what you might buy a new one for on sale.

Should you switch to a laptop? Too many unknowns about who’s using it and what it’s being used for. 
Some Chromebooks are  more robust than others even within the same brand.

Did you try refreshing the Chromebook?

Edit: typos

I brought a MacBook Air M1 8gb in 2020 and used it for 4 years. My daughter inherited it 2 years ago so it's in its 6th year. Gets used every day, she never takes a power supply to school - charges at the end of the day, or every second day.

Covers everything needed for school and also gets used a lot at home - YouTube, Minecraft, music production, etc.

Cost $1700 new = $280 per year so far and hasn't showed any signs of slowing down or reduced battery life. I'm predicting she will have it until she finishes school in 2029, if not longer.

The new Neo is under $1000 if you get it with education pricing. The few people that I know with kids on Chromebooks spent less but have constant problems and replace them with new ones every year or 2.

nzben:

 

I brought a MacBook Air M1 8gb in 2020 and used it for 4 years. My daughter inherited it 2 years ago so it's in its 6th year. Gets used every day, she never takes a power supply to school - charges at the end of the day, or every second day.

 

Covers everything needed for school and also gets used a lot at home - YouTube, Minecraft, music production, etc.

 

Cost $1700 new = $280 per year so far and hasn't showed any signs of slowing down or reduced battery life. I'm predicting she will have it until she finishes school in 2029, if not longer.

 

The new Neo is under $1000 if you get it with education pricing. The few people that I know with kids on Chromebooks spent less but have constant problems and replace them with new ones every year or 2.

 

I very much doubt our issues are anything other than abuse/mistreatment from a young lad.  Going to see if I can find the sweet spot between price and a device that can take some abuse.