Apropos to this, I just found a relevant link: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/06/macbook-pro-unfixable/
1 out of 10 repairability score from iFixit.
1 out of 10 repairability score from iFixit.
Of all of the parts they complain about how hard they are to fix, the worst by far is the display. Laptop screens get cracked, and most of them are sold for more then the value of the computer by the manufacturer, but at fair prices by third parties. A common 15" lcd repair by Apple is $600, but by a third part shop it is half that or less as the shop can buy the LCD for about $100.
The retina display on the pro merges the top glass (custom for the retina pro!) with the raw LCD panel. So now instead of a part sourced by a few makers (LG, Samsung, AU opt etc), you get a single source only from Apple directly. So in that case, a non-retina repair would be about $600.
