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Good spot, and fantastic timing! I was swithering between a new 24" 2.66 from Apple and a 2008 24"2.8 from Cancom when I spotted this. Only 98 left now!
J
 
2008 imac 3.06

Many thanks for the info on the 2008 imac from Macwarehouse. I ordered mine today with Windows XP Pro and Parallels 4 and 4gb of RAM installed. It took three phone calls! The first call elicited a "Call you back in five to ten minutes". Hour and a half later no call. So I phoned them again. Second call elicited " Sorry we don't sell to the public only to business buyers"! I put the phone down and then thought, "Wait a minute, when I phoned the sales number, I was given the option of Press 2 for private sales!" Picked up the phone and dialled again ready to burn someone's ear.
Third call went something like this, " Do you sell to private users? Yes certainly we do. Can I order an iMac 3.06 24" 2008 model? Yes no problem. OK I'll have one then". Five minutes later job done and a few minutes later an e-mail arrived confirming my order. Now I await the delivery tomorrow or Wednesday.:D
 
I got my despatch note today saying it should be with me tomorrow. (Courier is DPD) I also phoned them and asked how come they had suddenly received in over 130 top end models when the other day they had none, and were not expecting any in light of the new models being released.

The guy told me that they often receive large shipments like this from apple at good discount to them to move the stock on, as Apple wont be displaying these models on the shop floor , nor expects to sell many of them. They are not refurbished either so the online store doesnt have a section for 'old stock'. In other words.. Apple themselves do not really have an effective sales channel to get rid of them.

Im sure Apple is still making a healthy margin on these machines... even discounted. Im also sure Macwarehouse is making a nice sum as well if they shift the lot.

Interestingly this weekend in the apple store at Milton Keynes I spoke to a one of their reps who said that apple sometimes take old stock back after new models come out and re-uses elements of them in other machines or updated models if they are not able to sell on.

Apple obviously believes that more people will want the new 2009 models and that the 2008 models are simply stock clearance now. Probably true in the long run for those that can afford it, but for those that cant this probably represents the best deal we are going to see for quite some time LOL !
 
cheaper in Apple store

I walked into Buchanan street, and got offered a 3.06 old one, for £1130!!
that was with ed discount mind you.
 
I am wondering whether there is going to be a huge performance increase between the old 3.06 and the new one. Yes, I know the memory and video card options are faster in the new machine but as a first time Mac buyer I am wondering if the extra storage space and features are worth the rather large cost increase.

I'm in the UK and am considering purchasing the new 3.06 with the ATI option using my HE discount, but this post has got me thinking...:rolleyes:

Also, can I only get the HE discount by purchasing directly from Apple and can I purchase an Applecare plan no matter where I get the machine from?

Yes, noobish questions I know! Bear in mind though that I am a mature student so not only am I old and grumpy, but I'm also a little clueless. Well, my wife thinks so!!
 
I am wondering whether there is going to be a huge performance increase between the old 3.06 and the new one. Yes, I know the memory and video card options are faster in the new machine but as a first time Mac buyer I am wondering if the extra storage space and features are worth the rather large cost increase.

I'm in the UK and am considering purchasing the new 3.06 with the ATI option using my HE discount, but this post has got me thinking...:rolleyes:

Informed opinion is that the new one is not worth the price increase in the UK, even buying with an HE discount. External storage is cheap and easy. What will the iMac be used for the most?

Also, can I only get the HE discount by purchasing directly from Apple

Yes

can I purchase an Applecare plan no matter where I get the machine from?

Yes. But if you buy via Higher Education you get 3 years Applecare for free. When comparing costs between old and new, note you can pick up Applecare for an iMac on ebay for around £55.


Yes, noobish questions I know! Bear in mind though that I am a mature student so not only am I old and grumpy, but I'm also a little clueless. Well, my wife thinks so!!

I am old and grumpy as well, welcome to Macrumors. :)
 
Thanks for the great reply.

The Mac will be mainly used for university work, word processing and surfing. I am partial to playing the odd game but I'm not into heavy media work. Being a bit tight with money I am considering picking up the previous model but at the same time I'd like to buy a machine that lasts for as long as possible so I'm considering the maximum spec that I can get to "futureproof".

I've been a Windows user for too long now and so I'm keen to get a mac asap but the price of the top model with the ATI is making the moth in my wallet tremble.
 
Unless someone needs the 4850 GPU, this wins hands down over a new iMac (taking costs into account)

Great find, resisting getting one.... must resist
 
mine has just arrived by courier - brand new and works perfectly.
As an added bonus they have put the iLife 09 disk in the box!
Very happy customer...
 
Yes. But if you buy via Higher Education you get 3 years Applecare for free. When comparing costs between old and new, note you can pick up Applecare for an iMac on ebay for around £55.

If you buy the HE Store, there's a £43.70 (ex. VAT) for the uplift to full Applecare for an iMac - this has to be purchased at the same time as the Mac (or at least it did a couple of months back).

You get three years of parts and labour warranty for free as standard via the HE Store.
 
Mine arrived today...Macwarehouse were good to their word on next day delivery (ordered over the weekend, dispatched yesterday afternoon).

Amusingly, the refurb 3.06 turned up too about 30 minutes later (I had been assured it wouldn't), which I refused. Glad they turned up in that sequence or I would have been perturbed.

I notice they've sold about 50 of them since I ordered mine...
 
If you buy the HE Store, there's a £43.70 (ex. VAT) for the uplift to full Applecare for an iMac - this has to be purchased at the same time as the Mac (or at least it did a couple of months back).

You get three years of parts and labour warranty for free as standard via the HE Store.

Sorry yes you are right, you can pay extra for the telephone support upgrade, but who would? As long as the equipment is covered for breakdown that is the man thing. (I am not sure if Wazzerb realised this key cover is included via the HE Store).

Cheers
 
I got mine through today as well, first time mac user. And very happy! Cant believe how fast the thing is, though maybe thats because Im used to a very old PC and there isnt much installed yet :p

I got ilife 09 as an added bonus as well :)

I didnt get any applecare with mine though? Should I get it, or is it too late now?
 
I have decided to go for one of these rather than a new model. From the positive things I have read here, and the fact that there is minimal difference between the machines that could justify me paying a lot more for the newer model.

I will still use my HE discount to purchase a few things for the mac, Applecare and the 500G Time Machine spring to mind instantly. As for the Mac's purchased from the HE store already coming with a 3 year warranty, I feel that perhaps Apple should make this fact a little clearer.

I'll order the machine tomorrow with the 4 gig of ram upgrade and next day delivery. This old fart is already excited! :)
 
Hey guys

I also grabbed one of these 3.06 models from MacWarehouse after spotting them at the weekend. Arrived today with the extra RAM to make it 4gb, and this thing is awesome.

I was also pleased to get the full size keyboard - much prefer it to the new smaller version.

Anyone else who goes for one of these must remember to use Quidco - you get 5% back, and I had just under £60 in my new Quidco account even before the iMac was delivered! That buys me AppleCare from eBay with a fiver still in my pocket, so the price on MacWarehouse can include AppleCare if you want to go the eBay route!

Enjoy!
 
Looks like all of ours arrived yesterday!

Am typing on mine too. Perfect machine with the most amazing screen. Feels very fast compared to my mac book pro feb 2007 model. I was chuffed to see ilife 09 included in the box as well. Upgrading the memory to 4GB was easy too.

plus... full keyboard ! a FW400 socket with no adapters required !!

Its very strange that they put the prices up on the store. Only 75 of them left in stock now though.

The ebay resellers of apple care are legit.. they will simply email you an applecare activation code rather than sending you the retail box etc. At £55 to £60 its a bargain for 3 years of cover.
 
2008 imac 24" 3.06mz with Windows XP Pro and Parallels 4 installed

Just a followup to my last e-mail concerning my order from MacWarehouse. I ordered the above on Monday afternoon about 2.30pm and on Tuesday morning at 10.20am it was delivered to my door! That's what I call service! Everything works perfectly. To say that I am delighted would be an understatement. I can't recommend Macwarehouse too highly.:D
 
My order has been placed! :D

iMac + 4gig of memory. Should be delivered tomorrow. Already this old fella is all excited!

Can anyone tell me who the courier is?
 
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