27" iMac - New or Refurb (£100 difference)

[nickosbad]

Hiya, as the title states, i'm looking at upgrading my 2013 21.5 iMac

I've pretty much decided on the base spec 27" but with a 512GB SSD instead of the Fusion drive.

My current iMac has a 256GB SSD and i've never really found myself running out of space as all of my media is on an external USB drive but it would be nice to have the internal space for the future.

I can get a brand new one from Apple (with my wife's education discount) for £1818 but the refurb store also has one in the exact spec for £1719

I've read really good things about Apple's refurb store but the difference is 'only' £100

What do you think? Which would you go for?

 

[Fishrrman]

I'd suggest trying the Apple refurb store.
I bought a 2018 refurbished Mini there last year and it looked like new and runs fine.

 

[The_Interloper]

Another vote here for the refurb store.

I recently bought the same model 2019 iMac 27 inch but with the Fusion drive (as I already had a 2TB SSD to run off USB-C) for £1489. Everything about it is immaculate; I really wouldn't be able to tell the difference from a brand-new model.

I remember it being mentioned somewhere that these are usually 14 day returns and if there is so much as the slightest mark on them, that part gets replaced with new. They also get rigorously checked in ways that a brand-new model rolling off the production line wouldn't, so you are likely to get a more reliable Mac from the refurb store.

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

With the hundred quid make sure memory is 16GB if one becomes available from the refurb store..