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Defects on MBP Refurb

P

PharmD

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 2, 2005
345
1
Oregon Coast
Hey All,
I finally pulled the trigger and purchased a refurb 2.16 MBP last week and couldn't be happier with the peformance and elegance. However, there are a few defects in the casing that I was curious about. Without pictures I'll do my best to describe it.

1 - The narrow strip of aluminum casing right above the latch bulges out ever so slightly and the latch grinds upon opening. I've tested the grinding on another MBP at the store and it "seemed" to do the same thing.

2 - The power button sags on one side, making it not flush with the rest of the casing. Slight, but noticeable.

I'm wondering if that is just what I get for buying a refurb or should the return policy / Applecare cover that? I have until the 26th of April to return it. I've activated Applecare though so would that make it a problem?
 
PharmD said:
Hey All,
I finally pulled the trigger and purchased a refurb 2.16 MBP last week and couldn't be happier with the peformance and elegance. However, there are a few defects in the casing that I was curious about. Without pictures I'll do my best to describe it.

1 - The narrow strip of aluminum casing right above the latch bulges out ever so slightly and the latch grinds upon opening. I've tested the grinding on another MBP at the store and it "seemed" to do the same thing.

2 - The power button sags on one side, making it not flush with the rest of the casing. Slight, but noticeable.

I'm wondering if that is just what I get for buying a refurb or should the return policy / Applecare cover that? I have until the 26th of April to return it. I've activated Applecare though so would that make it a problem?
Click to expand...

I bought a MBP refurb last July and had the same issue with the bulge above the latch. This, coupled with a few other problems caused me to call AppleCare who agreed to refund my money or replace the machine. Can't say for sure what they will do for you but give them a call, then you can know for sure :) !

Having activated AppleCare should not be a problem either.
 
They'll send you another - it should be just like new regardless if it's a refurb.

I had a PowerBook show up with similar defects and they replaced it.
 
i got a refurb that had a load of scratches around a usb port and around the power button, reall deep scratches.
when i contacted apple i got told this:

"They are in 100% working condition, and are then sold as refurbished product. As these refurbished products have been unpacked and manipulated, they might however exhibit some minor cosmetic imperfection, such as scratches, marks or discolorations. "

this sentence is also availiable on the apple refurb site:
http://store.apple.com/Apple/WebObjects/irlstore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=19B76462&nclm=Certified

as it was a refurb they said they could only refund my cash, not replace the laptop.

after this i realised the screen also had 2 clumps of pixels permanently stuck on bright blue. i immediately asked for a refund, and as a goodwill gesture they gave me 150 euro off my next apple purchase! i got the same MBP only brand new. The education discount + 150 good will gesture put my new MBP cost down to about the refurb costs. Anyway thats my little story with refurbs, and i wont touch them again. many people swear by them but in my expirience apple dont really do much in the line of quality control. it seems your refurb could have been sold, sent back , sold , sentback many times and you would never know.

all that said, if anyone here has recieved brand new machines at refurb prices, congrats to you !!!


Can it be put in a sticky thread at the top of this forum a link to the page where apple say refurbs may come with defects? its asked a lot here.
 
spending thousands of $ on a product you kind of might want it in good condition.

Its not a $10 toy from a disney shop its a proffesional peice of equipment it should be immaculate.
 
PharmD said:
Hey All,
2 - The power button sags on one side, making it not flush with the rest of the casing. Slight, but noticeable.
Click to expand...

Hey there,

My power button did the same thing but it was after the DOA grantee period, so I took it in at a service center and they changed the whole top case for me =)
 
ef651100 said:
Hey there,

My power button did the same thing but it was after the DOA grantee period, so I took it in at a service center and they changed the whole top case for me =)
Click to expand...


I recently bought my MBP C2D refurb and it too has the bulge above the latch button.. I didn't really pay attention to it untill i read this thread. It also grinds a little. It's not something that i'm about to send my computer back for i don't think. Maybe if there were an apple store i'd take it to them but.. sending it off and waiting for it isn't something i have the time to do.
 
superted666 said:
spending thousands of $ on a product you kind of might want it in good condition.

Its not a $10 toy from a disney shop its a proffesional peice of equipment it should be immaculate.
Click to expand...

Exactly, I payed good money for this. To answer your concern princealfie, I love how the laptop functions, and these defects aren't that big of a deal. I was just wondering if it is to be expected from a refurb or, if I wanted to, I should get it fixed.
 
PharmD said:
Exactly, I payed good money for this. To answer your concern princealfie, I love how the laptop functions, and these defects aren't that big of a deal. I was just wondering if it is to be expected from a refurb or, if I wanted to, I should get it fixed.
Click to expand...

you know.. i didn't pay any attention to it before.. but now that bulge it really buggin the hell out of me. hahaha.
 
mantic said:
you know.. i didn't pay any attention to it before.. but now that bulge it really buggin the hell out of me. hahaha.
Click to expand...

heh, yeah - it really was annoying to me as well. Part of the whole Apple design philosophy for these is to make it smooth all the way around the edges (which is why they switched the screen hinge after the TiBooks), and a random bulge just doesnt fit with that.
 
iW00t said:
A Dell costs thousand(s) of dollars too, your point being?
Click to expand...


the point is this:
would you go into a BMW sales room ( or Mercedes or whatever takes your fancy), look at an expensive car that is in perfect working order, no issues at all, but a massive dent in the bonnet and scratches on the doors. even if you are 100% sure its in perfect working order, are you telling me you would pay loads of money for it? jes, if i were a sales man id love to meet you guys!! cha ching $$$$$$!!!
 
schmintan said:
the point is this:
would you go into a BMW sales room ( or Mercedes or whatever takes your fancy), look at an expensive car that is in perfect working order, no issues at all, but a massive dent in the bonnet and scratches on the doors. even if you are 100% sure its in perfect working order, are you telling me you would pay loads of money for it? jes, if i were a sales man id love to meet you guys!! cha ching $$$$$$!!!
Click to expand...

Newsflash:

a 2.33ghz Core 2 Duo Dell with a 256mb graphics card and 120GB of hard drive costs *drums roll* more than a Macbook Pro...

So yeah, I will buy said BMW or Mercedes even if it is missing all 4 doors: if it is cheaper than a Honda.
 
iW00t said:
Newsflash:

a 2.33ghz Core 2 Duo Dell with a 256mb graphics card and 120GB of hard drive costs *drums roll* more than a Macbook Pro...

So yeah, I will buy said BMW or Mercedes even if it is missing all 4 doors: if it is cheaper than a Honda.
Click to expand...

I really don't understand the point you're trying to make at all.

If you pay for a new product or a service, you should expect perfection. Bottom line.

If you're having a house built, you shouldn't allow the contractors to cut any corners. If something isn't done right, you should make them go back and do it again, yet people like you shrug it off because hey, the house is still standing.

As long as the retailer (in this case, Apple) is willing to acknowledge the blemish and replace it, there isn't an issue, and you should always ask for perfection.

That you can get a competitor cheaper is completely irrelevant. You should still hold the retailer to high standards. Companies are only responsible for the quality of the products they sell, not their competitors.

[/rant]
 
DigitalAx said:
I really don't understand the point you're trying to make at all.

If you pay for a new product or a service, you should expect perfection. Bottom line.

If you're having a house built, you shouldn't allow the contractors to cut any corners. If something isn't done right, you should make them go back and do it again, yet people like you shrug it off because hey, the house is still standing.

As long as the retailer (in this case, Apple) is willing to acknowledge the blemish and replace it, there isn't an issue, and you should always ask for perfection.

That you can get a competitor cheaper is completely irrelevant. You should still hold the retailer to high standards. Companies are only responsible for the quality of the products they sell, not their competitors.

[/rant]
Click to expand...

But the OP bought a refurb (aka USED) product. Like on a used car, cosmetic issues should be expected on a used laptop. If you got a refurb that is perfect in every way, consider yourself lucky.

Hickman
 
Brian Hickman said:
But the OP bought a refurb (aka USED) product. Like on a used car, cosmetic issues should be expected on a used laptop. If you got a refurb that is perfect in every way, consider yourself lucky.

Hickman
Click to expand...

No, a refurb does not fall under the same guidelines as buying used. A refurbished product is any product that was sold to a customer and returned because of a defect. A used product has been exposed to all sorts of elements of use and abuse.

When shopping for a refurbished product you can generally expect it to be near perfect. Now, if it has light scratches, I'd probably let that go. But a case not aligning is something that is a factory defect and is covered under Apple's warranty, and SHOULD be replaced.

It's the difference between standard usage and factory defect.
 
DigitalAx said:
No, a refurb does not fall under the same guidelines as buying used. A refurbished product is any product that was sold to a customer and returned because of a defect. A used product has been exposed to all sorts of elements of use and abuse.

When shopping for a refurbished product you can generally expect it to be near perfect. Now, if it has light scratches, I'd probably let that go. But a case not aligning is something that is a factory defect and is covered under Apple's warranty, and SHOULD be replaced.

It's the difference between standard usage and factory defect.
Click to expand...

But the Apple policy states that cosmetic issues may exist on refurb products. If you want any product that is perfect in every way, you need to pay for it (purchase it NEW). A little bulge here and a little scratch there are well worth the several hundred dollars that you save vs. buying it new.

I hate to see what all you people do with your girlfriends/boyfriends/etc when they get a pimple. Do you send them back to their parents to get them fixed?

Hickman
 
Brian Hickman said:
But the Apple policy states that cosmetic issues may exist on refurb products. If you want any product that is perfect in every way, you need to pay for it (purchase it NEW). A little bulge here and a little scratch there are well worth the several hundred dollars that you save vs. buying it new.

I hate to see what all you people do with your girlfriends/boyfriends/etc when they get a pimple. Do you send them back to their parents to get them fixed?

Hickman
Click to expand...

No, but I'm not buying my girlfriend from a retailer either. But if she came with a "factory default" (say an STD I was not informed of,) there would be words. ;)

A case bulge is a factory defect. The refurbished products should free of ALL factory defects. The defect is not the result of use or a cosmetic issue, it's indicative of a larger problem. One that Apple has admitted is a defect, and warranties.
 
DigitalAx said:
No, but I'm not buying my girlfriend from a retailer either. But if she came with a "factory default" (say an STD I was not informed of,) there would be words. ;)

A case bulge is a factory defect. The refurbished products should free of ALL factory defects. The defect is not the result of use or a cosmetic issue, it's indicative of a larger problem. One that Apple has admitted is a defect, and warranties.
Click to expand...

What if she had a third nipple? ;)

Have you ever seen the bulge in question? It is 1mm at worst. If Apple publicly documented that they will fix all cases with a 1mm cosmetic issue, then so be it. I just think that your expectations on refurb products are unrealistically high.

Hickman
 
Brian Hickman said:
What if she had a third nipple? ;)

Have you ever seen the bulge in question? It is 1mm at worst. If Apple publicly documented that they will fix all cases with a 1mm cosmetic issue, then so be it. I just think that your expectations on refurb products are unrealistically high.

Hickman
Click to expand...

A third nipple would be an unmentioned benefit, no? Kidding...ew.

They have and continue to replace the cases that are bulging. My opinion is simply that as long as the retailer is willing to replace it, you should do so. There's no reason not to have a "perfect" product when you can replace it until you have one.
 
Worst thread ever...

The girlfriend/boyfriend example, and the person saying that a refurb mbp is selling at 'honda prices' ergo you should accept defects... this is not productive
 
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