Macbook air: is a refurb safe?

[yanksrock100]

Iv'e heard great things about refurbs, but do you really want someone else's problem? There WAS something wrong with it, or someone didn't want it.
I would rather have a brand new one from mac mall or amazon for a little bit more.
Just my 2 cents.

And when i got my macbook in 2009, they matched macmall's price. Im pretty sire they only do it at Apple Stores.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Iv'e heard great things about refurbs, but do you really want someone else's problem? There WAS something wrong with it, or someone didn't want it.
I would rather have a brand new one from mac mall or amazon for a little bit more.
Just my 2 cents.

And when i got my macbook in 2009, they matched macmall's price. Im pretty sire they only do it at Apple Stores.

Most of the time it turns out, it wasn't what they thought it was, ie, 11"MBA, screens to small, so they get a 13 or a MBP, most units are returned for no problems at all, BUT they are thoroughly checked, AND carry the same one year warranty."Someone else's problems" is a non issue, as I said, buy with confidence

 

[Beau10]

Yet many of us are not 'nit-picky' so perhaps a stuck pixel or two may not be an issue.

More power to you. There's a thread just below 168 posts deep on the SSD speed issue. And threads on stuck/dead pixels, different models of LCD (yellowing and whatnot), fan noise, etc, can get to be much longer. Apparently some people care. There's a pretty high OCD quotient in these forums.

 

[cambookpro]

Had a refurb MBP once.

Fan went wrong within a week. Took it to an authorised Apple reseller, they claimed to have fixed it but the problem was still there. Took it back and they again claimed to have fixed it... But no. Called Apple and they said send it to us. (They were asking me to send it from the UK to their Europe HQ in the Netherlands) Two weeks and heard nothing from Apple. Phoned again and they agreed to just send out a new computer and they'd collect the old one later. After another week the new one came. Perfect timing really, as there had just been an update from CD processors to C2D... Buying a refurb is win-win!

FYI this was in 2006. Apple was practically a small company then. I'd still recommend buying a refurb, had many refurb iPhones with no trouble.

 

[TheXFactor]

Of all the Macs we owned, 3 (soon to be 4) of them were refurbs. I bought applecare on all of them. We only had a problem with an iMac we purchased many years ago. That problem was fixed and covered under warranty.

One of the PowerMac Pro's we purchased (brand new) had a problem with the logic board and had to be replaced (under warranty). So for me, you can't beat saving money on a refurb. There's no telling when a problem is going to occur and it happens on new Macs too. The best bet is to purchase applecare and cover your butt.

 

[jvmxtra]

Not only apple are typically great w/ refurbished, but their serivces are unmatched.

If you are not satisfied w/ the purchase, just take it in and they should replace them till you are satisfied.

 

[KPOM]

Iv'e heard great things about refurbs, but do you really want someone else's problem? There WAS something wrong with it, or someone didn't want it.

Not necessarily. Someone could have purchased an 11" "Ultimate" but then decided later that he needed a faster processor or a larger SSD, or vice versa. I recently purchased a refurb 11" "Ultimate" and couldn't be happier with it.

 

[mstrze]

Iv'e heard great things about refurbs, but do you really want someone else's problem? There WAS something wrong with it, or someone didn't want it.
I would rather have a brand new one from mac mall or amazon for a little bit more.
Just my 2 cents.

But your new one didn't go through the vigorous quality control that this refurb did. Sure, they may have been something wrong with it for it to have been returned, but do you think they are going to let it leave the 'factory' again without being fixed (if nec.) and gone over multiple times to make sure it's working 100%.

I'd argue that the refurbs go through much more testing and quality control than the usual computer fresh off the production line.

 

[douglasf13]

Go for it.

My last 5 macs have been refurbishes without issue.