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Refurbished computers... a good idea?

D

DontBurnTheDayy

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 23, 2005
44
0
Michigan
Hello everyone,

I am about to buy a MBP for $1799 (w/ Ed. discount), and I just saw that the refurbed one is $1699.

Is buying a refurbed computer a good idea??? Are they EXACTLY the same as they would be brand new??? Any bad refurb stories?? Worth the extra $100 to just get the new one?

Just curious... it's a big investment.
 
Well, with refurbs, especially this early in the life
of the computer, there is little or no LCD wear,
and whatever was broken when it was returned
was fixed and the computer should be in good
working order when you get it. To me, right
now, it sounds like you are safer getting a
refurb than getting a new one, seeing as how
a lot of new ones have been defective anyway.

My advice: go refurb. I haven't heard any horror
stories from that route yet, so go for it!
 
1dterbeest said:
Well, with refurbs, especially this early in the life
of the computer, there is little or no LCD wear,
and whatever was broken when it was returned
was fixed and the computer should be in good
working order when you get it. To me, right
now, it sounds like you are safer getting a
refurb than getting a new one, seeing as how
a lot of new ones have been defective anyway.

My advice: go refurb. I haven't heard any horror
stories from that route yet, so go for it!
Click to expand...

Hey thanks man, I appriciate it. Hopefully the refurbs have the whine fixed.
 
generik said:
Just curious where is Apple's refurbished store located?
Click to expand...


Click on Store at apple.com, then it's the lower right hand corner... you'll see a big red SAVE tag thingy...


BUT DON'T BUY MY MACBOOK PRO!!!!


hehe :)
 
generik said:
Just curious where is Apple's refurbished store located?
Click to expand...
attachment.php


We get that question very often. :D
 
I bought a refurb and wouldn't buy a new one again. There really is no difference. My refurb was as good as new.
 
Neodym said:
Someone needs to buy new products in the first place, otherwise there won't be refurbs anymore... :D
Click to expand...

That's true, but I've bought both; new and refurb....if you buy refurb from reputable source, ie, original vendor, in this case Apple, you should be good to go....many times refurbs are just items returned, so, open box, so, can't sell as new after that....and if there's any known issue with particular unit, vendor will fix it before putting up for sale....plus you have warranty too...
 
I have a refurb Mac Pro and a Cinema Display making their way to me now (for my business). I can't (yet) comment on the differences compared to new, but I decided to pull the preverbal trigger on a refurb because one could still purchase the Apple Care extended warranty when purchased from Apple. I had the opportunity to purchase a couple of Mac Pros that were being sold on CL, but in the end, the extended warranty is what swayed me.
 
I bought my 5,1 MP as refurb. It looks exactly as new, not a scratch on it.

While many companies screw you on the warranty for a refurb, Apple does not. You get the full warranty with an Apple refurb and you get the full extension with Apple Care.

The only differences I can tell are:
  • The box is plain white instead of retail box.
  • The original model number was replaced with a model number specific to refurbished (FC560LL/A).

I've also read if you have a refurbished 4,1 MP that you cannot flash it with the 5,1 firmware, but I have no personal experience with that.

Lastly, my credit card (and probably yours too) provides automatic warranty extensions on all new purchases, but used and refurbs are excluded.
 
I have bought refurbished before and likely will again:

It's cheaper, and you get (arguably) better quality than straight from the factory because if anything was broken, it was fixed and it was then run through a barrage of tests to make sure everything else was in working order or they wouldn't release it for sale. Your new items get perhaps a simple test or two (Does it power up? Is the drive working? etc)

So, if you are worried about getting a machine that has something wrong with it, I would argue that you have a much better chance of getting a 'lemon' from the factory than if you bought a refurbished model.

Same warranty, cheaper cost, much higher level of quality control and testing. :D
 
mstrze said:
I have bought refurbished before and likely will again:

It's cheaper, and you get (arguably) better quality than straight from the factory because if anything was broken, it was fixed and it was then run through a barrage of tests to make sure everything else was in working order or they wouldn't release it for sale. Your new items get perhaps a simple test or two (Does it power up? Is the drive working? etc)

So, if you are worried about getting a machine that has something wrong with it, I would argue that you have a much better chance of getting a 'lemon' from the factory than if you bought a refurbished model.

Same warranty, cheaper cost, much higher level of quality control and testing. :D
Click to expand...

While overall I agree with you, not sure that it's correct to say that new items get such a cursory testing...I'd hope that new computers have at least a several day 'burn-in testing' period as not all, but the vast majority of all electronics hardware problems will show up in the first few days of usage...
 
I've bought two refurbished units over time and have been very pleased with the value they represented. Unlike outlet stores from PC vendors, these models at least in my experience have no blemishes and you cannot tell the difference between newly-opened boxes and refurb machines.

You mentioned the price difference of $100. I prefer the discount to be monetarily higher as for a $1700 machine this represents less than a 10% discount that I would expect unless the refurb is a BTO with higher RAM, HD options, etc...
 
I have heard good and bad stories on refurbs. I think they are a good buy if you can get a decent discount. Otherwise I would rather pay a little more and get a machine that hasn't been tinkered with.
 
ArchiMark said:
I'd hope that new computers have at least a several day 'burn-in testing' period as not all, but the vast majority of all electronics hardware problems will show up in the first few days of usage...
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, cost cutting has done away with such extensive testing in numerous companies.

Even refurbs are coming from 3rd party facilities these days (i.e. original vendor sells them the returns at a very low cost, then they go through them and find enough working bits to get as many in sell-able condition as possible - the extent of the testing tends to be unknown however). To get an idea of what I'm talking about, take a look at the products sold by TechforLess.com (they sell such products, and if you look, not all refurbs are factory refurbs).

That said, they do offer some good deals if you look (last big purchase I made from them was an NEC 2490WUXi two years ago, and I've not had any problems out of it). I did add an extended warranty, as the non-factory company that they got it from didn't offer that great of one (packaging was the original NEC box & materials, so it was packed well). I've also had good luck with UPS's too, when they have them in stock (also shipped in original packaging, though not always the best condition - broken foam inserts on the last one, but it works fine).
 
ArchiMark said:
While overall I agree with you, not sure that it's correct to say that new items get such a cursory testing...I'd hope that new computers have at least a several day 'burn-in testing' period as not all, but the vast majority of all electronics hardware problems will show up in the first few days of usage...
Click to expand...

You REALLY think a manufacturer allows powered-up computers to sit on a assembly line for a 'several day 'burn-in testing' period'?? You have obviously no idea how a manufacturing assembly line works. A factory can probably churn out 5000 units a day, where the heck are they going to store these 25,000 (5000 x 5 (~several) days) units powered-up and non-boxed???

In a real-life assembly line, the item gets booted and a hardware test is run...assuming those two mechanical tests work, and the unit appears to be free of physical defects, it's out the door. There may be one or two other tests, but I highly doubt any unit gets more than 5 minutes of inspection time in the factory, if that.

A factory refurb gets much more than just the cursory once-over.

nanofrog said:
Even refurbs are coming from 3rd party facilities these days (i.e. original vendor sells them the returns at a very low cost, then they go through them and find enough working bits to get as many in sell-able condition as possible - the extent of the testing tends to be unknown however). To get an idea of what I'm talking about, take a look at the products sold by TechforLess.com (they sell such products, and if you look, not all refurbs are factory refurbs).
Click to expand...

Of course we are talking about Apple refurbs, so they wouldn't be going through a third party I believe.
 
I've purchased several Apple refurbs with no issues (computers, peripherals, iPods, etc). They are fantastic values. However, I can tell you that Apple's refurbs buck the industry trends. I've bought other refurbs by other companies only to be completely disappointed and most other companies the warranty on a refurb is only 90 days (I bought a laptop 15 years ago, that took over 90 days just to get all the issues worked out).
 
Get AppleCare with it

If you find a refurb from Apple with the features you want and the savings are sufficient, go for it. With the money you save, you can add AppleCare which will give you the same 3 year protection as if you bought new.

Typing this now on a MBP that I bought refurb and no complaints at all.
 
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