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Those thinking of buying a refurb

C

crockett

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 20, 2008
60
0
I finally got my 'refurb" 2.8 24 inch iMac and wanted to let others know whom might be thinking of the refurb. IMO go for it. The only reason I could see getting a new iMac is if you really wanted the new video card. Otherwise the added cost isn't worth it IMO.

If you aren't getting the new card, save $700 bucks and buy the 2.8 refurb. While I have no way to prove it, I do think mine is brand new. I see no signs at all of any scratches or any sort of wear at all.

I was going with the assumption that Apple would likely be cleaning out their stock via the refurbs at their store. IMO it seem to be the case with mine at lease. I'm sure there will be a few unlucky ones here and there that might get a "real" refurb, but I'd say right now so close to the refresh you have a high chance of getting a new machine.

I just wanted to ease the mind if anyone else was trying to decide between the refurb or the new machine.
 
It's more than possible.

Graphics cards weren't the only thing bumped in the new iMacs, but most Apple refurbs are a good value.
 
bpl323 said:
It's more than possible.

Graphics cards weren't the only thing bumped in the new iMacs, but most Apple refurbs are a good value.
Click to expand...

Yea I know, but IMO for the added money if you aren't getting the top end iMac with the new card the other upgrads aren't really worth it. Again that's just my opinion but I think value for the dollar spend the 2.8 24 inch refurb is the best bang for the buck.
 
Certainly if you're on a budget, but system bus bumps and other specs that aren't as advertising-friendly often get ignored.
 
My AppleTV, iMac and MacBooks are refurbs and I have no problems. Here's a link describing how Apple prepares them: http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/apple_certified.html

Although not stated explicitly, the shells/cases are replaced if they show any kind of scratch or blemish...

Agree with OP: unless you have to have a brand new Apple product, refurbs are a great value. Eventually, the current models do show up in the refurb store after a few months.
 
I bought a 24" 2.8 ghz refurb as well. It's been awesome so far. Seriously no sign that it is a refurb at all. The case is perfect and the machine has been running awesome. I will definitely buy my next Mac as a refurb if the deal is as good as this one was.

I would absolutely recommend refurbs to anyone looking to buy a Mac.
 
I bought a refurb 24"/2.4 and although it looked brand new, I started getting kernel panics right away. I re-installed the system and the same thing happened, so I called Apple Support.

They asked me to re-install the OS one more time, and when the same thing happened, within 10 minutes they'd emailed me a pre-paid FedEx label for pickup and said as soon as the box was picked up I should call them with a tracking number and they'd send me another machine second day air before they'd even received the first one back.

Two days later my replacement arrived, and it's been flawless.

Moral: Stuff happens, but Apple takes care of it without any hassle.:D

I'd buy another refurb without hesitation.
 
I want to put another post out there on how excellent value a refurb is. I am not a "refurb guy" and I have never bought a refurb of any product until the iMac. In face I always steer people away from them with the line "your buying someone else's problems".

When it arrived I was SUPER picky, looking at everything for knicks or cracks and it came perfect. It is running 100% perfect and I saved serious $$$$$.

Good job Apple on their refurbs!!!
 
Another vote for refurbs. I bought a refurb AppleTV back in Jan, £130 against £199 rrp. You cannot tell the difference. Why pay the full price!
 
Yeah same here!

I got the 2.8 imac is was perfect (only way I could see mine was a geniune refurb is because it came with a 1 Terrabite Harddrive)
Very Happy with my purchase! :D
 
...thanks windowpain v interesting i didnt know about it!!:p.....u happy with what u bought there??
 
notguiltystyle said:
Yeah same here!

I got the 2.8 imac is was perfect (only way I could see mine was a geniune refurb is because it came with a 1 Terrabite Harddrive)
Very Happy with my purchase! :D
Click to expand...

Is your 1T hard drive the same one that goes in the new iMacs? I assume it is. There was a post in one of the forums that the 1T is not as fast as the 500GB or 750GB. Is this true? They're all 7200 RPM, so I'm wondering why that would be the case.
 
I also bought a 2.8 refurb, and so far so good. I haven't had any problems with it, and I'm glad I ended up getting the bigger screen.
 
jameskohn said:
Is your 1T hard drive the same one that goes in the new iMacs? I assume it is. There was a post in one of the forums that the 1T is not as fast as the 500GB or 750GB. Is this true? They're all 7200 RPM, so I'm wondering why that would be the case.
Click to expand...

The bigger the drive the slower it will be. The reason is because the system has to search the drive for the data. So in theory and likely reality a small 30 gig drive will be faster than a 500 gig drive assuming they both have the same response time and rpm.

When I build PC's I typically use a small drive for the OS, games and applications then use a bigger drive for storage. (I typically use the 10k rpm raptor drives as my main drive on PC's not sure if Macs can use them or not)
 
aki said:
...thanks windowpain v interesting i didnt know about it!!:p.....u happy with what u bought there??
Click to expand...

I bought the white macbook (bottom right of the refurb page) for ¥117,000 yen and I and very happy with it.
I bought 4gigs of non-apple ram (for ¥10,000) and a new (250gig) hard drive and replaced them myself, now using the old HD as a time machine drive. Saved about ¥50,000 i think. :)

I ordered it on line (took about 5 mins) but they have an English line if you need it. Delivery was very quick.

My refurb came in the original box and just had a sticker in one corner indicating it was a refurb. otherwise I wouldn't have noticed.

It was in pristine condition, no marks,scratches of any kind. Not even a fingerprint! I looked very hard but couldn't find anything 'wrong'. All the adapters etc were wrapped in the original plastic. I even got the apple remote.

PilotWoo said:
Another vote for refurbs. You cannot tell the difference. Why pay the full price!
Click to expand...
- I couldn't agree more!

I'm very happy with the macbook and even happier with the money I saved. My next mac will definitely be a refurb!
 
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