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Refurb vs New iMac 27" and opinions on spec?
- Thread starter nizmoz
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Not so much... Refurb macs come with the same warranty as new and are repaired OR replaced with new units if found to be defective. I purchased a refurb macbook pro for my niece last year and it had a bad display on arrival - took it to the apple store and was replaced on the spot with a new one. I've got three refurbs in my home and all are operating as good as new for anywhere from 3 months to 18 months flawlessly...
What a load of fertilizer. Yes the system may have had an issue, but Apple has definitely fixed it before they put it up for sale as refurbished.
And you ignore the fact that refurbished machines can be systems that people bought and returned for one reason or another. In some cases they decided on a different system. Got buyers remorse and just returned it.
And while you can get a refurbished system that has an issue or develops an issue soon after you get it, the same can be true about buying a system new.
What makes buying Apple refurbished worthwhile is that you get a full warranty and can add AppleCare to it. And also with the price discount you can either save money or buy a better system than you could afford to get new.
Let me share my new Refurburbished imacker disappointment story. As i was opening the inner white box that contained my carefully packed Imac, i discovered in horror that the box is plain white ! - i was expecting the pretty Apple logo box that i seen in pictures many times - no this one is plain with no Apples on it. At that point my heart sank to my torso with grief .. but luckly i am young and healthy and my little heart was able to take the shock with fair stride and the tears dried up quickly as i began using and enjoying my new Refurbished Imacker ! 
Potentially, but not definitely. It has happened twice for me at the Apple store in Frisco TX. First was a refurb iPad - it died a week after arrival. Took it up to the store and they did a swap for a new sealed one on the spot. The refurb MBP was just before last Christmas, same store. That one arrived with a bad display panel. They did have to discuss it and get manager approval, but after about 30 minutes I walked out with a new unit. I think it may have helped that I always buy applecare at the time of purchase, but who knows...
IMO, refurb units are as good as new. I'm typing on my late 2012 27" iMac refurb that came in a couple of weeks ago. That one had more memory on board than it was advertised to have (16GB vs 8GB in the spec) so it provided even more value.
I have purchased a few refurb items from Apple and never have been disappointed. For me the savings involved more than covers the taxes!!! Now the only time it may be an issue is if you don't want the box that indicates refurbished, when reselling some people may be hesitant to buy it.
Just picked up my new iMac from the apple store!! They had an i7 3.4, 680mx, 1tb fusion, 8gb of ram with edu discount and apple care it came out well. On the way home now with it! I will put my 16gb of ram from my MBP corsair vengeance in it for now.
??? Apple gives an education discount on refurb units?