Are refurb'ed airs worth it?

[Abazigal]

I just surfing through the apple store, and saw a refurb'ed 11" mba (2012) with the upgraded cpu option. After doing my math, it works out to almost a 15% discount (or slightly over 10% for me, since I can purchase laptops at education pricing).

I have read that apple refurbed items are virtually as good as the originals, but I would like to hear from the horse's mouth as well. For those who have had experience with apple refurbs, but good and reliable are they, compared with the originals, and what exactly can I expect? Anything I need to bear in mind?

Also, any idea if they will come preloaded with mountain lion, if I can download it for free, or whether I will need to purchase a new copy separately?

Thank you for sharing.

 

[Mrbobb]

Have a 2 weeks old 2011 refurb, looks like new, there is a small "imperfection" by the trackpad as if too much glue but haven't had time to investigate, doesn't bother me.

Only thing that am down on (silly really) the refurb just comes in a generic box. U know part of Apple experience is, u get their stuff in these fancy boxes, packaged just like so, as if ur getting a gold rolex. Well u don't get that fancy packaging with a refurb.

Reliable? how should I know, it's only 2 weeks old for me!

Most likely it comes with Lion but u can download ML for free from apple. It's a 4G file, so slow Internet may take u a couple of hours.

Go4rit.

 

[xxcysxx]

Only thing that am down on (silly really) the refurb just comes in a generic box. U know part of Apple experience is, u get their stuff in these fancy boxes, packaged just like so, as if ur getting a gold rolex. Well u don't get that fancy packaging with a refurb.

at least you get a box. when i had my iphone replaced for warranty, i walked out of the store just got an iPhone and a piece of plastic to protect the screen. they took back the box even though i asked for it. and it wansn't a pretty looking box either.

 

[Ibamac]

I am in the process of returning my 2012 11" i7/8gb/256 which I bought refurbished about two weeks ago. I thought it was fine, but for peace of mind I returned it for a new one because I could use the education discount plus get the $100 gift card for only $45 more. I didn't/don't care about the box. It came nicely package with a clear plastic around the computer. The battery was clearly new. It came with Lion and the installation of ML was so quick and easy (seconds), I thought it hadn't happened. To me, it looked fine cosmetically. The only thing I saw was an error message when verifying the color profile. I posted here, but no one could tell me what it meant. Btw, it had a LG screen and Samsung SSD. My guess is that one of the readers here returned it trying for a Samsung display, but to me, the screen was perfect. (But I'm a lawyer, not a graphic designer, so I'd probably never notice the difference anyway).

I loved the computer, btw, and had no problem with the screen size. Plus, I was able to use my Lenovo all-in-one desktop as an external monitor. So I'd say you can't go wrong either way. $100 is a tougher choice than $45 though. When I realized it was only $45 more for the new one, I figured may as well get the new one. But I don't think it would really matter. You can get apple care with either one.

Enjoy your new computer, whichever one you choose.

 

[hbtd]

Bought a white MacBook a few years ago and recently a 2011 MBA 11'' both refurbs. No problems at all. Get a refurb and buy AppleCare with the savings versus new.

I think refurbs maybe a bit better than new since they go through a second QC in CA to eliminate the issues that may occur from the Chinese factory.