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Refurbished MacBook pro

R

rcjh22

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 8, 2010
79
5
1. Are refurbished a better route than brand new?
2. Do they come in a new white box? If not, why?
3. Has anyone ever had trouble with a refurbished MacBook?
4. Do they replace the case, battery, and screen of the refurbished product?
5. Does it come with the rebate for a free printer like buying new?
 
rcjh22 said:
1. Are refurbished a better route than brand new?
2. Do they come in a new white box? If not, why?
3. Has anyone ever had trouble with a refurbished MacBook?
4. Do they replace the case, battery, and screen of the refurbished product?
5. Does it come with the rebate for a free printer like buying new?
Click to expand...

1. No
2. No- they come in a brown "Refurb" box because they are not new products.
3. Yes
4. They fix what the original problem was and then do a full diagnostic. This may or may not include the case or screen.
5. No.
 
I think refurbished is better than new, because they are fixed so that the only difference from new is that they come in a brown cardboard box rather than the original packaging. They replace whatever is needed to make it like new, so in some cases that may be the case, screen, or battery but not all the time.
Not sure about the rebate though. One other nice thing is that you'll sometimes get a free upgrade, when I bough my mac mini, I got 1GB of ram when the model shipped with 512MB.
 
miles01110 said:
2. No- they come in a brown "Refurb" box because they are not new products.
Click to expand...

Some refurbs come in retail boxes, especially if you buy an older generation Mac (Apple is just selling old stock through refurb store)

5. No.
Click to expand...

False.

PRODUCT ELIGIBILITY: Only Apple computers, as defined in this paragraph, and the printers identified in this paragraph qualify for this promotion. For purposes of this promotion, “Apple computers” means and is limited to MacBook, iMac, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro. Configure-to-order and refurbished versions of these Apple computers qualify for this promotion.
Click to expand...

http://images.apple.com/promo/pdf/L376656N_PrinterPro_PC21.pdf

Refurbs don't qualify for the Back to School promo though
 
miles01110 said:
1. No
Click to expand...

This is definitely a subjective answer. I bought my MBP refurbed, and I haven't had a single problem with it. PLUS, I saved about $200. So for me, the answer is YES. In the future I will only buy refurb. Why pay more when you don't have to?
 
You can save a decent amount of money going the refurb route. You have nothing to worry about, who cares what type of box it comes in? You got a year warranty thats all that matters.
 
Personally I prefer to buy all my consumer electronics brand new and direct from the factory, I understand that's subjective but I`d say its hard to beat buying new.
 
I bought mine refurbished and have had it almost a year now I got it back in December of 09 for college and I have used it every day sense then and I have never had a single problem with it. It saved me almost $300 and I got a free printer. So I was extremely happy with my investment of a refurbished MacBook Pro. I hope that helped somewhat.
 
rcjh22 said:
1. Are refurbished a better route than brand new?
2. Do they come in a new white box? If not, why?
3. Has anyone ever had trouble with a refurbished MacBook?
4. Do they replace the case, battery, and screen of the refurbished product?
5. Does it come with the rebate for a free printer like buying new?
Click to expand...

Refurb MBP's are a great deal. Get one and be happy. :p
 
if you are looking for a MBP 13" they have them for $999 at Microcenter. Better than the refurb price on the site and it's brand new. Great deal IMO
 
ldobson said:
Personally I prefer to buy all my consumer electronics brand new and direct from the factory, I understand that's subjective but I`d say its hard to beat buying new.
Click to expand...

Apple refurbs are effectively in new condition
 
Can you buy refurbished Macbook Pro on main street Apple stores in USA? Or are they only available through Apple's webstore?
 
I bought a refurb model. Granted, I have only had it for a week, but it arrived working perfectly and looked pristine. They could have sold it to me new because there is no way I would ever been able to tell them apart.
 
Hellhammer said:
Some refurbs come in retail boxes, especially if you buy an older generation Mac (Apple is just selling old stock through refurb store)
Click to expand...

That's true only if you are buying through the "clearance" section of the Apple Store and not if you are buying through the "refurbished" section.

Case in point:

Refurbished:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC227LL/A?mco=MTA4MzQ4Njk

Clearance:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC226LL/A?mco=MTgwMDU2Mjk

350 USD premium for the the one from the clearance section since its new, old-gen and has a retail box.

Alos note how the refurbished units have a part number beginning with FC and the new units have a part number beginning with MC.
 
Aboo said:
That's true only if you are buying through the "clearance" section of the Apple Store and not if you are buying through the "refurbished" section.
Click to expand...

I've heard several cases where a refurb (yes, from refurb store, not clearance) came in a retail box. It's not that big deal though, when buying from refurb store, you should expect it to come in brown box
 
Thinking about it, I am pretty sure my refurb MBP came in a white box. I will have to check when I get home.
 
rcjh22 said:
1. Are refurbished a better route than brand new?
2. Do they come in a new white box? If not, why?
3. Has anyone ever had trouble with a refurbished MacBook?
4. Do they replace the case, battery, and screen of the refurbished product?
5. Does it come with the rebate for a free printer like buying new?
Click to expand...


In my experience

1. Yes, if you plan to save some money and the "refurb" fact doesn't bother you. They are exactly the same as new ones except for the box and serial number.
2. No, they come in a brown box - but the box usually ends up in the garbage or in a closet anyway...
3. No - on the contrary, some say refurbs are a bit more reliable since they have been through a double set of tests.
4. Depends on what was wrong with them - but usually the exterior parts are made sure they are 100% perfect.
5. Yes. Mine did - I was able to get the free printer when I got my refurbished MBP in 2008, but perhaps they have changed this recently.

In my experience, refurbs are great deals.

cheers!
 
I have had 2 refurbs, a 12" ibook and a 13" macbook.

Both arrived in refurb packaging.

Both looked brand new.

The ibook worked perfectly from day 1.

The macbook had a defective optical drive and kept having kernal panics. I spoke with apple support who diagnosed the problem on the phone, sent a return label for free shipping, and express shipped the replacement which arrived within a few days. The replacement worked perfectly from day 1.

So my advice would be, as long as you are not dealing with a time critical issue and have a week or so to sort out any problem that might occur, buying refurb is a fantastic way to save money and get "good as new"
 
I purchased my MBP as a refurb and love it. Looks brand new, functions amazingly. I wont buy new from now on.
 
I am not sure what this means, but my refurb came in a white cardboard box (with brown on the inside).
 
Hellhammer said:
I've heard several cases where a refurb (yes, from refurb store, not clearance) came in a retail box. It's not that big deal though, when buying from refurb store, you should expect it to come in brown box
Click to expand...

Were those cases current gen systems? Are the part numbers marked with the FC prefix? Also do the first three digits of the serial number conform with the refurb designators?

The reason I ask is because I know for a fact that if Apple takes too many orders for a particular current gen refurb model, and doesn't have the stock to supply them, they send out a brand new one instead.
 
My refurb came in a plain white cardboard box. I had it for 4 months. My screen had a slight (barely noticeable) imperfection, so they replaced the screen. Unfortunately, the wifi is located under the screen and was dropping connection. End result? Brand new MBP after 4 months with a refurb!

All in all, refurbs are still a great deal.
 
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