$200 or refurb

Impossible to answer because it depends on your personal budget and your personal tolerance for faffing around to put it right. Of course, a new machine might need warranty attention too.

 

Yes. Refurbs tend to be good buys. As CanadaRAM indicates, your chances of getting a lemon aren't increased by buying a refurb.

yt

 

Refurb Is Usually With Extras

I always buy the refurb if it's between the two. You may get extra ram or a bigger HD when you buy refurb and the warranty is like new. All my refurbs have turned out to be perfectly wonderfull extra RAM and/or bigger HD surprises. My Quad G5 had a noisy liquid cooling pump. Got a whole new set of processors with the new pump-processor assembly a few weeks later. Minor inconvenience.

 

They both come with the same warrantee from Apple.

The BIGGER issue should be the difference between a CD and a C2D MBP since most refurbs are CD. The refurbs occasionally come with "extra" parts since it's not worth Apple's time to change the store to list every BTO model. But is that worth the extra heat, smaller stock drives, and shorter batter life that the older models had?

 

Yeah Don't Consider A CD Model At All

Snowmoon's absolutely right.

Only buy C2D models NEVER CD models.

 

Since about the 1st of the year, Apple's refurb section has had a good selection of C2Ds available in its MBP, MB, iMac lines. However, you need to check the store *early* in the day as the more desirable C2Ds sell out quickly. You might have to wait a few days to find the model you want listed, but sooner or later they all show up.

 

I don't agree with this one. The price difference between the CD and C2D models is reason enough to warrant a purchase.

 

If anything there's more chance of a "backfire" by purchasing a new unit than a refurb.

Let's say that every MBP that comes off the line has a 50/50 chance of having some kind of defect (who knows what the actual percentage is). If you buy a refurb MBP, it did have some kind of defect and that was fixed, and it went through a lot of rigorous testing to ensure there were no more defects. The chance it is going to have another problem is now less than 50/50.

If you buy the new MBP, you're still faced with that 50% chance that something is going to go wrong. It could suffer from the same defect that the refurb originally had. It has not gone through the additional testing.


Bottom Line: Refurb = less likely to have problems.

 

Sorry for my ignorance...CD vs C2D? What are they signifying?

As far as my refurb. experience...got a great deal which saved me $4-500 but I had to send it back as the first one I got was not in any way refurbished...in fact it was never touched after it was returned the first time. Still had dirt, etc on the mouse, computer, etc. They exchanged it but never got any extras on either one and was a hassle, but for that much money was really worth it. For $200- depends I guess.

 

CD = Intel Core Duo
C2D = Intel Core 2 Duo

 

I bought a refurb and had a great experience. I'd say go for it!

 

C2D Higher Price Is Worth It

Not really. The price difference is small compared to the benefit gained in the same speed C2D over CD models. 2GHz and faster have twice as big a L2 cache 4MB instead of 2MB.

In the case of MacBook Pros the ventilation system is radicallly overhauled so the C2D choice includes a major redesign that makes the MBP run a lot cooler with cooresponding longer battery life.

 

I've had 100% positive experience with a refurb.

 

I've purchased two refurb items from Apple: an eMac for my son and a Airport Extreme Base Station. Both have been perfect, and indistinguishable from new save for the packaging. Neither have had any issues at all, and the eMac, true to form, came with 256 Mb installed instead of the stock 128.

As far as the price difference, I think it boils down to how important it is to have a shiny new Apple box--I've come to think that really is the only substantive difference. While it's true you might have to wait a bit to spot the specific model you want, unless you need a new computer immediately I don't think that's a big problem. The only other downside I can see is that you cannot BTO a refurb (unless things have changed!). I tried once, just for fun, and was told no very politely....

Whether that difference in price is worth it is an individual value judgment.

So I'd say go for the refurb!

Best,

Bob

 

I would buy the refurb, its worth it.

 

with the $200, you can :

a.) upgrade ram

b.) upgrade hdd

c.) get apple care for $150 (orig. $350)

d.) bank/invest the money

refurb all the way.

 

My refurbished was 2 weeks old and -1 battery cycles perfect and saved me a couple hundred.

 

I've been considering getting a refurb MacBook Pro here in the UK as I can save £200 - I think this thread has convinced me that's the way to go.

 

The only reason not to buy refurbished is if you want a brand new item, compared to one that looks and feels brand new. Purely psychological.

The only thing to watch out for: Apple's "original price" is the price at the time when the item was sold. For items that are not sold new anymore, this will be more than you would be willing to pay for a brand new item. For example, you might see an iMac down from £1199 to £799, but an equivalent brand new iMac would only cost £999.

 

refurbs are great, but unless there was a substantial price diference, i would buy new...it really depends on how you look at it. To me, for the $200 (£100 for me ) i wouldn't bother, i only buy a new computer every 2-3 years, and so for me i'd rather a new one every time. If the price was radically different, then i may consider a refurb, but again it comes down to what you accept..after all, even though i don't regard £100 as that much in these circumstances, other people will do!

As for the CD/C2D debate, I think that he CD models are excellent. they are very fast machines and can be bought for really great prices online. yes they will be hotter an potentially moo/whine, but these things don't effect everybody! My girlfriend for example is still loving her mbp CD, despite its defects. what is important though is that if you want a portable mac with a large matte screen but on the cheap, there is now an option...a refurb CD mbp, I for one think that choice is a beautiful thing, and this choice is no different!

 

It doesn't matter what benefits are there. There is a price difference, and for a lot of people, it's the difference between being able to afford a MB/MBP, or not.