Another MBP thread.. sorry in advance

[crusader22]

I've been reading up for several weeks now and just recently decided to start an account/thread to seek some help.
Like many others I've been waiting for the new MBP a bit of time, however I'm starting to question whether I really should, and if I really need to wait for a further update that I may not even need. I'm currently in college and would really only be doing everyday things such as surfing the web, writing papers/using excel, and so on. Nothing that involves programming, gaming, djing, or video/photo editing.
I've decided on the 13' and now after doing some further reading I may be looking into a refurb. My question is how reliable are these refurbs that Apple sells? For those who have experience, are these just as good (performance and cosmetic wise) as the new mbps? I'm looking at prices and even with the student discount, the fastest refurbed mbp would cost me only about a hundred more than the slowest brand new mbp.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, in the meantime I'll keep doing some research and keep my fingers crossed for a the new refresh to magically appear.

 

[Apple 26.2]

LOTS of threads on this topic. Search around, but generally speaking, refurbs are solid machines... you can't go wrong AND you'll save some duckets. Win.

 

[chipz]

Another MBP thread...sorry in advance

The refurbished units from the Apple Store are outstanding. I have purchased numerous ones and have been impressed with the pristine appearance and quality that I got. The savings isn't fantastic, but every penny saved can lead you to afford some little extra. Go for the refurb!

 

[aCondor]

If you are apologizing in your thread TITLE... it might be a good idea to use the search function. So many people have asked the exact same question as you, and you'll get the exact same answers:

Go refurbished. It's got all the power you need at a discount.

 

[crusader22]

Thanks a ton for the help guys.
One more thing, how do you guys feel about applecare? Taking into consideration that I'm leaning towards buying a refurb. I get the one year warranty, should I just wait until a bit before that year is up to buy the applecare, buy it with the mbp, or not buy it at all?

 

[orfeas0]

Thanks a ton for the help guys.
One more thing, how do you guys feel about applecare? Taking into consideration that I'm leaning towards buying a refurb. I get the one year warranty, should I just wait until a bit before that year is up to buy the applecare, buy it with the mbp, or not buy it at all?

buy it 1 month before your normal warranty expires. it's very good, i just don't suggest you buy it WITH the mbp, because if YOU break the macbook (and it's not covered by the warranty), you'll be wasting the applecare.

 

[fblack]

Thanks a ton for the help guys.
One more thing, how do you guys feel about applecare? Taking into consideration that I'm leaning towards buying a refurb. I get the one year warranty, should I just wait until a bit before that year is up to buy the applecare, buy it with the mbp, or not buy it at all?

In my opinion you need to have the extra coverage when it comes to laptops. Laptops generally fail more often than Desktops. All of our apple desktops for roughly 20+ years have been pretty solid and dependable. Our Apple laptops not so much and we've needed to make use of Applecare. This doesn't mean that every Apple laptop we've had has been a disaster. No far from that, but the point is that apple products are not immune to failure. In comparison, the issues we've had with dell laptops at work over the years have been much greater.

There have been many statistics and rankings over the years as to reliability of laptops. In some Apple has ranked very well, in others only average. You can find some of these online. Just taking a quick google brings this from 2009:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/17/laptop-reliability-survey-asus-and-toshiba-win-hp-fails/

They are showing HP with a malfunction rate at 3 years of almost 26% and Apples more like 17.4%. This is just one survey and it may not be perfectly accurate. You may want to see if anything is more recent out there to help you decide. I know I'm in the market for a new MBP and I will be buying extended coverage, even though its overpriced.

 

[crusader22]

Thanks for the tip, I plan on buying the applecare for it. But only a month before my 1 year warranty runs up, this seems to be the ideal right?

 

[greytmom]

Don't apologize about starting a MacBook Pro thread in a forum dedicated to MacBook Pros. As much as people (including me) grump about answering certain questions over and over, that's kind of the point. Would be truly boring here if no one ever posted a thread because someone else may have already asked the question.

For your purposes, refurb should do just fine for you, and Applecare purchased before the year is out is a good idea.

 

[ExiledMafia]

I would definitely get apple care tho just because who knows what can happen, in your case the refurbished is a great deal and your still getting apple

 

[fblack]

Thanks for the tip, I plan on buying the applecare for it. But only a month before my 1 year warranty runs up, this seems to be the ideal right?

I think its pretty much up to personal preference. There are many different opinions about the subject, some are reasonable and others are a bit out in left field imho. I would say that sure having the chance to wait another 11 months to buy Applecare is great. For myself, I wouldn't wait that long mainly because I'm liable to forget, have an emergency pop-up, etc., etc. So, because of my busy schedule and because "stuff happens" I will pick it up sooner, more around the 6-9 month mark. But that's me.