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FIRST MAC EVER!!! Refurb or New???

C

CSilver

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 14, 2009
257
0
Canada
Hello, thanks for your time for reading this.
I am thinking of getting either 2.0GHz(more likely) or 2.4GHz alum Macbook soon and I am keep hearing people saying that they would buy Refurbs over News any day...

Here is the price range...
New Alum Macbook with Student DC
2.0GHz 1349.00 CAD (Normal Prcie 1399.00 CAD)
2.4GHz 1649.00 CAD (Normal Price 1749.00 CAD)

From the Refurb Store Canada,

1549.00 CAD

2.4 GHz
13.3-inch 1200-by-800 pixel LED-backlit display
2GB memory
250GB hard drive
8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in iSight camera
Illuminated keyboard

... Yes... Money is the problem :(

What are you thoughts??? Why Refurb over New? Simply, bang for buck?
 
Refurbs, on occasion, have surprise upgrades. You might get more RAM or a larger HDD or a faster processor than the one you order, and this is okay! Apple doesn't monitor refurbs precisely, but you will always get the minimum of what you ordered.

Also, they come with the same warranty as any new Mac.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Refurbs, on occasion, have surprise upgrades. You might get more RAM or a larger HDD or a faster processor than the one you order, and this is okay! Apple doesn't monitor refurbs precisely, but you will always get the minimum of what you ordered.

Also, they come with the same warranty as any new Mac.
Click to expand...

I've bought 3 since switching, along with 1 new MBP and have no problems with anything, . Would i buy refurb again, yep as well as EOL models to:D
 
Both my MBP and AEBS are refurb products. (My MB was purchased new out of need at the time). I would definitely refurbs again. Save some money! Same warranty, and in most cases they seem to come like new.
 
I've always bought refurb iPods, I haven't bought a refurb computer yet, but I wouldn't hesitate because apple refurbs are in a class of their own. Like other posters mentioned, you get a better price and sometimes even better specs than mention. Not to mention if you are that concerned about something happening to it, you can still buy Applecare for it. (just make sure to save some $$$ and buy it off ebay).

Also, they say technically that a new product has a better chance of having problems than a refurbished product, simply because refurbs have been more thoroughly tested & checked by the manufacturer.
 
Tallest Skil said:
Refurbs, on occasion, have surprise upgrades. You might get more RAM or a larger HDD or a faster processor than the one you order, and this is okay! Apple doesn't monitor refurbs precisely, but you will always get the minimum of what you ordered.

Also, they come with the same warranty as any new Mac.
Click to expand...


Haha that's sweet :D
I am looking forward to get a refurb one :D heehee
 
scienide09 said:
Both my MBP and AEBS are refurb products. (My MB was purchased new out of need at the time). I would definitely refurbs again. Save some money! Same warranty, and in most cases they seem to come like new.
Click to expand...

Norco said:
I've always bought refurb iPods, I haven't bought a refurb computer yet, but I wouldn't hesitate because apple refurbs are in a class of their own. Like other posters mentioned, you get a better price and sometimes even better specs than mention. Not to mention if you are that concerned about something happening to it, you can still buy Applecare for it. (just make sure to save some $$$ and buy it off ebay).

Also, they say technically that a new product has a better chance of having problems than a refurbished product, simply because refurbs have been more thoroughly tested & checked by the manufacturer.
Click to expand...

That does sound promising to hear that the Refurb ones are just as good as the new one if not better. I just hope I will get lucky haha~ I wonder whether if I should go Refurb Ipod Touch 2G as well... Thanks for the replies ;)
 
my first refurb experience gave me a little pause. a screw was missing in the battery compartment, and sure enough, the screw would shake around inside when i tilted the laptop. apple took the return without hesitation, apologized, and sent me another. the next macbook was immaculate. you really couldn't tell it was refurbished, and it had 2gb ram instead of the 1gb it was supposed to have. no dead pixels, no problems whatsoever. if quality is the concern, i'd buy refurb again without worry.

concerning money savings, it depends on which model i'd get. a refurb aluminum macbook after tax is only a little bit cheaper than brand new on amazon (no tax in ca), so i think i'd spring for the new. there are people who think refurb products are better than new, because they've been more thoroughly inspected. while that may be true, i can't bring myself to buy refurb when new is less than $40 more. but refurb would be great on eol products like the rev. a macbook air. that $999 refurb price might be too tempting for me.
 
oh...

siurpeeman said:
my first refurb experience gave me a little pause. a screw was missing in the battery compartment, and sure enough, the screw would shake around inside when i tilted the laptop. apple took the return without hesitation, apologized, and sent me another. the next macbook was immaculate. you really couldn't tell it was refurbished, and it had 2gb ram instead of the 1gb it was supposed to have. no dead pixels, no problems whatsoever. if quality is the concern, i'd buy refurb again without worry.

concerning money savings, it depends on which model i'd get. a refurb aluminum macbook after tax is only a little bit cheaper than brand new on amazon (no tax in ca), so i think i'd spring for the new. there are people who think refurb products are better than new, because they've been more thoroughly inspected. while that may be true, i can't bring myself to buy refurb when new is less than $40 more. but refurb would be great on eol products like the rev. a macbook air. that $999 refurb price might be too tempting for me.
Click to expand...

Ya I think I understand what you are saying here. I hope I don't have to go through that :mad: But you got extra ram for the next round lol It's awesome to hear people saying that the replacement for Apple Refurb are sometimes better as in upgraded for the lower model price lol. Well, if I lived in US, I would of ordered through Amazon without any doubts but I live in Canada. I don't know if that benefits from Amazon is greater than the Refurb from Apple Canada.
 
I bouth a new one from best buy. Then ordered a refurb and returned my new one back to best buy.
Couldnt be happier. Though, my refurb does have the slanted F keys.. No issue though as it is an easy fix ;) Also, refurbs do not come in the fancy box. They come in a regular cardboard box.. With the money I saved I ordered 4gb of ram :D
 
VPrime said:
I bouth a new one from best buy. Then ordered a refurb and returned my new one back to best buy.
Couldnt be happier. Though, my refurb does have the slanted F keys.. No issue though as it is an easy fix ;) Also, refurbs do not come in the fancy box. They come in a regular cardboard box.. With the money I saved I ordered 4gb of ram :D
Click to expand...

I'd imagine you saved more money than just enough for ram considering you can get 4gb from OWC for like $45...
 
Norco said:
I'd imagine you saved more money than just enough for ram considering you can get 4gb from OWC for like $45...
Click to expand...
4gb is(was) 85 USD. After shipping and currency conversions (to canadian) It is roughly equal to the student price... But I get 4gb this way:D
 
CSilver said:
... Yes... Money is the problem :(

What are you thoughts??? Why Refurb over New? Simply, bang for buck?
Click to expand...

Yep, that's about it. You lose the packaging, but are guaranteed that it will at least meet advertised specs. Some folks get lucky with upgrades, some just get a better deal over new. ;)
 
I will get over the "Fancy Box" lol

Haha Thank you all again for replying to my thread ;D
I guess I will either wait for the 2.0GHz Refurb to be posted or just swallow the bitterness and get the 2.4GHz Refurb :p
Thanks for you help and I hope if someone else is in my situation, I hope he/she makes a great choice and be happy about it whether to get the Macbook in a Fancy Box or a Brown Box :rolleyes:

Although, I am curious whether the Refurb Macbooks will carry the ilife 09?
 
CSilver said:
Haha Thank you all again for replying to my thread ;D
I guess I will either wait for the 2.0GHz Refurb to be posted or just swallow the bitterness and get the 2.4GHz Refurb :p
Thanks for you help and I hope if someone else is in my situation, I hope he/she makes a great choice and be happy about it whether to get the Macbook in a Fancy Box or a Brown Box :rolleyes:

Although, I am curious whether the Refurb Macbooks will carry the ilife 09?
Click to expand...

I have the upgraded MB. One thing I will say, the illuminated keyboard sure cuts down on first stroke errors. It is a "high-end" feature once only available on expensive notebooks.

Also, even though you may want to upgrade the HDD to a 7200 RPM model, and the extra space doesn't seem to matter on the more expensive MB, you can use that extra space on a USB enclosure for the case (a lot of people upgrade their HDD to a 7200 RPM 320 GB model).

Lastly, the CPU. The high-end MB offers a 20% faster processor. Multiply that by its use over years, and you save a bit of time. Plus, the processor is NOT upgradeable in the future. So, it may make a difference down the road in three or four years. Just worthy of really thinking about the extra money for the high-end MB...

Plus you are saving money by buying refurbished. So, it's only $100 USD more to buy the high-end refurbished MB as the low-end new MB.

Good luck whichever route you go.
 
One thing about the Refurbs packaging, is they include a smaller white box inside with the contents (manual, cda, power cable).. Its nicer than the box they ship the laptop in ;) and easy to tuck away.

As for iLife 09, No. They still come with 08, BUT you are eligable for the 9.99 ($13 Canadian) iLife copy..
 
FYI the refurbs get posted all the time and they sell quickly. My suggestion is to just set the refurb store as your homepage and check back every hour.
 
Go for the refurbished Mac when you're on a budget. They come with full warranty and you can even buy them with three years of Apple Care.

And the best part is that very often the so-called refurbished Macs are actually re-labeled brand-new machines from the previous generation. (Of course, there's no guarantee for that.)

Short: You can't do anything wrong by buying a refurbished Mac.
 
Winni said:
And the best part is that very often the so-called refurbished Macs are actually re-labeled brand-new machines from the previous generation. (Of course, there's no guarantee for that.)
Click to expand...

i've always suspected but never saw or read any confirmation of this. part of me actually wants to say this is false, since i've seen "clearance items" on sale in the refurb section, clearly denoting new items for sale. do you have evidence to prove this?
 
Thank you all for replying :D

Ya I think my mind is confident enough to convince myself to go for the Refurb :D I am pretty excited ~~~~~~~~~~ Do you think the iLife 09 will be included (not installed) in the Refurb items after Jan??
 
CSilver said:
Ya I think my mind is confident enough to convince myself to go for the Refurb :D I am pretty excited ~~~~~~~~~~ Do you think the iLife 09 will be included (not installed) in the Refurb items after Jan??
Click to expand...

I would think so, might be pre-installed as soon as its officially been released...


Blakely028
 
I'd hold on for a while and wait to see what apple is coming out with.

We're all waiting on iMac, Mac Mini and Mac Pro updates and when that happens the older models will be sold off at a reduced rate like apple usually do.

I bought my first mac, a beige G3, only a few months before the blue & white G3s came out and for what I paid for a refurbished beige desktop, I could have got the same CPU in a tower with faster memory, a better graphics card and if I remember rightly, a DVD Rom

It's not worth the risk at present, I'd wait a while and see what new systems apple comes out with.
 
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