Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Getting an iMac - New or Refurbished?
- Thread starter wheels524
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
And you might get lucky and play some refurb roulette and get more than what you paid for. I bought a 13" MBP last year, expecting 2GB of Ram and it arrived with 4GB 
Lol. I don't think so. A refurb means just that, "Refurbished". The only thing that is used in a refurb are the internals of the machine. Thats it. New keyboard, Mouse, outer casing etc. The only way you can tell is from the serial number.
Where do you guys get this crap from? Scratches. It there were scratches it was from shipping. A new machine can have scratches also.
This subject has been beaten to death. Do a search and see how many people have such issues or problems who actually own a refurb imac. Not many.
You are playing russian roulette if you purchase a new one. Especially with the way some of these iMac's have been shipping. Even if the refurb has a problem, just return/exchange. Why NOT save $100-$300??
Exactly!!
Scratches, half the people mentioning problems about refurbs probably have not even purchased one. You guys make it seem as if people return them, and all apples does is switch boxes and ships them out without even inspecting them.
We purchased a 24" iMac refurbed for my wife 5 months ago. When it arrived in its plain brown box, I expected that it was a returned machine that had been gone through like any of the others.
What we got was a brand new unit. This thing had NEVER been used. I think what had happened was when the 27" and 21" iMac's came out, they sold the remaining 24" units as refurbs. Everything about it looked brand new. No dust in the vents, no blemishes, plastic protective covers were all in place. If it hadn't been in the brown box, you'd swear it was new.
Her iMac G5 that we had had for several years was definitely used. That thing had DNA on the keyboard. Apple had to send us a new one because the one it came with was so bad. The computer was wrapped in foam wrap. One of the pixels is stuck.
My refurb powermac G5 was perfect, but not new perfect. When I popped it open, I could see some evidence of it being used, but it had been cleaned, and it looked great. I used it for 5 years before buying my Mini (which was new).
When purchasing refurbs, your mileage may vary.
What we got was a brand new unit. This thing had NEVER been used. I think what had happened was when the 27" and 21" iMac's came out, they sold the remaining 24" units as refurbs. Everything about it looked brand new. No dust in the vents, no blemishes, plastic protective covers were all in place. If it hadn't been in the brown box, you'd swear it was new.
Her iMac G5 that we had had for several years was definitely used. That thing had DNA on the keyboard. Apple had to send us a new one because the one it came with was so bad. The computer was wrapped in foam wrap. One of the pixels is stuck.
My refurb powermac G5 was perfect, but not new perfect. When I popped it open, I could see some evidence of it being used, but it had been cleaned, and it looked great. I used it for 5 years before buying my Mini (which was new).
When purchasing refurbs, your mileage may vary.
I went with a new one and now I'm in the process of getting it replaced. So that should tell you right there that even if you do get a brand new one, still a great chance of you getting a problematic one. Especially with these iMacs.
Refurbished products are always tested before they're put up for sale, so it's not like someone broke it and now you're gonna be getting it.
Most of the time the broken parts are all replaced and it runs like new.
If the money's tight, then go with the refurb, chances are, you won't even know the difference. And if something is wrong, you have AppleCare to back you up, and you can always request a replacement.
How is buying a new one not the same thing? With all the yellow tint problems and the loud HDDs.
Refurbished products are always tested before they're put up for sale, so it's not like someone broke it and now you're gonna be getting it.
Most of the time the broken parts are all replaced and it runs like new.
If the money's tight, then go with the refurb, chances are, you won't even know the difference. And if something is wrong, you have AppleCare to back you up, and you can always request a replacement.
How is buying a new one not the same thing? With all the yellow tint problems and the loud HDDs.
Here's my experience over the last 3 years with refurbished units :
1 Macbook Aluminum 13" - perfect (came with 4 gb ram instead of the listed 2)
3 Macbook Pros 13" - perfect
1 Mac Mini - almost perfect, the bottom had some scuffs like it was on a table for a couple months and slid a couple times
1 White Macbook - scratches and looked like the case didn't fit perfectly
Here's my experience over the last 3 years with new units :
1 Macbook Pro 15" - perfect
1 Macbook Pro 13" - nick in the casing on the bottom
1 Mac Mini - DVD drive was useless
1 iMac 27" - Yellow Tint, returned and got another Yellow Tint. Got a third and it was fine.
So I'm 4 for 6 with refurbed, and technically 2 for 6 on new units. Not a big deal since AppleCare on the phone handled it well. I'm a firm believer of avoiding the morons at the AppleStores, since AppleCare on the phone doesn't give the condescending tone the AppleStore employees do. Not sure why I have better luck with the refurbished units, but I'll take it.
You're going to get defects with new units. They aren't perfect. It's probably one reason there are so many refurbished ones available. The ones with defects are returned, fixed, then sold as refurbished.
1 Macbook Aluminum 13" - perfect (came with 4 gb ram instead of the listed 2)
3 Macbook Pros 13" - perfect
1 Mac Mini - almost perfect, the bottom had some scuffs like it was on a table for a couple months and slid a couple times
1 White Macbook - scratches and looked like the case didn't fit perfectly
Here's my experience over the last 3 years with new units :
1 Macbook Pro 15" - perfect
1 Macbook Pro 13" - nick in the casing on the bottom
1 Mac Mini - DVD drive was useless
1 iMac 27" - Yellow Tint, returned and got another Yellow Tint. Got a third and it was fine.
So I'm 4 for 6 with refurbed, and technically 2 for 6 on new units. Not a big deal since AppleCare on the phone handled it well. I'm a firm believer of avoiding the morons at the AppleStores, since AppleCare on the phone doesn't give the condescending tone the AppleStore employees do. Not sure why I have better luck with the refurbished units, but I'll take it.
You're going to get defects with new units. They aren't perfect. It's probably one reason there are so many refurbished ones available. The ones with defects are returned, fixed, then sold as refurbished.
Well I would definitely buy refurbished again as far as older iMacs go. A perfect 24" was sent to me (the only flaw was barely noticable chips on the left hand side of the monitor). If light/monitor size wasn't an issue with my vision, I would have gladly kept it.
Regarding the new generation of iMacs, I'd personally wait until the next refresh. And having had a 21.5 and the 24 for a few days each, the 24 seemed like the better make of machine.
But thats me.
Regarding the new generation of iMacs, I'd personally wait until the next refresh. And having had a 21.5 and the 24 for a few days each, the 24 seemed like the better make of machine.
But thats me.
Thanks for the help there
I was also wondering, a student discount or a referb?
No, at least that's what I was told. You cannot combine discounts.
I just received a refurbished iMac i7 last week. No problems at all, the screen looks great. It doesn't have any signs of use and looks like its brand new, not a scratch on it. The keyboard and mouse that came with it were also new.
I just ordered a refurbed 27" i5 from the Apple store. At $1699 it was hard to beat vs $1999 for a new one. I have nothing but great things to say about Apple refurbed products. They have all looked like they were NIB, no scratches, no nicks, perfect in every way.
If in the million to one odds anything is wrong with it I know i can take it down to the Apple store and get an exchange with no hassle and it would probably be swapped out for a NEW one right there!
If in the million to one odds anything is wrong with it I know i can take it down to the Apple store and get an exchange with no hassle and it would probably be swapped out for a NEW one right there!
Don't you have to send it to Apple. I thought refurbs had to go by mail. you couldn't exchange it at the store.
Yes, but Apple store ≠ Apple online store
If you bought it from online store and want to RETURN it, you have to deal with the online store. If you want to get it FIXED under warranty, then you can use the Apple store. They can't refund something that they didn't sell. Warranty is different thing as its policies differ from return/replacement policies
So why would I want to RETURN it?
It something is wrong with it out of the box, its going to the Apple store.
They will decide if its something they can fix right there or just swap it out for a new one for instance if there is a major screen issue.
It something is wrong with it out of the box, its going to the Apple store.
They will decide if its something they can fix right there or just swap it out for a new one for instance if there is a major screen issue.
Return is same as replacement
If you go to the Apple store, it'll be dealt as WARRANTY case, while with online store you would still be inside the 14-day no-questions-asked return/replacement time. Sure it's not my thing and you can do what you want but I wouldn't like that my brand new iMac would be taken apart straight away, especially if I could get a new one. It's unlikely that they would replace it with new one immediately as screen etc. can be replaced and that's what they usually do when under warranty (depends on person though)
In your prior post, you state that if you encounter problems you would take it down to your Apple store for exchange with no hassle. The "brick and mortar" store will not process an exchange with a refurb purchased online. If you want to exchange it, you will have to send it in.
Why Not get a refurb? You will save money and they give you the same warranty as far as I know.
I recently bought a refurb i7 27" iMac.
It looked absolutely flawless when I received it.
I would highly recommend refurb.
It looked absolutely flawless when I received it.
I would highly recommend refurb.
Ahh! They've been sold out of the refurbished i7 27" iMacs for like a week now...not sure how much longer I can wait, might have to pony up the extra cash for a new one.
Does anyone have any idea how long it has taken in the past for them to put the refurb'd i7s up for sale?
Does anyone have any idea how long it has taken in the past for them to put the refurb'd i7s up for sale?
Refurb definitely
For all the reasons folks have said, I'm another refurb convert. The refurbished 24" iMac I had to unfortunately return had barely detectable chips on the left hand side (I wouldn't have known if I didn't run my hand along this side of the monitor).
With the display issues I've had and have heard of/seen (both apple & me), I will probably just wait awhile until some more nice refurbs come in. *Sigh* notices refurb 20" that does not have a backlit screen. At least I know the refurb store gets this type of iMac in. Maybe, I'll have luck with that.
For all the reasons folks have said, I'm another refurb convert. The refurbished 24" iMac I had to unfortunately return had barely detectable chips on the left hand side (I wouldn't have known if I didn't run my hand along this side of the monitor).
With the display issues I've had and have heard of/seen (both apple & me), I will probably just wait awhile until some more nice refurbs come in. *Sigh* notices refurb 20" that does not have a backlit screen. At least I know the refurb store gets this type of iMac in. Maybe, I'll have luck with that.