I will be purchasing a refurbished mac (macbook pro or macbook) soon. It will be my first mac ever and i'm really excited to get it. I've been looking at the refurbished prices and they're significantly cheaper. Money is somewhat of an issue for me, but not a HUGE deciding factor. I mean i can afford up to maybe $2000, but it'll really put me back a ways financially. So what do you guys think of refurbished computers? I've read some other forums, and apparently they're good. But I just want to know some details like what I can expect right out of the box. Will i recieve everything that a new mac would have? Will i have tiger installed or leopard? If there are scratches or dents, will i be able to swap it? Thanks for taking the time to read this guys.
I live in Canada so the prices are a tad more expensive than that of the US and the UK. Also, there is no apple store in the city i live in (from what i know, if anyone knows of a apple store in calgary please let me know).
I've been through the refurb deal, and it did save me money. But, it severely cost me time and aggravation.
My system arrived with a big chip in it's case, and lots of dings and scratches in the computer's case and the mouse. The LCD screen had a rather large abrasion mark across it's surface, and it required a lot of "buffing" to work it out to where it was only minimally visible.
The computer was in for service immediately due to needing a replacement logic board right out of the case (a dead ethernet port required a new logic board to repair make the fix). I had it in the shop within an hour of delivery from FedEx.
My computer's case was also extremely grungy / grimy and needed a severe scrubbing to clean the embedded dirt from it.
I would not count on them letting you exchange it unless the computer fails to work.
For me, they initially only repaired the main logic board (requiring me to wait for a replacement).
The physical damage was all considered "Cosmetic" and I was told that Apple does not cover cosmetic issues since they don't affect the operation of the computer. And, that is in-fact in Apple's warranty statement. Even new systems are not guaranteed against cosmetic issues.
It took me a long time (around a couple of months of arguing) to finally get a new case for my computer, and for them to finally replace the dud mouse that was also dinged-up.
But, while dealing with all that, the computer itself kept breaking down, and was constantly needing new internals.
A lot of people seem to think that a refurb is a better deal because it's been re-examined. But, really, the only thing you can be sure of is that someone else returned it for some reason (and you just have to hope Apple really addressed the issue).
Many of the people who purchased the original MacBook Pro returned them for over-heating issues. And, many people who later purchased the refurbs from that batch found the issue was still there and ended-up returning them again.
Sure, Apple says they put them through a thorough refurb process and thoroughly re-test them. But, really, there are no stated standards that we know of, and there are no published details of exactly what Apple does to each system.
The best you can hope for is a system that someone returned because they just didn't like it. And, hopefully they treated the computer very well.
Otherwise, you could get a system that had a number of issues, and perhaps Apple fixed some of them but missed repairing others. And, perhaps the person was also abusive to the computer and it now doesn't look so pretty.
Apple doesn't tend to jump right on fixing cosmetic issues. A number of people who purchased the original MacBook Pro (first revision) also had them come in with physical damage or cases which were improperly assembled. And, those systems were brand new. Many of them reported small dents in the case that Apple refused to repair (even though they were there when the computer came out of the box). Many reported panels that were bent or improperly lined-up, and Apple refused to repair those.
My iPod even had some cosmetic issues right out of the box. But, Apple wouldn't cover that at all.
You're chances are better of getting a clean looking system if you buy new. So, if nice looking is an important consideration buy new.
But, as mentioned, even that is no guarantee. Even my Mac Pro arrived with a few minor dings in the top of it from the factory (purchased brand new). The dings were obviously there when it was boxed because there was so much foam on the top of the case that shipping couldn't have caused it.
If you have a cosmetic issue, don't count on Apple fixing it. But, if you buy new, you'll have a less likely chance of getting something with damage.
Sadly, upon reflection, I can only think of a couple of computer's I've purchased from Apple that arrived in excellent shape without a single blemish (although usually rather minor). But, by far, the refurb was the nastiest experience. It's appearance was more along the lines of a 3 year old computer from a messy child being sold second hand.
