I'm about to take the plung in buying my first mac, and the Macbook Pro fits my needs the best. As you can tell I was wondering if buying a Refurbished MacBook Pro is safe. I want to save money and the one I'm looking at is $250 cheaper then if I bought it new. I just don't want to buy it and decide it is just better to buy a new one. Any thoughts? Thanks!
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Is buying a Refurbished MacBook Pro safe?
- Thread starter Natural Cauzez
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It's just a bit safer than buying a brand new one, becaus eit has been thru quality control twice, new ones only have been thru it once. And you get the same one year warranty on them as a new one, oh and it's cheaper too...the only thing you dont get is the super cool box but most of us can do without..
I just bought a refurb 15" MBP and couldn't be happier. It looked brand new coming out of the box and runs like a dream. I don't think I would buy apple products new if the refurb option is available ever again.
Bought a refurb, was fine for 6 months till the airport card went, from then in was a comedy of errors at the apple authorised repair centre.
Had Airport card, logic board and display replaced (20 days repair), came back and wasn't charging. Off again and battery and DC in board was replaced (17 days repair), thremal sensors on logic board had gone and KB backlight didn't work.
Finally had enough and demanded a replacement, now this is worth bearing in mind where buying a refurb is concerned;
Apple will only replace a refurb if the have the SAME model in stock, otherwise it's a refund. The warranty is not exactly the same as a new one as they won't replace for the next model up if the one you have isn't available.
Had Airport card, logic board and display replaced (20 days repair), came back and wasn't charging. Off again and battery and DC in board was replaced (17 days repair), thremal sensors on logic board had gone and KB backlight didn't work.
Finally had enough and demanded a replacement, now this is worth bearing in mind where buying a refurb is concerned;
Apple will only replace a refurb if the have the SAME model in stock, otherwise it's a refund. The warranty is not exactly the same as a new one as they won't replace for the next model up if the one you have isn't available.
Me, too.
It is worth bearing in mind, however I'd still go refurb again.
Its a safe, if not safer as buying a new one. Its buying second hand ones off eBay thats risky...
My 15" macbook pro is a refurb as is my mac pro. By the time I'm ready to upgrade my 24" iMac to a 27" a year from now, there will be refurbs for those and that's what I'm planning to get. I'm completely sold on Apple's refurbs.
As I wrote in another thread...
Nothing but good experience with the one refurb I've been exposed to.
m&c
Nothing but good experience with the one refurb I've been exposed to.
m&c
It can actually be quite a task. Not dangerous, but sometimes difficult.
Refubs often take a little more time and effort to domesticate, since they were often just abandoned, and they learned to survive by instinct until they were resuced and rehabilitated.
I remember a friend of mine adopted a refurb that had been rescued from a broken fighting ring. The computer had many issues, dents, scratches, acting up and the like, but eventually it came around (after a bit of time) and is now actually quite reliable and gentle.
It takes time, and patience, but if you keep working hard at it, you might be rewarded with a very loving relationship with your refurb.
Refubs often take a little more time and effort to domesticate, since they were often just abandoned, and they learned to survive by instinct until they were resuced and rehabilitated.
I remember a friend of mine adopted a refurb that had been rescued from a broken fighting ring. The computer had many issues, dents, scratches, acting up and the like, but eventually it came around (after a bit of time) and is now actually quite reliable and gentle.
It takes time, and patience, but if you keep working hard at it, you might be rewarded with a very loving relationship with your refurb.
I've never had an issue with a refurb and I've bought several. If you're really worried, you can apply the saving towards AppleCare.
Bought a 15" G4 Powerbook in 2005. Never had a problem and it still runs great to this day.
Bought a refurbished Macbook Air last month. Runs like a champ.
Bought a 15" Macbook Pro brand new last year. Had to be returned due to cosmetic issues and Apple sent me a replacement. The first one I purchased was probably turned into a refurb.
Bought a 15" G4 Powerbook in 2005. Never had a problem and it still runs great to this day.
Bought a refurbished Macbook Air last month. Runs like a champ.
Bought a 15" Macbook Pro brand new last year. Had to be returned due to cosmetic issues and Apple sent me a replacement. The first one I purchased was probably turned into a refurb.
Some people seem to think refurbs are checked in depth. I am sure they just do function checks on all areas not take the thing apart and do industrial level testing. I doubt they are any better tested than new ones. Someone turning the airport card on and hooking up to a network doesn't mean it's not going to crap out the next day.
I'm torn because on one hand you dont know how it has been treated and what could have been missed. On the other hand if it was just returned out of buyer's remorse etc you could end up with a good deal. Either way you may have to deal with defects an warranty work.
I prefer to have new since I am positive I take care of it and if there is a problem it's a defect and not that it was dropped and returned by someone being sneaky or who was dishonest about an intermittent problem that a simple function check wouldn't show.
I'm torn because on one hand you dont know how it has been treated and what could have been missed. On the other hand if it was just returned out of buyer's remorse etc you could end up with a good deal. Either way you may have to deal with defects an warranty work.
I prefer to have new since I am positive I take care of it and if there is a problem it's a defect and not that it was dropped and returned by someone being sneaky or who was dishonest about an intermittent problem that a simple function check wouldn't show.
I brother recently purchased a refurbished mbp. He is quite pleased with it. It looks brand spanking new.
With all the deals out there right now have you looked at buying a new one through a third party? You could possibly get a new machine cheaper than a refurb after you figure sales taxes in. I'd suggest Amazon since you don't have to deal with rebates and, depending on which state you live, you may not have to pay sales tax. If you're the rebate type you may be able to save even more by going through MacMall or MacConnection. There are links on the MacRumors home page.
The main thing that strikes me about Apple refurbs is that they really aren't great deals. Every time I've purchased a Mac I've always checked out the refurbs, and I've always found a more desirable deal elsewhere on a brand new Mac.
Case in point: Apple is selling a refurb 13" Macbook Pro (2.26/160GB/2GB) for $999, while you can get a brand new one for $1049 (AMIR) from Mac Connection. http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=9899411&SourceID=k238850
For me this new one would actually be cheaper because I have Apple stores in my state (WA), and the 9.8% sales tax would bump the price to almost $1100. Whereas with Mac Connection I have no sales tax and they offer free shipping.
edit: tardman91 beat me to it.
Case in point: Apple is selling a refurb 13" Macbook Pro (2.26/160GB/2GB) for $999, while you can get a brand new one for $1049 (AMIR) from Mac Connection. http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=9899411&SourceID=k238850
For me this new one would actually be cheaper because I have Apple stores in my state (WA), and the 9.8% sales tax would bump the price to almost $1100. Whereas with Mac Connection I have no sales tax and they offer free shipping.
edit: tardman91 beat me to it.
If you are up for the task, Craigslist can be very rewarding. I have picked up Macs on there for less than half of the refurb value, you just have to know what to look for and some warning signs.
i just sold a 2 month old Macbook 13" with Office 2008 for 750$, college gave me it and I already had this MBP so I didn't need it. Sold mine locally on Craigs. Great experience, but yes do be careful.
My friend bought a refurbished middle of the line 15" MBP a month ago, and so far it has been perfect, the only difference between it and a new MBP is the box.
In this thread, runebinder states that "Apple won't replace as it's a refurb", but in the linked thread he states that he has Applecare.
So my question is, does Apple treat refurbs with Applecare differently/worse than new Macs with Applecare? This is the only thing holding me back from getting a refurb.
So my question is, does Apple treat refurbs with Applecare differently/worse than new Macs with Applecare? This is the only thing holding me back from getting a refurb.
That's not how Apple works... They HAVE to replace it. But even if they don't, they will give you the original money back. So you'll get your money back for it and you can just buy a newer model.
I got a refub iPod Nano and it's great and I wish I got a refrub Macbook to save some money. You can still get Apple Care also on them.
Well, if youre lucky like me, you can find one on craigslist that was literally a week old. He had the original receipt, and the serial of the macbook pro matched the receipt. I got the 2.26 ghz macbook pro for only 900 cash. no tax. and there were no scratches/dents whatsoever, he just didn't like the mac. It couldve also been that he drove a porsche so losing a few bucks wasn't a thing to him.
One thing I would suggest when buying a refurb is to check the spec very carefully and, if necessary, ask on here as the machine could be quite old.
I bought my MBP - my first ever Mac - in Jan this year but it turned out to be a late '07 model (3,1). Not in itself a big problem but as I've settled on Aperture for my digital photo management I suspect a newer model with a higher spec graphics card (mine's got a 256MB 8600M) would have been a better choice.
Also, it doesn't have the latest multi-touch trackpad (doesn't support 3- and 4-finger gestures, just 2-finger scrolling).
The upside is that it was advertised as having 2GB RAM but actually has 4GB - I guess it was swapped out and the original owner had u/g the RAM, sold the original DIMMs, and Apple just listed it with its original spec from the serial no.
I bought my MBP - my first ever Mac - in Jan this year but it turned out to be a late '07 model (3,1). Not in itself a big problem but as I've settled on Aperture for my digital photo management I suspect a newer model with a higher spec graphics card (mine's got a 256MB 8600M) would have been a better choice.
Also, it doesn't have the latest multi-touch trackpad (doesn't support 3- and 4-finger gestures, just 2-finger scrolling).
The upside is that it was advertised as having 2GB RAM but actually has 4GB
- I guess it was swapped out and the original owner had u/g the RAM, sold the original DIMMs, and Apple just listed it with its original spec from the serial no.
i have the 13in MBP for 3 months now and its amazing..
...and yes its refurbished.
not one problem. not one dent, not one software issue....its great.
...and yes its refurbished.
not one problem. not one dent, not one software issue....its great.