Is This Worth It?

[Mark D]

Please excuse a short woe-is-me story which is an unavoidable prerequisite to my asking for advice.

This summer I finally had enough money to get my first Mac after a year of saving and ordered a refurb 21" iMac (the best value Apple makes in my opinion) on July 20th. After waiting a week it arrived, looked as good as new, and I was really happy I got a great computer and saved $200. However, as soon as I turned it on there were several adjacent dead pixels right in the middle of the dock, very prominent from any angle. I called and took it into the store the next day and was told I could exchange it or even better, in the interest of time anyway, have them simply replace the LCD screen there. I opted for the latter because I already knew the rest of the computer was in perfect condition. So I finally get it back today, and it was like the box from hell. The plastic covering was the same I used before now with dirt on it, halfway on halfway off, but that's just the beginning. There are actually large chunks of dust inside the screen, and I mean like 5 or 6 places minimum. They can't be wiped off, if you look from the top you can clearly see it's behind the glass. There's also a place at the top-right where apparently the backlighting is coming through, you can see a slim white area between the screen and the black bezel surrounding it. The computer works fine, but it's just really sloppy in terms of physical appearance and this is not the kind of thing I pay 1,000 dollars for. I could return it and just get another refurbished one. I feel like no sooner would I do that then the new one would have an even worse problem like a scratch or something. I HATE cosmetic imperfections; dust falling on the screen is one thing but these are inside and can never be removed. Ever. And I'm tired of wasting my summer away trying to get a perfect Mac and save a little bit of money. I plan to take it in and refund it tomorrow, and I'm rethinking things now. Should I give it another go with the refurbished store, and believe my case is an exception? Or pony up and get a brand new one and be done with it? Are the benefits worth this much trouble?

 

[RustyMacVet]

Pony up man, $200 isn't a lot of money. For $200, you wouldn't have all of those small annoyances that will piss you the %$#@ off of the course of your comps lifetime.

 

[n0cus]

Please excuse a short woe-is-me story which is an unavoidable prerequisite to my asking for advice.

This summer I finally had enough money to get my first Mac after a year of saving and ordered a refurb 21" iMac (the best value Apple makes in my opinion) on July 20th. After waiting a week it arrived, looked as good as new, and I was really happy I got a great computer and saved $200. However, as soon as I turned it on there were several adjacent dead pixels right in the middle of the dock, very prominent from any angle. I called and took it into the store the next day and was told I could exchange it or even better, in the interest of time anyway, have them simply replace the LCD screen there. I opted for the latter because I already knew the rest of the computer was in perfect condition. So I finally get it back today, and it was like the box from hell. The plastic covering was the same I used before now with dirt on it, halfway on halfway off, but that's just the beginning. There are actually large chunks of dust inside the screen, and I mean like 5 or 6 places minimum. They can't be wiped off, if you look from the top you can clearly see it's behind the glass. There's also a place at the top-right where apparently the backlighting is coming through, you can see a slim white area between the screen and the black bezel surrounding it. The computer works fine, but it's just really sloppy in terms of physical appearance and this is not the kind of thing I pay 1,000 dollars for. I could return it and just get another refurbished one. I feel like no sooner would I do that then the new one would have an even worse problem like a scratch or something. I HATE cosmetic imperfections; dust falling on the screen is one thing but these are inside and can never be removed. Ever. And I'm tired of wasting my summer away trying to get a perfect Mac and save a little bit of money. I plan to take it in and refund it tomorrow, and I'm rethinking things now. Should I give it another go with the refurbished store, and believe my case is an exception? Or pony up and get a brand new one and be done with it? Are the benefits worth this much trouble?

Well if you hate imperfections (not judging you I hate them too) I would just fork out the extra $200, and buy a new one, but wait till the new one. Think of it as paying for an upgrade to the processes, graphics card, and getting USB 3.0.

 

[Mark D]

Well if you hate imperfections (not judging you I hate them too) I would just fork out the extra $200, and buy a new one, but wait till the new one. Think of it as paying for an upgrade to the processes, graphics card, and getting USB 3.0.

I honestly don't believe there will be any changes to the iMac until next year.

 

[PhoenixMac]

I would buy another refurb and spend the 200 you saved on ram.

 

[sukai]

I would buy another refurb and spend the 200 you saved on ram.

Agreed, I got me a 11.6" air and its like new. Though I can understand the iMac being prone to more issues, the screen being one, but don't give up man, you could try again with a refurb like PhoenixMac recommends or if possible wait for the new one if you are able to get a refund. I do believe a new iMac will be here around Sept-Oct.

 

[SiriusFlash]

I'd be pretty pissed if I were you too, especially considering the refurbs are supposed to have passed certification tests and whatnot. If I were you I'd probably return the refurb and spend the extra 200 on a new iMac, just for peace of mind. If you don't want to spend the extra money though, the glass on the iMac is only held on by magnets (albeit strong ones) and you could use suction cups to pry the glass off. It may sound worse than it actually is, but it's really not that big of a deal. You should be able to just blow the dust out (I'm assuming it's just between the glass and the screen anyway). But again, this isn't really something you should have to deal with and are well within reason to return it.

 

[Mark D]

The thing I can't get over is that the repair is what screwed it up the most. There was just the two dead pixels to begin with and then it comes back looking like it's been played around with all week by monkeys.

I'm wondering if there's any limit to this returning, in case there's also something wrong with another refurb. Is there a point where they'd become suspicious if I kept exchanging?

 

[SiriusFlash]

I have never worked in an Apple Store, but have had a few retail jobs. I don't see why it would be an issue if you are not satisfied with the product you purchased and wanted to exchange it for something else. I also don't think you should worry about being suspicious - you bought a faulty product, had it fixed within a reasonable timeframe, but when you got home you realized that the repair was done poorly. It really sounds like this is completely on them and they should offer you an apology for your inconvenience.

 

[Kizmatti]

I would keep returning it until they get it right.

I would take it a step farther and have them setup and turn on the machine in store before you leave, that way you know it is to your liking.

This could possibly save you another return.

Remember you are the customer here, and your money doesn't get any greener than it already is.

 

[Mr-Stabby]

Do you have a sucker somewhere? Like one of those things you use to attach something to a car windscreen. You could try taking the screen bezel off (it's magnetic and very easy to remove, picture description here (first two pics only obviously) http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Installing-iMac-Intel-21-5-Inch-EMC-2389-Display/6270/1) and just giving the inside of the screen a clean I don't know what is causing the backlight problem, but perhaps reseating the bezel might fix that too.

 

[Mark D]

All this is making it that much more tempting to wait later and see if anything newer is brought out this fall. Seems dumb if this one does what I need, but I'm thinking I may have jumped the gun a bit financially anyway so perhaps this is a sign. My current 17" laptop is reasonably capable...if that's a word you'd ever associate with Windows.

 

[forty2j]

IMO you got robbed, and should get a full refund from whomever you bought this from and get a new 2012 from somewhere else when it comes out.

I would never trust a "refurb" that wasn't direct from Apple.

 

[Mark D]

IMO you got robbed, and should get a full refund from whomever you bought this from and get a new 2012 from somewhere else when it comes out.

I would never trust a "refurb" that wasn't direct from Apple.

Mine was straight from apple.com.

 

[forty2j]

Mine was straight from apple.com.

Then avoid the store that did the repair. They seem to be lacking geniuses.

 

[Mark D]

First time dealing with them so there was no way to know. It's the only one in town unfortunately.

 

[Orlandoech]

Call apple and get a refund or maybe they will replace it.

 

[Mark D]

Okay, I was told verbally over the phone that they're giving me a return for replacement. It's been 23 hours and still no confirmation email or change in my order status on the store. They said within 24 hrs so it looks like I might still have to deal with them a little more but I think the exchange is going to work.

Then avoid the store that did the repair. They seem to be lacking geniuses.

I think you're right. I went in to return it the other day, but I couldn't because because refurbs must be shipped back. But they looked at the screen while I was there and when I got home I found out they didn't put the keyboard and mouse back in the box! I had to go get them today. That could have been very costly.

 

[Johnf1285]

Okay, I was told verbally over the phone that they're giving me a return for replacement. It's been 23 hours and still no confirmation email or change in my order status on the store. They said within 24 hrs so it looks like I might still have to deal with them a little more but I think the exchange is going to work.



I think you're right. I went in to return it the other day, but I couldn't because because refurbs must be shipped back. But they looked at the screen while I was there and when I got home I found out they didn't put the keyboard and mouse back in the box! I had to go get them today. That could have been very costly.

They really dropped the ball at this store. I think you should reach out to the manager of that store, or someone higher up the chain. This is unacceptable from any business, Apple or not.

 

[thekev]

I honestly don't believe there will be any changes to the iMac until next year.

That would be a dumb move on Apple's part. The people saying this don't seem to get a few details. The main issue is that Haswell parts are unlikely to be available during the first half. They'd be stretching it a long time. You think they're really going to push it until roughly this time next year when the parts are readily available and the costs involved in such a spec bump are likely to be minor. I think it's possible that you've been successfully trolled by macrumors if you believe they're going to allow the imac to slip to a 2 year refresh cycle.

 

[Mark D]

That would be a dumb move on Apple's part.

You don't say!

 

[thekev]

You don't say!

I'm not sure what the point was there with such a simple response. At the very least it would be anti-consumer considering the things that Ivy Bridge brings aside from the relatively minor spec bump. Given the current imac's specs relative to the rMBP, any cpu bump is going to be good. Beyond that usb3 + a gpu update should be enough justification to roll out an update. They have never skipped such a cycle until now with the recent mac pro thing. I wouldn't expect that to slide into the imac. Like I said, if they skipped ivy, you would wait a whole year to see an update as Haswell is scheduled for release late in the first half. If they're trying to update the notebooks first again as they typically do, this would push the imac back even further to about now in 2013.

 

[Mengele]

They'd be stretching it a long time.

The MacPro has gone over two years without an update so far. No, a price/feature cut in june was not an update.

 

[Mark D]

Success!

 

[thekev]

The MacPro has gone over two years without an update so far. No, a price/feature cut in june was not an update.

I never said it was an update. I said they've never stretched an update this far. The rumor is a 2013 update. If they were going to straight out kill it, they probably would have done so already. Dell and HP released their equivalent updates a couple months ago, so it wasn't truly stretched out on Apple's end until recently.