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MBP 2011 2.3 Refurb or 2.2 New

E

eric.blair

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 26, 2007
43
13
Would really appreciate any and all thoughts on this...

I ordered a new 2.2 17" MBP 2011 antiglare through JR.com and after it had shipped I saw the 2011 17" refurbished units start appearing at the Apple Online Store... I found the same model I ordered through JR but with the 2.3 CPU and after all is said and done it would end up costing me the same as the *new* JR 2.2 MBP. I bought this one as well and figured I'd check it out and then return one of them.

I've bought refurbished before (Mac Pro) and have had nothing but great results. Although I was a bit weary with a laptop since it's sort of more apt to scratches and what not.

Anyhow, I checked out the refurbished 2.3 and found a few very minor scratches on the case, for the most part not that noticeable... the worst of which is an actual tiny nic in the aluminum. The machine itself seems fine of course, runs well etc.

The the question is, which one to keep? The 2.3 speed increase over the 2.2 is pretty much negligible from all the tests I've seen, and therefore I would definitely not "pay extra" for it... but considering the price here was essentially the same as the 2.2 it's a different scenario. I'm just debating whether or I can deal with the minor scratches (and I mean minor), or if I should just forget the small speed improvement and go with a brand new 2.2 that I have yet to open. I've heard of some people contacting Apple and letting them know that there are some scratches and that they'd like a replacement, but there's no guarantee that the replacement won't have scratches, or it could be worse.

Thanks all for your input...
 
The brand new unit will most likely have scratches after few weeks of usage too. I would keep the 2.3GHz, better resale value at least.
 
Hellhammer said:
The brand new unit will most likely have scratches after few weeks of usage too. I would keep the 2.3GHz, better resale value at least.
Click to expand...

Well - typically I'm pretty good about preventing dings and scratches, but point taken.

[...]
I checked the age with the the coconutBattery app and it only has 5 battery cycles and is only 5 weeks old.


jonnysods said:
Refurb. Save some clams.
Click to expand...

Again, in this case both models cost the same, since I wouldn't be buying the 2.3 brand new.

Thanks for all your input, still undecided on this one.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
get the 2.3 refurb. Mine's even came with 8 gigs of RAM for no extra charge!
 
bniu said:
get the 2.3 refurb. Mine's even came with 8 gigs of RAM for no extra charge!
Click to expand...

I already have the 2.3 refurb and the brand new 2.2 (still unopened)... Just deciding which to keep and return. My refurb unfortunately only came with 4GB, but I already have 8 to install.

How's the quality of your refurb? Minor scratches?
 
eric.blair said:
I already have the 2.3 refurb and the brand new 2.2 (still unopened)... Just deciding which to keep and return. My refurb unfortunately only came with 4GB, but I already have 8 to install.

How's the quality of your refurb? Minor scratches?
Click to expand...

How's the quality of yours?
 
Simple, call Apple exchange the 2.3 for another one if you're really unhappy with the condition and keep it. Refurbs are generally pretty pristine so I doubt you'll get another mediocre one unless you're being too anal.
 
BNHabs said:
How's the quality of yours?
Click to expand...

BNHabs,

Check some of my posts above, basically perfect condition with the exception of a few very minor scratches (small like 1mm) that pretty hard to even see. And 1, millimeter nic in the aluminum next to the keyboard. But battery only has 5 cycles on it and the MBP is 5 weeks old (according to the coconut battery app.
 
eric.blair said:
I already have the 2.3 refurb and the brand new 2.2 (still unopened)... Just deciding which to keep and return. My refurb unfortunately only came with 4GB, but I already have 8 to install.

How's the quality of your refurb? Minor scratches?
Click to expand...

pristine condition. no scratches anywhere. only thing I got to do now is to drive back up to Fry's and return that 8GB kit I bought. The thing about refurbs is the specs you purchase are the minimum that you're guaranteed. Apple may decide to give you one with slightly better specs if they wish. Kinda like buying a coach ticket on American and at the gate, the agent rips up your boarding pass and hands you a new one with a seat in First Class!
 
bniu said:
pristine condition. no scratches anywhere. only thing I got to do now is to drive back up to Fry's and return that 8GB kit I bought. The thing about refurbs is the specs you purchase are the minimum that you're guaranteed. Apple may decide to give you one with slightly better specs if they wish. Kinda like buying a coach ticket on American and at the gate, the agent rips up your boarding pass and hands you a new one with a seat in First Class!
Click to expand...

Maybe I will try again with another refurb. Did you happen to check the battery cycles on yours with Coconut Battery? Just curious, I heard of some getting more used batteries.
 
eric.blair said:
Maybe I will try again with another refurb. Did you happen to check the battery cycles on yours with Coconut Battery? Just curious, I heard of some getting more used batteries.
Click to expand...

Once you open the refurb's box (which you did if you know the # of battery cycles) you will have to pay a restocking fee of 10%. Cheaper to keep the refurb and buy ram then return in hopes of getting one with more ram
 
sn0wman72 said:
Once you open the refurb's box (which you did if you know the # of battery cycles) you will have to pay a restocking fee of 10%. Cheaper to keep the refurb and buy ram then return in hopes of getting one with more ram
Click to expand...

I did NOT have to pay a restocking fee. Last I heard Apple did away with restocking fees, and it doesn't mention them anymore on the Apple Online Store either.


bniu,

So I called Apple and explained about the minimal scratches, they had no problem initiating a return for me. Printed the Apple created FedEx label, shipped it back to them and they overnighted me a replacement, once they verified that FedEx had the original in their possession.

I'm happy to say that the replacement is PRISTINE as well - and I also got a little surprise of 8GB of RAM as well... ;) good deal. Glad I exchanged it. A similar thing happened when I bought my Refurb Mac Pro last year, got a 1TB system drive instead of the 640GB is was listed with.

Returning the brand new one I bought and definitely keeping this Refurb. Thanks for all the input.
 
eric.blair said:
bniu,

So I called Apple and explained about the minimal scratches, they had no problem initiating a return for me. Printed the Apple created FedEx label, shipped it back to them and they overnighted me a replacement, once they verified that FedEx had the original in their possession.

I'm happy to say that the replacement is PRISTINE as well - and I also got a little surprise of 8GB of RAM as well... ;) good deal. Glad I exchanged it. A similar thing happened when I bought my Refurb Mac Pro last year, got a 1TB system drive instead of the 640GB is was listed with.

Returning the brand new one I bought and definitely keeping this Refurb. Thanks for all the input.
Click to expand...

My pleasure. I'm happy to hear that you also got a nice surprise of 8GB RAM. It seems like with exchanges, Apple goes all out to make sure we're happy the second time around. In addition to the 8GB upgrade, I also got a complimentary magic mouse as an apology for the 7-9 day shipping and then surprisingly, it got quietly expedited as well.
 
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