My last few questions before I buy an aluminum MacBook...

[booste]

I'm very close to purchasing a 2.0 Alumium Macbook... I just have a few more questions...

1) I'm going to buy a refurb. I know the box it comes in is just a plain brown thing. But inside of that is it the same as a brand new one, does it include the exact same software, guides and cables?

2) Do they reinstall leopard on refurbs? Or is there going to be stuff left over from the previous owner?

3) The refurbs can be tracked when there shipped too, right?

 

[natebookpro]

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes

The only thing at all that is different is the shiny box and the extra $200 in your bank account!

 

[miles01110]

Refurbs are great deals- identical to new units except for...well, being used. I've had very good experiences with refurb units in the past... maybe because they've been pored over by the technicians before being resold.

 

[pinoyplaya]

Wait... before you buy here's one thing to consider.

Do you pay sales tax to where the item is going to be shipped? If so, then buy a brand new one from MacMall. It will end up costing you $40.00 more and you get a brand new mac instead of a refurb plus you get overnight shipping if you do so choose.

There's currently a rebate on the MacBook if you buy it through MacMall. I think it expires at the end of the month.

 

[clyde2801]

You mentioned this in the OP, but refurbs often have what I've heard 'easter eggs' extras installed by the original owner. The original owner may have had 4 gigs of ram installed in his macbook, or had a larger hard drive installed.😀

 

[ZachsMacDaddy]

Wait... before you buy here's one thing to consider.

Do you pay sales tax to where the item is going to be shipped? If so, then buy a brand new one from MacMall. It will end up costing you $40.00 more and you get a brand new mac instead of a refurb plus you get overnight shipping if you do so choose.

There's currently a rebate on the MacBook if you buy it through MacMall. I think it expires at the end of the month.

Good luck getting MacMall to actually pay out on a rebate. You get better odds on the lotto.

 

[MistaBungle]

2) Do they reinstall leopard on refurbs? Or is there going to be stuff left over from the previous owner?

I'm sorry, this is just funny. Imagine that, buying a refurb and you can just log on, launch mail and answer all the e-mails in the inbox. That would be absolutely terrible.

 

[miles01110]

I'm sorry, this is just funny. Imagine that, buying a refurb and you can just log on, launch mail and answer all the e-mails in the inbox. That would be absolutely terrible.

Or hilarious, depending on the contents of the message...

I think Apple would be in some legal trouble over privacy violations if that happened though.

 

[trip1ex]

Sales tax in the Apple store is always over-estimated on my orders.

Sales TAx here is ~8.5%. This is what the cart shows before I order. AFter I order I get the confirmation and it shows a sales tax rate closer to ~4%.

 

[IrishSniper87]

You mentioned this in the OP, but refurbs often have what I've heard 'easter eggs' extras installed by the original owner. The original owner may have had 4 gigs of ram installed in his macbook, or had a larger hard drive installed.😀

I read some posts where a guy got a refurb with 4GB RAM and a 320GB harddrive upgrade on a macbook. So it does happen.