Need advice on PM refurb!!!

[daustin]

I just found a dual 2.5ghz PM in the refub section of the Apple store for $2,299 and wondered if I should go for it. I was looking at a new dual 2.0, the 2.5 would only be around $250 more!!! I'm just a little leary about buying a *used* computer. (I say that because it could have just been returned with nothing wrong...you never know.)

The main reason I'm concerned is that at my old job they bought 2 Dell (shudder) refubs and one was a pos and the other had a fried motherboard and neither were covered under the warranty (at least that's what the IT guy said...)

Anyway, any advice would be helpful!! I need to act fast thought before someone else gets it!! Ohhh....another quick question...would it have Tiger in the box or could I just use the Software up-to-date????

THANKS

 

[buryyourbrideau]

apple refurb store = safe

 

[cmvsm]

Heard nothing but good stuff on the refurbs. Don't worry, you have the same warranty and "respect" if there is such a thing. Don't forget to buy Apple Care!!

May have Panther installed, but you will have the option to upgrade to Tiger...no biggie.

 

[drlunanerd]

My experience with this has not been good.

I ordered a refurb 2.5 G5 from the Apple Store UK.
It shipped the same day, and arrived within 2 days - great you might think. It was, until I opened the box.

Externally it wasn't too bad, with one small but deep scratch on the case. Internally was not so great. They'd obviously done some repairs inside, and had damaged the CPU heatsink/radiator in a couple of places. It has very thin, soft fins like a car radiator and they bend easily if touched. There were scratches on the base, finger marks all over and some sticky cellotape like residue half underneath the heatsink, so that it was nearly impossible to clean.

The graphics card was wrong - should have been a Radeon 9600XT but they fitted a Geforce 5200! Only upside was they'd doubled the RAM and fitted a larger hard disk than the stated spec.

I called Apple to complain, and when they dicked me around for 2 days I called back and demanded a refund, which they have yet to do, though I've only recently sent the G5 back to them. I'm withholding my hard earned from Apple until they start shipping worthy upgrades to the PM line.

Overall I'd say it's a gamble with a refurb - I'm sure you can get virtually flawless units, but you never know what you're going to get.

 

[wdlove]

My experience with this has not been good.

I ordered a refurb 2.5 G5 from the Apple Store UK.
It shipped the same day, and arrived within 2 days - great you might think. It was, until I opened the box.

Overall I'd say it's a gamble with a refurb - I'm sure you can get virtually flawless units, but you never know what you're going to get.

Your experience sounds very scary. Did they pay for the return shipping? If they rectify your situation and fully refund all your money, that would be what I'd expect from Apple. You should receive what you pay for and in good condition.

 

[drlunanerd]

Your experience sounds very scary. Did they pay for the return shipping? If they rectify your situation and fully refund all your money, that would be what I'd expect from Apple. You should receive what you pay for and in good condition.

Yes, they paid for next day shipping, but they still haven't refunded me. I have a sinking feeling the courier (TNT UK) have messed up. Still, that's Apple's problem if they have. I'll be invoking my credit card protection if they don't respond to my polite demand for the money!

 

[Mord]

i have had nothing but good experience on apple refurbs

my ibook was flawless, i ordered a 600MHz 8MB vram ibook and got a 600MHz 16MB vram ibook with 256MB ram up from 128MB.

 

[xli_ne]

my powerbook is a reburb. It came with a couple of dead pixels. (which isn't enough for applecare ) but anywho... If I were to do it again, I would. I got it at a very good price and other than the screen it is flawless.

 

[noel4r]

I ordered a refurb Dual 1.8 PM from the Apple Store for $1499. It should arrive here by tomorrow. I will let you know as to the condition. From what I gathered here before buying it, everybody pretty much say it's safe to buy from Apple. You get a one year warranty just like the new models but I think I will purchase Applecare within one year just in case....

 

[daustin]

Yess...NOOOO!!!

Okay, first off, thanks for all the info and advice...positive and negative. However, someone beat me to the deal later that day. Anyhoo...now I know I can watch for something to come up in the refurbs and order it without being too terribly concerned.