Question about apple store stock of MBPs, and testing

[motoduane]

Ok so im planning to buy my first MBP for school in the fall shortly. I'm aware that they could be updated soon, but i wont have the money together for about another month. If its updated by then, so be it. Anyways, i would rather buy my MBP at an apple store, as theres one within 20 minutes, but im not sure about their stock. I want to buy the base 2.4 15" MBP, but i would like to get the larger 250GB hd, as i will run XP in boot camp for both games and autocad. I also store a lot of media and would like to have as much as possible on the go. Anyways, i'm wondering if they would have this in stock for me, or if im going to have to special order it online? My main concern about this leads me to my next question.
I've heard that it i'snt uncommon for MBPs to come with defects, such as dead pixels, failed hard drives, artifacts on the screen, etc. If im paying 2k for a notebook, id like it to be perfect. So first of all, will the salesmen at the store open the box and everything at the store with me and let me look over it before buying it? If so, what is everything that i should look for? Id hate to come home with a dead pixel and have apple refuse the exchange it. Thanks!

 

[dcx3]

you make a good point, sort of like buying a car - you want to drive it and test it before you buy it. However, I dont think you'll be able to power up a machine and take it out of the box before buying it. Since there is the security stickers and such, I dont think itd be possible. Buy you never know. wonder what others have experienced though.

 

[motoduane]

you make a good point, sort of like buying a car - you want to drive it and test it before you buy it. However, I dont think you'll be able to power up a machine and take it out of the box before buying it. Since there is the security stickers and such, I dont think itd be possible. Buy you never know. wonder what others have experienced though.

I guess i could pay for it first ahha. My main point though is that i would like to walk out of the store with a MBP ive tested, and im sure has no defects. Maybe if i bought it, and asked to open it up there, if there was a defect, they would give me a different one?

 

[bigp9998]

They usually don't (from my experience) let you open the box first, but for any reason you can exchange the computer within fourteen days. While Apple's warranty doesn't cover dead pixels, you don't even have to give a reason for an exchange within the initial 14--you can just go in and tell them you want a new one. This does, of course, complicate things if you are planning on ordering a BTO model, but eventually you should be fine.

Or you could just get lucky the first time.

 

[alphaod]

Since we don't really know what the updated computer looks like and what the base hard drive configuration will be, we can't really say whether or not the 250GB will be a BTO or not; if it is, then you won't be able to buy it at the store if you buy the base configuration. The other option of course is to the HDD swap yourself.

And like others have already said, you will need to buy it first before you open it up to see if it's to your liking; remember a BTO option cannot be swapped.