Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Refurb MBP impressions?

mesq said:
Sorry but out of all the obvious mistakes on this forum I just had to comment on this. What the hell does boughten mean?
Click to expand...

It's the past tense of boughtting, I think :)

I have purchased refurb iMacs and MBPs, only difference was the box, and the extra cash left in my bank account (which I used to buy lots of Beanie Babies - man, they're so cheap now, only place to go is up!)

THJ
Wealth Management Specialist
 
thomanjones said:
It's the past tense of boughtting, I think :)

I have purchased refurb iMacs and MBPs, only difference was the box, and the extra cash left in my bank account (which I used to buy lots of Beanie Babies - man, they're so cheap now, only place to go is up!)

THJ
Wealth Management Specialist
Click to expand...

Beanie Babies. I haven't seen one of those since... late 90's? Good luck on that investment plan.

Seriously though, I normally use the saved cash on AppleCare.
 
I bought my 13" MBP for $999 in September and upgraded the HDD and RAM. It still cost less than what it would have, had I bought through the regular channel. I got it in a regular box, packed neatly, no damage to it whatsoever, and it hasn't failed on me yet

*knocks on wood*

I think I'll go refurb everytime from now on :)
 
petrucci666 said:
I bought my 13" MBP for $999 in September and upgraded the HDD and RAM. It still cost less than what it would have, had I bought through the regular channel. I got it in a regular box, packed neatly, no damage to it whatsoever, and it hasn't failed on me yet

*knocks on wood*

I think I'll go refurb everytime from now on :)
Click to expand...

Same here. Waiting patiently for the iPad to hit the refurb store.:D
 
Ca$hflow said:
Same here. Waiting patiently for the iPad to hit the refurb store.:D
Click to expand...

I'd give it a good 3 months until after the iPad hits retail. Or, depending on your view of the iPad, it could be shorter/longer than that. ;-)

petrucci666 said:
I bought my 13" MBP for $999 in September and upgraded the HDD and RAM. It still cost less than what it would have, had I bought through the regular channel. I got it in a regular box, packed neatly, no damage to it whatsoever, and it hasn't failed on me yet

*knocks on wood*

I think I'll go refurb everytime from now on :)
Click to expand...

I'm needing to upgrade my RAM too (and maybe hard drive). What brand did you go with? I'm looking at the Mushkin 4GB kit, for $110 from NewEgg. I got a WD Blue Scorpio with my old MB back in June and I was pretty happy with it until it malfunctioned (I think it was my fault). Will you be going with WD or Seagate?
 
thomar2k1 said:
So I'm going to bite the bullet and replace my now very underpowered 2007 MB with a MBP (I'm not interested in waiting for Arrandale). My big question is for anyone that has purchased a refurbished MBP from Apple, there's a sizable discount that makes it attractive, but I want to know if any of the community that has purchased refurb has seen abnormal failure rates or issues. Is the screen condition good (no scratches, etc), is the case in good condition (no dings, scratches, etc).

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Click to expand...


I just got a 13" Macbook Pro for $999 from the refurb store. Normal list price was $1,199, so I saved $200.

I then used that $200 savings to upgrade my RAM and Hard Drive to 4Gb and 320 Gb respectively. Got my RAM from Crucial for $127 I believe, and a Western Digital Scorpio Black Hard Drive for $76.

As far as the quality, although it did not come in the retail box like brand new units, it was extremely nicely packed, and when unpacking, the unit looked brand new. I was extremely picky and detailed and looked every inch over. I literally would not have been able to tell a difference between my 13" Macbook Pro coming out of the box vs. one brand new retail.

I have had it for about 5 days now and love it. It is my very first Mac and is serving as a desktop replacement for my 4-5 year old Dell 8200 Tower.

I got an Rain M stand to hold it, a Miniport to DVI adapter, and a Bluetooth Keyboard (Apple) and Mouse (Logitech V470).

So all in total I spent around $1,400 or so, and I am extremely happy.
 
thomar2k1 said:
So I'm going to bite the bullet and replace my now very underpowered 2007 MB with a MBP (I'm not interested in waiting for Arrandale). My big question is for anyone that has purchased a refurbished MBP from Apple, there's a sizable discount that makes it attractive, but I want to know if any of the community that has purchased refurb has seen abnormal failure rates or issues. Is the screen condition good (no scratches, etc), is the case in good condition (no dings, scratches, etc).

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Buy it; you'll have no regrets!

Habitus :apple:
 
there are some decent deals on the refurb site right now but they are going fast.


999 for a macbook pro with 2gigs and a 250 hd and a 2.4 dual core 2 processor....says $300 off
 
Go for it!

I bought my 13 inch MBP refurbished. Can tell the difference between this and a new one! Also, mine came with 4GB of RAM instead of the standard 2! Pretty excited about that :D
 
I just picked up a 17" MBP AG. This thing is like a brand new computer. No complaints at all. I say go for a refurb. This was my first one, and I will go back for one again. Saved $400 off retail on mine.
 
Dizzler said:
So, with a refurb, how do you know when it was made or what rev it is?
Click to expand...

Apple will list the revision on the web page next to each model (you can also tell by characteristics, like backlit screen, etc.), but they do not give you the serial number (obviously), so you can't check the exact build date.
 
I purchased a refurbished 15" MBP right after they announced the new models in June 2009.

It arrived in perfect condition, and after checking the serial number I found that it was actually a new machine. My parents were so impressed they ordered a "refurbished" MBP a week later and the serial number revealed it was new also.

So, if you'd like a new machine at a refurb price and can wait until just after the next update, there's a good chance your refurb will be brand spanking new.

In any case, all of my future Mac purchases will be refurbs whether they end up being new or not.

Good luck and enjoy.
 
Kenrik said:
I bought a Refurb Macbook Pro 2.4 Ghz with a 512MB 8600 GT in November 2008.

Paid $1349 and it came in perfect condition. Still works perfect.

Yes they do lower prices even more when new products are about to come out. you just need to pay attention and check daily.
Click to expand...

I bought the same model brand new in october for $1344....
 
optophobia said:
I bought the same model brand new in october for $1344....
Click to expand...

That's what I thought too. I used to check the refurbs almost every day back in Nov/Dec and I never saw the price change at all. Of course, models dropped in and out of stock, but the discounts were always the same for a particular model/rev.
 
My first Mac is a Refurb June 2009 MBP 15" (base model) that was bought at the start of December. Saved £200 off the list price so it cost me £1099 plus £20 for the mini-display -> VGA adapter.

Like people have said, other than the box - mine was just plain white - it's exactly the same as a new model. I've had no problems with it, there's possibly 3 or 4 dead pixels on the screen, but it's very hard to tell most of the time and other than that, it's perfect.

When I got it out of the box, the screen had no marks on it, nor did the keyboard and the trackpad had that "as new" feeling of no-one else's grubby fingers having already been on it. I'd highly recommend a refurbished Mac, if I end up buying an iMac next year (hopefully by then I will have moved out and thus I'll have a real use for a desktop AND a laptop), it WILL be a refurbished model.

If you are looking at getting a MBP and you're going to be using a desk for prolonged periods, I'd advise you get a wireless keyboard/magic mouse because I can't tell you how much my back hurts leaning over to type on the MBP or how awkward it is to position my arm to use the trackpad when scrolling down a webpage or whatever. If you've got a desk which is at waist-level or something like that, you should be fine. But in my case, it's a pain so I will be getting a wireless mouse & keyboard in a month or two once I've got the money for them.
 
brig2221 said:
I just got a 13" Macbook Pro for $999 from the refurb store. Normal list price was $1,199, so I saved $200.

I then used that $200 savings to upgrade my RAM and Hard Drive to 4Gb and 320 Gb respectively. Got my RAM from Crucial for $127 I believe, and a Western Digital Scorpio Black Hard Drive for $76.

As far as the quality, although it did not come in the retail box like brand new units, it was extremely nicely packed, and when unpacking, the unit looked brand new. I was extremely picky and detailed and looked every inch over. I literally would not have been able to tell a difference between my 13" Macbook Pro coming out of the box vs. one brand new retail.

I have had it for about 5 days now and love it. It is my very first Mac and is serving as a desktop replacement for my 4-5 year old Dell 8200 Tower.

I got an Rain M stand to hold it, a Miniport to DVI adapter, and a Bluetooth Keyboard (Apple) and Mouse (Logitech V470).

So all in total I spent around $1,400 or so, and I am extremely happy.
Click to expand...
So it was you that bought the one I had my eyes on? LOL. damn you :p
 
thomar2k1 said:
So I'm going to bite the bullet and replace my now very underpowered 2007 MB with a MBP (I'm not interested in waiting for Arrandale). My big question is for anyone that has purchased a refurbished MBP from Apple, there's a sizable discount that makes it attractive, but I want to know if any of the community that has purchased refurb has seen abnormal failure rates or issues. Is the screen condition good (no scratches, etc), is the case in good condition (no dings, scratches, etc).

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

Apple places refurbished components into brand new cases. Cosmetically speaking, you won't notice a difference. No worries, mate.

Habitus :apple:
 
may not be related..I would like to say something about openbox items.

Bought mine 17inch 2.8 mbp a day ago and so far I had some pretty annoying things to deal with.

The laptop itself looks fine, I dont see much markings except some scratch at the bottom of the case (which I can deal with.) However, my adapter/charger wasn't working, it would recognize if it was being connected but wouldn't recharge the battery. I had to take a 2 hour trip to the store (Futureshop, open box) and was told they are out of supplies for the adapter. I was complaining for nearly an hour because I m going on a trip very very soon and I need my laptop to be available without being connected to a power source. They finally agreed to "lend" me theirs which their technician use, I just have to bring it back afterwards.

Other than that, I realized it didn't come in with snow leopard as it advertised on their website and I m pretty broke atm to spend it to upgrade the system. Also the CD driver were making some marks on my CDs and the fans are a little loud. Instead of trying to deal with them and replace stuff I think I m going to return it and buy a brand new one with some chip-in from my mom tomorrow at a Apple store.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back