Refurbished macs- are they any good?

[bigfried]

Refurbished macs- are they any good?

I am tempted by the refurbished Mac prices. Seems like I could get a MBP for about £250 ($500?) less than new. I have 2 worries. On the website it says :

"... As these refurbished products have been unpacked and manipulated, they might however exhibit some minor cosmetic imperfection, such as scratches, marks or discolorations."

This sounds a little scary to me! I would be very disappointed to have a damaged machine. From your experiences am I likely to get a turkey, as it may have taken a pounding in a store perhaps? I don't like the idea of opening my shiny box and getting out something covered in scratches! And are these going to be the items that were returned due to, for example, dead pixels on their screens. I am happy to pay less for a recently outdated model but not some something that is imperfect.

Also whereas some items are listed with 'original price' and 'your price' and a percentage saving, this one just has the price. What does that mean?

thanks

 

[dylangurl21]

The refurbs are really good. I've owned both ipod and notebooks and none of them have come with any defects. The shiny new packaging you metion will not, however, be the same a new. Any problems with the computers are fixed and they are put through a series of tests to guarentee their quality. They also come with the full apple 1 year warranty.

imo, they are good deals and I will always consider them once I no longer get the student discount.

 

[tersono]

I've bought quite a few refurbs over the years and they've all been perfect, the only real difference being the plain packaging rather than a shiny printed box.

If the machine you want is available as a refurb, go for it - you won't be sorry.

 

[pastrychef]

I've personally purchased an iBook and a MacBook from Apple's refurb store and both were in great condition. I also know quite a few friends who have purchased refurbished laptops from them with no issues at all.

 

[cloudnine]

Well... I just ordered a 2.8ghz 24" iMac today, so when it arrives (Thursday or Friday), I'll let you know

 

[blurb23]

I just purchased my first Mac as a refurb (sig), and I couldn't be happier with it. No scratches or blemishes or anything of that sorts that I can see.

Works like a charm.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Refurbished macs- are they any good?

I am tempted by the refurbished Mac prices. Seems like I could get a MBP for about £250 ($500?) less than new. I have 2 worries. On the website it says :

"... As these refurbished products have been unpacked and manipulated, they might however exhibit some minor cosmetic imperfection, such as scratches, marks or discolorations."

This sounds a little scary to me! I would be very disappointed to have a damaged machine. From your experiences am I likely to get a turkey, as it may have taken a pounding in a store perhaps? I don't like the idea of opening my shiny box and getting out something covered in scratches! And are these going to be the items that were returned due to, for example, dead pixels on their screens. I am happy to pay less for a recently outdated model but not some something that is imperfect.

Also whereas some items are listed with 'original price' and 'your price' and a percentage saving, this one just has the price. What does that mean?

thanks

Mine's mint, stuck it into a Sienna Red leather Case-Mate case to keep it that way, covered the keyboard with a "ghost white" i-Skin keyboard cover,added 4GB RAM, and am very,very happy. Saved over $600 vs new.
LOVE my MB

 

[flybriz]

Refurb MBP

Just picked up a refurbished MBP 17" glossy a month ago - It's spotless and runs like a gazelle. My only gripe is that it shipped with a Leopard "upgrade" disc that wouldn't work when I blew the drive away for a fresh install. It required that I install Tiger first. I borrowed a retail Leopard DVD from a friend and all was well. I figure I'm licensed for it, I just don't want an upgraded OS install on my laptop.