Should I get a refurb or brand new macbook c2d? $100 difference

[jayeskreezy]

Ok I can get an edu discount since we have two students in my house OR I can just get a refurb. I have epp discount, but for the mb's it's $22 more than the edu discount. Anyway, it's only a $100 difference between the refurb and edu discount. Which would you recommend?

I was looking to pick up FCE, but I dont see that $200 rebate thing anymore. Sighhhh. Well, pls help me out yall.

 

[livingfortoday]

Get the refurb, it's the same thing but you save $100. And you don't get the shiny box, you get a refurb box. Oooh. But is that really worth $100?

 

[Captain Planet]

Well a 100$ difference to get it new doesn't sound like a lot to me. I'd definitely go with the new...

 

[netdog]

If you can afford it, the new. If $100 is going to make a very large difference to your life, get the refurb.

 

[zero2dash]

If you buy a refurb, you could get extra "freebies" (ie extra memory, larger HD, better gpu)...many people here at MR have bought refurbs and what they received was a bumped up machine; the speculation being that Apple doesn't bother taking the custom build parts out when people return their machines, so Apple just lumps them in with the rest and whoever gets em, gets em.

 

[Benjamin Black]

If you purchase from Amazon you can get the best of both worlds. They do not charge sales tax in most states, which will save you upwards of $100, plus they are offering a $75 rebate. So, for the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo MacBook you would pay around $30 more than you would for the refurb model. Of course you have to wait for the rebate check, but still it's a good deal.

 

[jayeskreezy]

If you buy a refurb, you could get extra "freebies" (ie extra memory, larger HD, better gpu)...many people here at MR have bought refurbs and what they received was a bumped up machine; the speculation being that Apple doesn't bother taking the custom build parts out when people return their machines, so Apple just lumps them in with the rest and whoever gets em, gets em.

hmmm....good point

 

[gkarris]

Our church mid last year got a refurb Mini 1.5 Solo 512/60 for $519.

We got a 1Gig/80 instead - whoo hoo!

Useful as we had a few PPC programs to run and the 1Gig is helpful!

For me, personally as a collector, you don't get the original box/packaging with refurbs...

 

[mrgreen4242]

Get the refurb. $100 will buy you a 2gb RAM update or an external HDD if you need one. Plus, I prefer the refurb machines to the new ones because they have a higher standard of inspection before being shipped to you.

 

[Helianthus]

I think it would be stupid not to buy the refurb. It will look brand new, carry the same warranty, and will be $100 cheaper. I say go for it.

 

[Aniej]

The refurbs tend to be of considerable quality, I think the go with that unless you have reservations about the prospect of a refurb. Any savings, including $100, can go to whatever goodies you want to add, why not employ it for that purpose... or you can feel free to send it to me.