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Thinking of going the refurbished route... bad idea?

Marcquito

Marcquito

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 6, 2008
71
2
I've had a bad last month or so. My beloved MBP was stolen from my house and I've had one hell of a time with the insurance company to gain back some of the money lost. I'm left with pretty much $1000. I had $1,500 but some unexpected bills popped up and I had to spend $500 of it at the last moment. Whatever- I'm not letting it get to me. That's life. At least I have something left. I really like the new MBP's, but I'm not exactly in love with them. I know they have great specs, but I'm not sure that it's really necessary for me. All I really used my MBP for was Final Cut Express and the Adobe CS3 software. I figured the previous model is good enough-- the only thing REALLY keeping me from buying now is the fact that it has a defective GPU. I wish this wasn't the case, I don't want to have to deal with getting that thing fixed later on. I just want my laptop to last me at least another 3 years and be fast enough to do my tasks.

While looking at the refurbs, they don't really say if they have matte or glossy screens when viewing the specs. Maybe you can choose between the two after you click on it? I don't know, they just didn't have that listed on the list.

I don't know what to do. If anything else, I could just wait another month or so until I have some extra cash to spare and get the new one. I could do it, I am just impatient and want to get back to editing my short films and working on my websites.

So... refurb.. or wait for the extra cash?

Just so you know- I have no debt, no kids, I'm out of school, and I basically just work two great paying jobs so I'm not scrounging for this.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Oh, and I backed up my old system using Time Machine the night before the jackass stole my laptop. Would I run into any trouble with the new mac restoring my all of my original files? I can't imagine why, I just thought there may be a slight chance of some kind of trouble due to a different model.

Thanks!
 
Marcquito said:
I know. Those are the ones I'm talking about. While looking at the refurb models I do not see it listed whether the machine is matte or glossy.
Click to expand...

it think the glossy ones say "glossy", and i would guess the ones that don't say that are matte
 
if you like Matte screen, go for refurb.

If you like Glossy screen with good solid build, wait for extra cash.
 
I also have another problem.

I want new wheels for my Porsche. I found a sweet set, but I want to get my laptop, also. Damn! What to do?!

So.....


This:
Picture+0381223416988.jpg


...or MBP??

God help me! :apple:
 
lol, i got the impression that you were a middle class citizen and then i read your post about buying wheels for you porsche. sorry about the macbook pro though. some people just think they have the right to take something somebody else worked for. good thing you backed it up though.
 
I would wait for the cash and get one of the new MBPs. They seem to be a huge improvement over the previous generation and hopefully screen covers will anti-gloss your screen if you need that.

Of course what matters is if you feel better getting a good deal (I saw some MBPs at $1,500) or getting the latest model. The new models just look so sturdy and rugged, plus the screen is pretty dad-gum bright, so I would recommend the newest stuff so it'll last you a bit longer.

However, I don't think you can go wrong either way.
 
Marcquito said:
..... I figured the previous model is good enough....
Click to expand...

I went the route of the MBP Classic and I'm loving it!

You wouldn't be "settling" on anything! The MBP Classic does everything the new one does and then some. You can run your external monitors without adapters, you can run fw 400 without adapters, and you save $500. Think of what you can do with the extra $500!

All this talk of a defective graphics card is old news. The problem is fixed, and you get a better warranty (2 years) standard for the graphics card due to the past problems.

I guess in the end it's up to personal preference.... If at all possible, I would reccomend taking a MBP Classic to the Apple store, sitting it next to the new MBP and see for yourself which one is best for you. If you really want to make it realistic, take $500 in cash and lay it next to the mousepad of the MBP Classic and see which computer you gravitate towards.... :D
 
1. refurb is a great route if you want to save cash, and don't care about getting the sexy box. GET APPLECARE.
2. order by phone, and verify the screen finish
3. what's with the dent on the drivers door? Why spend on great shoes if your pants are ripped.
 
kockgunner said:
lol, i got the impression that you were a middle class citizen and then i read your post about buying wheels for you porsche. sorry about the macbook pro though. some people just think they have the right to take something somebody else worked for. good thing you backed it up though.
Click to expand...

ummmm you think middle-class citizens cant own porches? Is that a requirement by the company?:p
 
brad.c said:
1. refurb is a great route if you want to save cash, and don't care about getting the sexy box. GET APPLECARE.
2. order by phone, and verify the screen finish
3. what's with the dent on the drivers door? Why spend on great shoes if your pants are ripped.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the tips everyone. I am leaning towards the new model now...

As for the dented car.. Well, that isn't mine. Haha. That's the seller's car. :D
 
Refurbs are awesome.

First you get the full Warranty

I't Cheaper.

The refurbs are tested over and over again, new ones are not.
Your more likely to have problems with a new one because they do not test them thoroughly.

Only disadvantage is they ship in a brown box.
 
Chaos123x said:
Refurbs are awesome.

First you get the full Warranty

I't Cheaper.

The refurbs are tested over and over again, new ones are not.
Your more likely to have problems with a new one because they do not test them thoroughly.
Click to expand...
I bought my MBP as a refurb (and actually got a better spec machine for less money - more RAM and bigger hard drive) and I can't fault it. It's got the same warranty as a shop-bought one and costs around 20% less.

My work iMac is also a refurb, as is my dad's iMac and my father-in-law's MBP (I converted them to Macs from PCs :D) - none of them have any issues and have performed faultlessly.

Chaos123x said:
Only disadvantage is they ship in a brown box.
Click to expand...
That doesn't bother me (though the iMacs came in proper iMac boxes); I would say the only downside is you're limited on choice, and if you want a specific model you have to check daily to find the one you want.

I'd always consider a refurb.:cool:
 
Buying a refurb is definitely a good choice if you want to save some money. I must have saved at least $700 buying a refurb 2.5ghz penryn macbook pro instead of buying the brand new late macbook pros. I am so far very pleased with it, so far no problems whatsoever!
 
Buy The Old Model

I would buy the old model, you can pickup a 2.4 MBP from MacConnection for $1450 with not tax after the rebate - save yourself $550, get a machine that is just as fast, has an extra FW port, is time-tested and reliable, and offers the versatility of a matte screen that you can use in well lit conditions. The new MBP offers an incremental boost in performance at best. This is the first major upgrade from Apple where it is obvious they are thinking about cutting costs. I have a feeling they spent quite a bit of money in design (the case is FANTASTIC!!!!) but the internal specs are wanting. They should have started at 2.8 and 4 gigs of ram with a 7200 RPM HD with a matte finish option and this board would have been singing the praises and EVERYONE would have been happy.
 
I still haven't bought anything yet... I'm way too indecisive. We'll see what happens next week. I plan on making a long visit and making a decision within the store. If I decide to buy the older model, I'll come back home and buy online... or just use one of the new MBPs on display to order a Penryn. Haha.

:D Thanks, everyone.
 
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