since the MBP still hasn't gotten updated yet i'm considering buying a refurbished 17" 2.4 mbp. i have never bought a refurbished apple product, are they generally a safe bet?
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your experiences with refurbished mac products
- Thread starter morethanblood
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I just got a refurb Macbook yesterday and I am completely impressed. The only difference I can tell between new and refurb is that the packaging isn't as nice.
Otherwise, my Macbook is in perfect condition with brand new power adapter, new battery, and an extra gig of RAM (for a total of 2GB) than what I bought. Yes, you read that right, Apple gave me a bonus gig of RAM just for being so God-damned good looking.
So, go with refurb unless you want pretty packaging.
Otherwise, my Macbook is in perfect condition with brand new power adapter, new battery, and an extra gig of RAM (for a total of 2GB) than what I bought. Yes, you read that right, Apple gave me a bonus gig of RAM just for being so God-damned good looking.
So, go with refurb unless you want pretty packaging.
There must be one of these threads every day... 
I would urge you to try the "search" function to see for yourself, but I guarantee that you will find 99% of people would definitely recommend buying refurbs. Same warranty as new, at sometimes significant savings. That's enough for me. My first refurb'd PB G4 Ti lasted me ~6years, and I just bought a refurb'd MBP recently. Unless you're just a person that HAS to have something brand spankin' new, I say you can't go wrong with a refurb. Good luck
I would urge you to try the "search" function to see for yourself, but I guarantee that you will find 99% of people would definitely recommend buying refurbs. Same warranty as new, at sometimes significant savings. That's enough for me. My first refurb'd PB G4 Ti lasted me ~6years, and I just bought a refurb'd MBP recently. Unless you're just a person that HAS to have something brand spankin' new, I say you can't go wrong with a refurb. Good luck
I have always been a fan of the refurb store. I have bought laptops, ipods and accessories from the refurb store. My last purchase, and only negative experience, was my macbook's isight was defective. It had a vertical line missing from the video. Needless to say apple fixed this free of charge, however I did have to send it it and was without my macbook for about a week.
To be honest the hassle was still worth the price cut. Hope that helps.
To be honest the hassle was still worth the price cut. Hope that helps.
I've owned a perfect running MacBook for 14 months now. They come with a 1 yr Apple Warranty and the availability to purchase Applecare. They go through more scrutiny and quality control then their non-refurbs do.
Safe bet?....yep.
Safe bet?....yep.
Well I am in the same situation as you morethanblood except I want to get a mbp so its good to know that I am gonna get a perfectly fine machine and save 300 dollars!
Thanks,
ChrisN
Thanks,
ChrisN
I bought a Refurb Macbook Pro a year ago and came damaged the model I bought was a Core duo and after two replacement I ended up with a Core 2 duo.
I have also bought other stuff there and, in the end, I find myself with a great device with a cheaper price tag.
I have also bought other stuff there and, in the end, I find myself with a great device with a cheaper price tag.
All Apple Refurbs look brand new (during the refurbishing process, damaged/blemished parts, if any, are replaced).
Same warranty; runs the same as new.
Only difference is refurbs typically comes in brown box instead of full retail box.
Same warranty; runs the same as new.
Only difference is refurbs typically comes in brown box instead of full retail box.
My PB is a referb. had some problems with the keyboard when i first got it, but because its under the same warranty as a new mac, the replaced they keyboard for no charge. so i would recommend the referbs.
Refurb rules!
Remember that you have the same rights as if you were buying a normal product (well at least in the UK you do).
I got a refurb Mac Pro.. to my delight when I got it it had a 500GB drive instead of 250GB, a 512 graphics card upgrade and wifi and bluetooth.. all for free!
Remember that you have the same rights as if you were buying a normal product (well at least in the UK you do).
I got a refurb Mac Pro.. to my delight when I got it it had a 500GB drive instead of 250GB, a 512 graphics card upgrade and wifi and bluetooth.. all for free!
I bought a refurb 17"/2.4Gig last week.. Couldn't be happier with it. Ordered it at 5pm Wednesday, arrived 9am Friday, and, it came in what appears to be a standard retail box (inside a brown shipping box).
It looks, acts and smells completely new!
It looks, acts and smells completely new!
I received a refurb 2.4 ghz 15" mbp last week and have had kernal panics (computer freezes than instructs me to do a hard restart) ever since I got it. After talking with other apple owners, I have come to the conclusion that this is an isolated incident and I am in the process of sending it back and having it replaced with another refurb. I would still buy refurb vs. new ($$) and even look at buying the apple care plan on ebay if you dont have an edu discount.
I heartily endorse Apple refurb products to all my users and anyone else who is interested in buying a Mac. I have purchased numerous refurbs over the years, and other than not having the retail packaging, they have all been as new as I could imagine from a cosmetic as well as a functional standpoint.
If you're really living right, you can end up with a "courtesy upgrade," which is a standard spec model that might typically have 1G of RAM, which the prior owner had put an extra gig of RAM in, for example. They pass a lot of this stuff along, and if you get it, well, it's a "courtesy upgrade".....
MacDann
If you're really living right, you can end up with a "courtesy upgrade," which is a standard spec model that might typically have 1G of RAM, which the prior owner had put an extra gig of RAM in, for example. They pass a lot of this stuff along, and if you get it, well, it's a "courtesy upgrade".....
MacDann
I've purchased two refurb'd MBPs from Apple in the last 6 months. the first one was a customer return--some faint scratches on the screen indicated that someone wiped it a few times.
The second one looked absolutely new and never used. I think the second one failed a factory inspection because i discovered a 2 mm chip in the plastic molding surrounding the edge of the laptop.
i returned the first one and am currently using the second one.
Whereas the refurb ipods always look new (new cases), the laptops generally do not, but in most cases you have to look really hard to find the defect.
The second one looked absolutely new and never used. I think the second one failed a factory inspection because i discovered a 2 mm chip in the plastic molding surrounding the edge of the laptop.
i returned the first one and am currently using the second one.
Whereas the refurb ipods always look new (new cases), the laptops generally do not, but in most cases you have to look really hard to find the defect.
Personally, I have a bad track record with refurb products, but every product that Apple has said will work works. I would make sure to get the AppleCare Protection Plan just in case.