Is buying refurbished a good idea?

I've been wanting an alienware laptop for a while but the price of the system put me off too much. I looked at the dell outlet recently and saw I could get a really good system for 1200. Is it a good idea to buy the refurbished laptops? I know dell has the 1 year warranty given with their new systems with them and they are rechecked to see if they meet specs but even so I still get worried.

 

from what I hear refurbs have to go through more rigorous testing before being sold.

 

i've recently bought a refurb dell studio, it came in pristine condition. i wouldn't buy scratch & dent from there, but certified refurbs should be good.
you get warranty and a cheaper system. don't see a reason not to imho

 

I meant it has to go through more rigorous testing then new computer

 

^^ Heard that too..

 

One of the reason is because if somone returns a computer, they have to ensure that it wasn't returned due to a defect before the turn it around and send it to the outlet. I'm sure that my M17x went to the outlet.

 

I've bought countless refurbed Dell laptops. For the most part, they all came in pristine condition, a few were like brand new. There was one that came in pretty bad shape that was listed as previously ordered new (a mini 10). I called and complaint and Dell built me a brand new one with all upgraded specs!

There was also a desktop listed as scratch&dent. It was pristine. So there's no telling really.

No worries buying refurbed Dell. Same warranty as a new one, and Dell has always taken care of me in the very few cases where there was an issue.

 

I have also bought several systems through the outlet with little issue. However I have also learned to make sure I check new systems as well as I have seen where, due to a deal, the refurbed system was actually more than a new one with the same config.

 

Bought several laptops through outlet and most came looking like new. I did get one that looked like crap, but I called dell up and they replaced all the parts that were all scuffed up and damaged so it looked like new once again. As long as you get the warranty theres nothing to worry about

 

Sounds like it's a good idea to buy refurb system. I was also wondering what state they leave the os in. If it's just a fresh install where I have to set it up when I boot it or if it's however the person before me left it. Also I wonder what they do with the alienware name plate.

 

Yeah I'm going to start looking for a m15x on there, they sell like hotcakes though.

 

I heard that, those things don't stay longer than a minute gotta find em and get em quick.

 

Does anyone know if the uk dell outlet will start selling Alienware?
So far it's just Inspiron

 

I would vote against it as the risk will surely be there, especially if we're talking about gaming rigs.
Consider this:
Someone bought the machine, played with it OC'ing it to the maximum carelessly and did a very bad job in replacing the thermal paste, then he cleaned the mess as he could, and decided to return the system. In such a case you end up with an expensive laptop that looks perfect but the internal components already severed. It will work , yes but as a ticking bomb.
Plus, you get the limited warranty, AFAIK.
And I don't trust their " rigorous testing" either.
Up to you, of course.
Just 2 cents here.

 

I just got my M15x refurbed and everything is good.. no scratches.. who knows whats going on inside or if the previous owner did anything, but so far so good, other than the known throttling. The warranty that it comes with is just like the standard one for a new comp, but I upgraded to advanced. Also I got in last week during the 20% off Dell outlet comps so I got an amazing deal.

 

i've bought numerous dell systems through the outlet. the only difference i can recall is that new systems can get a 4 year warranty up front but outlet systems were limited to 3 years. of course, you can extend the warranty after the fact in both cases.

i wouldn't really worry about someone dorking around on the insides - even for dent and scratch. I bought a D&S system once and had all the torn up bits replaces with CompleteCare coverage.

Just make sure you're not getting shortchanged compared to a special offer on a comparable new system and you should be set. I always waited until the end of the month or quarter for the best deals....

 

I have not really seen any deals there (at least not in laptops).

 

You have to call in, the website is totally wack. When I checked there were no M15x's and when I called there were several.

 

I would never buy a refurb,especially with those prices.90% of laptop owners don't know how to clean out their fans properly,shortening the life of the parts.In better words,you don't know where its been and who owned it.

 

If at all, refurbished systems have only belonged to someone for a very short period of time, so I don't think there's a high risk of the system being incredibly dirty inside or heavily maltreated. Giving the waaranty on refurbished systems, I wouldn't worry about a thing.
Just enjoy your beast!

 

one thing to consider OCing laptop is really only done by a very small percentage of people probably less then 0.1% if you were talking about desktops it would probably be around 20%.

also just though to point out that as expensive as alienware is almost no amateur is going to oc it because its so expensive further reducing the chance that the lappy is going to be damaged by ocing

 

If your buying a alienware from the outlet then chances are it was owned by some one like your self already, people who know what they have and know they need to take care of it... but it brings up another point.... what do you think they were looking at late at night in their room.... think about it and go buy some bleach to clean your "new" laptop.

edit: I picked up a refurb mini 9 and couldnt be happier with it, put OSX on it and use it everyday.

 

Did u bleach it ?

 

NAh just put Saran Wrap over it and that should keep it sanitary, clean and safe.
As for the Previous owner: Wrap Him Too

 

roflmao
10char

 

As far as the people saying that refurbs have been been mistreated, fans not cleaned, ect. The refurb still comes with the same warranty options so it's a non issue. When a part dies, it's a free replacement. And if it dies down the road, they will give you a new model of similiar specs. I would not hesitate to get a refurb at all. Scratch and dent, I probably wouldn't buy, simply for the fact that I like my new toys to look new. Thats part of the enjoyment.

I just never bought refurb because at the time I wanted what was new when it was released.

 

I've purchased more than a dozen refurbed systems from DELL over the years, most were not for me as I purchased them not only for myself but for friends as well. I get the system and put it through my own torture testing for 48 hours and then clean out whatever S/W is not needed.

My usual course when getting ready to purchase a system is to set my budget then build what I want on the build site. Once I build what it is I want within my budget I then save a copy of the system in MS Word and go to the Outlet and see what is available with the spec's I put together knowing I will get far more machine for my budget.

I had a specific budget and machine in mind when I as looking for my last desktop and purchased a refurb XPS Studio 435T with an i7 960, 9 Gb RAM, DVD/RW, 1.5 Tb HDD, ATi 4870 and DELL Kb and Mouse running Vista 64 Home with an upgrade to Windows 64 Home with a 2 year warranty and 1505 wireless.

It arrived in perfect condition and ran for less than 4 hours correctly and over the course of 5 weeks I had DELL on the line for a lot of hours.

As with any DELL/Alienware system the 3 strikes rule applies when they can't get it right due to hardware and DELL engineers along with the excellent tech I had decided to just replace it and emailed me a copy of the FedEX waybill to ship it back overnight.

I followed the return through my account page and saw it got returned and 3 days later I saw your system is being built and then 2 days after that it had a system number which I was able to view. Once I viewed the system they were supposedly building I figured it would be another refurb with as close to what I had purchased or better and what I saw was not what I expected to see and figured there was no way they were sending a system with the spec's listed since it was out there.

Before shipping the system I had back I removed the 3 1/2" to 2 1/2" bay converter for my 256Gb SSD and the Blu-Ray/HD DVD I had purchased separately since I would install it when the new system arrived. 7 days after shipping the system back the replacement arrived and I was stunned.

The replacement was an i7 975 Extreme, 12 Gb RAM, ATi 4870, Logitech Performance MX Mouse and K350 wireless Kb, DVD/RW, Blu-Ray RE, Vista 64 Ultimate with upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate and 3 1.5Tb HDD's with a 3 year warranty and 1505 Wireless.

I loaded my Blu-Ray/HD DVD into the DVD/RW bay, removed 1 of the 1.5Tb drives and placed it in an external eSATA enclosure and put the 256 SSD with enclosure in the PC and have been off and running ever since w/o issues. I have since upgraded the 1505 Wireless with a Belkin N+ adapter and an ATi 5870 and Hauppauge 2250 Digital TV Tuner card and I run this system on a 37" Vizio.

 

I took the whole thing apart and cleaned the heck out of it.

nice!

 

See my post #16 i this thread. I saved $400 on a PC by doing the scratch and dent and getting CompleteCare coverage.

Funny thing is once they replace a part, every time you call in they ask you if you have any cracked or scratched parts you'd like replaced. It's almost like they get a commission based on parts dispatched...

 

I used to buy scratch and dent/ display model audio equipment, then get the extended warranty on it. Every year I would get a brand new set of speakers for free.