Refurb MBP and Leopard

Hi guys,

long time reader, first time poster...

anyways, I am getting ready to make the leap to Apple, and I've been looking into getting a refurbed MBP. My only concern is the upcoming release of Leopard. I know that Tiger is great, but I was wondering if any of you guys knew how Apple would handle the release of Leopard on refurbed items. That is: if I were to buy a refurbed MBP right after they announce the release of Leopard, would it be possible for me to get it for free, or do they not give free software upgrades on refurbed items?

Also, what is everyone's opinion of the AppleCare? Is it definitely worth it? My brother has had his G4 MBP for a while and never used it (but I guess he never had to...)

Thanks!

 

AppleCare is a good idea to get (you don't need to buy it right away, you just need to buy it before the original 12 month warranty runs out). As warranties go, it's a pretty good one.

Apple generally doesn't do upgrade pricing on OS releases; they do generally have an "up to date" deal though, where if you do buy a laptop that comes with Tiger on it after Leopard is released, you can normally get Leopard for free.

Your mileage may vary on other scenarios (i.e. you buy a laptop, and then two days later Leopard comes out). You might be able to get them to let you do some sort of return/rebuy thing to get Leopard, but it's probably not likely.

If you wanted to ensure you got Leopard for free though, your best bet probably would be to wait til it comes out. This may also have the side benefit of letting you get the MBP even cheaper, since it is widely expected that along with Leopard in May or June, there will be new MacBook Pros released using the Santa Rosa platform; thus the price of any older refurbished MacBook Pros would come down.

One last thing; if you go refurbished, I'd still definitely recommend getting a refurb C2D MBP rather than the Core Duo MacBook Pros. The big thing is that they improved the vents on the back, and it does seem like it had a real impact on the overall temperature they ran out; it's worth the extra money IMO.

-Zadillo

 

I'm definitely looking into getting the C2D, but I don't think I can wait until the summer.

Let's say I was going to get the MBP after Feb 20th (if Leopard is really announced) and they do offer some sort of free update. Would refurbs be included?

 

The rumor is that a release date will be announced on Feb 20, not Leopard itself though. In fact, the most likely time for release is at the WWDC which is probably going to be in the beginning of June.

 

I would probably recommend calling up the Apple store and asking. I think that usually as far as Apple is concerned on these kinds of things though (i.e. free updates if you bought a refurb that had 10.4 on it after Leopard became available), it shouldn't make a difference.

But yeah...... the rumor is that at best, February 20th will be when Apple finally shows off all of Leopard (they have been keeping some aspects of it secret, in particular the Finder, which hasn't been shown at all), but it isn't expected to actually be available until May, most likely (and some are saying it might not even come out until June, pushing into the last possible date to still be a "spring 2007" release.

Are you a student by any chance? If you are, at least in that case you'd be able to get Leopard at the educational price of $69, so it wouldn't be too bad.