Refurbished?

reading on the apple site it does not specifically addressed what the wear may look like on a refurbished. i.e. it says it ensures it is fully operational but that could mean it has a dent in the lid or is people experiece that the units look like something someone used for a week or two? Or are refurbed units ones that may have been exchanged after a lot of usuage?

 

On my refurb, it looks brand new. The only exception were some scuffs on the keyboard keys but I can only see them when I look really close at the keys - and only on a couple keys.

I think the refurbs get a new body since mine had no marks on it at all.

 

Mine was like a brand new unit. Too bad that they don't have refurbs in the matte category or at non-Apple stores.

 

Refurbs are the way to go, honestly. I've had superb experiences buying refurbs from Apple (and Dell, who are also awesome with refurbs). My wife and I buy refurbished computers now (she likes Dell, I like Apple). They have the same warranties that new computers have and are tested more (IMO) than regular rigs.

Buy a refurb with confidence and save some money.

 

I doubt that Apple's procedure is more rigorous than a new laptop, but they do potentially get the benefit of the previous customer alerting them to problems, especially if it was returned with a reason.

 

I think their point was that each and every refurbished model that gets sent back to Apple is tested to make sure it works whereas only a small percentage of new products are that thoroughly tested before they hit the shelves. Foxconn doesn't test each and every MacBook Pro going out of its doors. They might all go through some initial diagnostics but only a handful of each manufactured group are actually tested. That is the nature of assembly lines. Each and every refurbished model should (and I say should because you never know what these contracted companies are really doing) be tested before Apple receives them for re-selling.

I still wouldn't buy a refurbished product simply because I am "old fashioned" in that way. I have only ever purchased new electronics and will continue to do so until they stop making them. I really don't care about the extra costs that much as I want something new. If I am going to save up to buy a MacBook Pro/Air (as I have done), I am going to save up the additional ~15% Apple charges for a new configuration.

 

I think apple has the best refurbished hardware out there right now. Its a great way to save money. The only thing I noticed was it came in a brown box instead of a regular apple box. everything else looked brand new.

 

I found every upgraded screen was Matte, actually 90% of the machines on there were matte, leading me to believe that was a big reason for all the returns....

I was waiting on an upgraded, glossy screen on a 15" but ended up with an early 2011 with multiple upgrades for under 2k.

I am very happy with the refurb purchase aspect, the computer not so much

 

I purchased a refurbished MBP 15 last, looked great and functioned perfectly.

 

I've purchased refurbished. I didn't get an "apple" box but the unit works really well and has been going strong for over a year now. The 17in macbook pros are expensive and refurbished helped a little bit.

 

Refurbished on Apple product is the way to go if you don't have to have new ones right away Decent saving and good warranty, can't beat that

cheers ...

 

I have purchased at least 4 refurb powerbook / macbook pro laptops over the past few years. They looked brand new and have each led a healthy life! Go for it!

 

Isn't the price of refurb + tax pretty similar to New tax free? If so, why not just buy new?

Well, at least in Texas where we have apples stores and no amazon warehouses.

 

My fully loaded 2011 13" MBA was a $300 savings. Tax isn't even close to that.

 

I have a refurbed Airport Express on its way to me. Even with tax, the savings is nearly 30% versus new.

 

Bogatyr, right now I am seeing a 2011 13" macbook air on amazon for 1,209.99 tax free.

The refurb price for a 2011 right now is $1,099.00 which is $1,186 with Texas state tax of 8%. That is a $22 difference for me. I would pay that to be able to resale a non refurb serial number when its time to trade up.

Then I would use my amazon credit card for tripple points and get another $80 off.

 

Mine was the fully loaded one, 256GB i7. Wasn't available on Amazon.

 

I had a 2009 MBP 17 that was flawless - physically and operationally. I have owned 4-5 other refurbished laptops made by Dell, Lenovo and Sony and, perhaps I was lucky, but I never got one with a noticeable physical defect or damage and never had operating problems. Mac refurbs are not as heavily discounted as many Windows notebooks are, but if the money saved is significant to you, I would strongly encourage you to go that route.

But then, I never buy new cars either! A 1-2 year old car with under 20K miles is usually 20-25% less expensive than new and, if you shop carefully and buy a one-owner car with service records to show it has been well maintained and the appearance to back that up, you not only get a great deal, but if the car had any new-car bugs to work out, they were done at someone else's inconvenience. That parallels the refurbish computer benefit as well: refurbs are thoroughly tested and any problems the original owner had are corrected and new hardware replaces anything problematic.