Would you buy a certified refurbished Dell?

Just saw their website listings and saw some pretty good prices...even for the M1530s with Blu-Ray! However, is it too risky to buy from there?

 

Lots of people buy from there. Dell sells them with full warranties so that should take any risk out of the equation. They are mostly just systems people have returned. Some were never even opened, but if they left the factory it is considered used and has to be sold as a refurbished unit.

 

I got a...

Vostro 1400
14.1" w/ truelife
160gb hdd 5400rpm
integrated webcam
X3100 integrated
1390 wifi card that busted within 2 weeks, but they will replace it with a draft-N 1505, very nice of them.
Trying to install Bluetooth, but the cable is nowhere to be found, but it was 11 dollars for the module
DVD burner...
Whatever else the vostro 1400 usually sports
585+20s&h
it came with a 9 cell, but I bought a 6 cell for like 53 extra, no ship.
I'd go with business if you were doing it, the systems are cheaper and the batteries are cheaper (from business outlet purchase add-ons)
it was a scratch n dent, but I don't notice anything at all...
the screws are used...that's all I can see.

 

I bought an Inspiron 6400 from the Outlet store a year and a half ago and I am surfing the web with it now. I recently bought a family member a budget laptop off the site. Just really read the included equipment. If you look at different systems you can find systems that list the same price but offer different add ons.

 

I don't think its risky at all. As Nizzy said, there are many people who buy from the outlet on a daily basis. I think its a great way to get a decent machine at a decent price. Again, Dell backs all of these units with their warranty and so if you have any problems, you can always get it fixed by Dell during the span of the warranty. Moreover, Dell also gives you a 21 day return policy during whihc time you can return the system if you feel that the unit didn't meet your expectations, etc.

 

I'd also look and look and look like Korrupted was mentioning about reading the included equipment.

Like I looked for 2Ghz CPUs, but I found the only t7300 out of every other one, which was a t7250 (4mb cache vs. 2mb cache)

 

NOTE: with the t7300, it was a scratch and dent and it was also the cheapest laptop under the 1400 and 2Ghz cpu

Also consider not caring about RAM and just buy 4GB after the fact, it's pretty cheap.

 

I have bought several outlet systems and have had problems with 0 of them.

 

lol, i wouldn't ...dell has problems with their brand new systems already....

 

It's not like they are going to mean to sell a damaged laptop, hell it would probably be better to get a refurb, Think about it, when some one orders a new one and it has a grainy screen, well they don't through them out when they send it back, they fix the screen and sell it as a refurb. You will probably have less problems because they have been already fixed

 

I bought the laptop in my sig from Dell as a refurbished model. It cost about $1000 before tax. I just received the laptop in the mail yesterday but from what I can tell so far it is cosmetically perfect.

I spec'ed out what this laptop would cost new from Dell. Brand new it would cost around $1700. Thats a pretty good savings in my mind

Josh

 

I just bought a certified refurbished Vostro 1500 with the following:

T5270 1.4GGHZ
WXGA+Trulife
2GB of memory
160GB HDD
128MB 8400GS
9 Cell battery
Windows XP Home

$479

I priced it and it comes out to $748

 

That IS a good point and most likely the case.

 

I just purchased an m1330 refurbished with the following specs:

XPS M1330 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7250 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB, 2MB Cache)
200 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive 9.5MM (7200)
Dell 1505 Wireless-N
Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio Software
4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz (2 DIMMs)
128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Dell 1505 Wireless-N
Dell Travel Remote Control
Bluetooth Wireless Card 355
Integrated 2.0 Mega Pixel Web Camera
Fingerprint Reader Touchpad (many of the refurb's came without fingerprint reader)
1 year in home service and free 24/7 tech support

$1,049.00

I'm a happy camper, and as someone posted above, you still have 21 days to return it if it doesn't meet your expectations!

 

I just bought XPS M1530 from Dell Outlet (with 15% off coupon)..

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Edition (it will be running Mac OS X and Windows XP though )
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)
High Resolution glossy widescreen 15.4 inch LCD(1680x1050) & 2MP Camera
256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
200GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
High Definition Audio 2.0
Dell 1505 Wireless-N
Bluetooth 355
56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
1Yr In-Home Service, Parts Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
Finger Print Reader XPS M1530

for $925.

 

Where did you get the 15% off coupon? I didn't know about that.

 

Does Dell replace every laptop screen that is returned for being "Grainy" ?

 

If the technician inspecting it agrees it is grainy they will, its a judgement call as it bothers some and others it doesn't.

 

My coworker bought a scratch/dent 15" Vostro from the Dell Outlet Dec 2007. When it arrived, it was completely perfect -- no costmetic damage whatsoever.

Many of the scratch/dent units are actually brand new, unopened models whose packing boxes suffered some kind of dent big enough to worry Dell's warehouse agents. So, rather than sending the customer a possible-bad unit, Dell just sends the customer another new unit, and the scratch/dent unit gets re-inspected before being resold.

No unit, whether scratch-dent or refurb, can be sold if it has any cosmetic damage larger than a quarter. Once sold and delivered, you or a Dell tech can still replace any (cosmetically) damaged component via Dell spare parts division. Scrach/Dent models also get discounted 30%, so they tend to be really good buys (since that 30% discount easily covers whatever cosmetic repair costs are required). As previously mentioned, they are usually immaculate out of the box.

Given the above, I placed an order for an XPS M1730 this past Thursday. It should be arriving Monday or Tuesday. I plan on replacing the sapphire-blue casing with a smokey gray, and the a/g wireless card with an a/g/draft-n.

 

You get 21 days from the ship date to return it, and they will give you a full refund (including UPS picking it up) if you are returning it because you are not satisfied with the quality of the notebook, or if you have issues with it.

I bought a refurb M1530 and on my 21st day I decided that I had to return it because of the faulty touchpad, and because my keyboard was warped on arrival. The first tech support told me they would schedule a pick up, but they never did ,and never gave me a return #. I called back and got the number, but never had a scheduled pick up. I believe on my 3rd call a few days later (because I never heard about the pick up) I talked to a VERY friendly and helpful representative who scheduled the pick up for me. UPS came the next day and shipped it back to Dell in TN, which I tracked. Two or three days after they received it, I received a full refund.

My point is, I went through a painless refund process save for a few troubles with customer support, and I got 100% of my money back so it does not feel dangerous to buy a refurb.

 

I had considered it at one point..But with the discounts I was getting, I just went with new.

Now, I have a friend and all he does is buy cert. refurbished Dell's. And he hasn't had any problems with the ones he has bought