are replacements refurbished or new?

After numerous troubles with my notebook m1330, dell finally agreed to issue a replacement, well when I asked them if it would be new or refurbished he said he had no idea and that no one knows if they send a refurbished laptop or a new one..so I was wondering what you guys think about this, and in your experience, do they generally send out new or refurbished notebooks for these types of situations?? btw i bought it about a month ago so it is out of the 21 days, but i bought it brand new. thanks in advance!

 

95% refurb. They should tell you if it is refurb or not.

 

are you serious?? great i paid for a brand new computer and now i get a refurbished one..its even more ridiculous that he said that he didn't know if it would be new or refurbished..and i ask if he could ask his supervisor/manager and he said they wouldn't know either, he said the exchange department sends it so he has no way of knowing and they are in some dark area with no phone..and YES those were his exact words..

once i get the notebook is there any way to be able to tell for sure if it is refurbished or new?? thanks again

 

If it's refurbished, it will have a refurbished sticker on the bottom.

 

no way! thats awsome..i just got a replacement after 6mo and its NEW! muahah

 

easy enough..guess ill have to wait it out and see..

what really pisses me off is that they refused to ship out a new laptop to me when i was in the 21 day period and sent out 8 replacement parts in the past month and it still hasn't fixed the problem, so i think they were just trying to drag that period longer so that I wouldn't be able to return it. even today the rep i talked to said that with all the parts sent out to me, they could've built a computer with it!

 

Replacement computers are always new if it's a system swap.
Replacement parts are refurbished.

Refurbished batteries are so much fun!

phatty033, it's cheaper for Dell to send parts for a whole new computer than build a new one.

 

And it's more environmentally friendly.

 

Most likely, Dell will send you a New system.

 

I am getting a replacement soon, now I am really worried.
I asked for a replacement after one day, I hope it's not going to be a refurbished system...
Is there also a sticker on the refurbished systems in the UK?
How can I check if it's new when I receive it???

 

Here are the guidelines:

Dell will send you a new replacement if the replacement was requested within the first 21 days of purchase.
Replacement systems after the initial 21/30 days of pruchase will depend on your region and the corresponding exportation laws. If you live in the US, generally the replacement system will be refurbished so long as on hand inventory is available for your confirguration or a similar configuration. You should realize that Dell must replace all of the components of the system with the same or better parts, and hence if there is a refurb in the outlet that satisfies these criteria, you would most likely recieve that.

If a refurb system that fits these criteria is not available, then a new replacement will usually be sent out. Hence this is why the agent told you he was unsure whether it was refurbished or new, because it usually takes a couple of days to determine whether a similar configuration is available on hand.

If you are outside of the US (i.e. in Latin America, where I know export laws prevent the replacing of systems with refurbished units), you will automatically be ordered a new unit.

Parts:

All part requests and replacements occuring within the first 21/30 days are guaranteed to be new. If you recieve a refurbished part, call them up and demand a new replacement. Any service requests occuring outside the original 21/30 days will recieve refurbished parts or new parts (more likely refurbished parts unless refurbished qty is not available on hand)

 

Not totally true. It depends on the case.

 

thank you booji for the detailed explanation..i guess ill wait and see if my new system has the refurbished sticker and then freak out..assuming all refurbished systems have this sticker..right?

 

You're right.
I was thinking about EMEA, over here we only ship refurbished systems if the customer wants i really fast. Build times for most laptops are ~1 month most of the time.

 

Phatty033,

This is correct. By law, all parts which are not new, must be labeled recertified or refurbished. This applies even for entire systems like laptops and desktops. Usually the sticker is not readily visible and its usually on the underside of the laptop. Sometimes, they don't even include a sticker on the physical laptop, but you will see a sticker on the box the laptop came inidicating its refurbished.

Good Luck.

 

I am within the 21 days, so I should get a new one right?
what worries me is that my order went from pre production to delivery in less than a day...???

 

Yes, that's right.

If you are worried about it being a refurb, make sure to check for the refurbished sticker. If it is refurbished, call up Dell and give them a piece of your mind.

 

ok this is interesting..going along with what someone was saying..i think i might possibly be getting a refurbished system..because my original configuration was a t7500 and i put in the service call # today and it says the one their sending to me is a t9300..and someone said when they said refurbished they can only send a better system or the same system..i guess in a sense im getting an upgrade..but the rep said nothing about this..has this ever happened to anyone where they spontaneously upgraded your system NOT with a refurbished..because it would be insane if i got an upgrade and a new system!

 

Yes that is actually quite common. Sometimes new systems are upgraded due to part availability issues. I am not sure if the m1330 can still be configured with the T7500. If it can't then that is probably the reason why you are getting a T9300. (although I would have expected them to give you a T8300 instead). Dell probably has a surplus of penryn chips now, and might me have limited stock of the older merom chips, and hence they just upgraded you. However, it might equally be likely that you are getting a refurbished system. I forget if you mentioned this or not, but are you within your first 21 days? If you are not, Dell is under no real obligation (unless there are laws preventing them from doing so) to send you a new system.

 

oh it for sure can be configured with the T7500..i have had this notebook for about a month..so i am out of the 21 day period.

so at this point im not sure if i'd rather have a refurbished t9300 or a brand new one which i paid for..of course im not 100% sure that its gonna be a refurbished..buut...just gotta prepare

 

They are 100% brand new if you get a replacement through customer service or tech support. How do I know? Just got my replacement and I tracked it personally with a customer service manager through the build process. It'll come just like your original new one with all accessories, leather book, etc.