refurbished macs
Wednesday, 11 April 2007 @ 9:25what’s everyone’s take on refurbished mac computers? are they worth it? any downsides? along that subject, what’s everyone’s opinion on the applecare protection plan. worth the money?
Log in
You must be logged in to post a message. Register if not a member or reset password if needed.
I would get a refurbished Mac before I would buy one from a stranger on eBay. The refurbished ones are thoroughly inspected, cleaned, and stress-tested. They have a warrentee. I personally would buy a new computer, but if the budget is tight, then refurbished is a good option.
In regards to AppleCare, I am mixed. I believe it to be one of the best and few extended warrentees that are worth it. That said, I do not purchase it for personal machines. I do purchase it on every computer at worth however. My thoughts on extended warrentees is that if the manufacturer has to have an extended warrentee on their product then they must not have confidence in it and therefore why should I? Nine times out of ten they are sales gimmicks to get more money out of you; like rebates, they never get redeamed or used. Apple’s customer service is top notch however and AppleCare has saved people and companies thousands of dollars. Apple also has an incredible turn around, sending you a box and usually having your unit back within a few days.
It’s a hard call though because for me, one of the biggest reasons that I purchase a Macintosh is because it doesn’t have problems.
I’ve gotten two refurbished G5s (one for work and one for home), and they are a really great deal. They are warrantied the same as a new machine so you might as well try them out.
I did have problems with my home machine but that was after the warranty had expired, and there is no way of knowing whether it was related to any original problem that the computer had.
Actually, on the only new machine I’ve gotten from Apple the hard drive died after 3 weeks. So, new or refurbished are both a gamble. Refurbished is just a less expensive gamble.
I bought 2 refurbs about 3 months ago. My macBook pro came with a dead pixel on the screen, so I had to take it to the apple store and get it replaced. It’s having another little problem now that I need to take it in again for. The other one is a macBook and has run really well.
For the money I would recommend buying a refurb but beware it’s hit or miss, you more than likely will be making a stop to the Genius Bar. But yes, they are under full warranty for a year.
Good to see you on here Bro Heber!
Oh…and…agreed it’s a gamble but Apple store has been great to fix things.
i bought a 15″ powerbook refurb over 3.5 years ago and have had zero problems with it (a few things are starting to act up just recently however) this thing has been abused by myself, my wife, and more recently my small chidren. I’d definitely buy another. there was a minor ‘ding’ in the top aluminum cover as if another powerbook was stacked on it and left an impression where the corner foot would go (does that make sense?) , but considering the savings i had at the time, i overlooked it no problem.
So, I took my refurbished macbook pro in last week and they thought there was something wrong with the logic board. So they took it in and I guess couldn’t figure out what was wrong. So, not only did they decide to give me a brand spanking new macbook pro with a new warranty, but they also gave me the upgraded version since they had it in stock! Anywho, as long is it’s under warranty Apple will treat you right!