Did anyone who purchased a REFURBISHED MAC have any problems at all in the 3 first years they bought it?
Is it worth saving about 300$ for the risk of having working components to fail down the road even after factory inspection?
Tks.
Computers can fail at any time, old or new - a refurb has no more chance of failing than a new computer. In many ways it has less because it's been thoroughly checked by an engineer. New machines can arrive at your door DOA. I personally think it's well worth the saving. Even though I've never bought one myself, I almost did recently and I certainly had no hesitation doing so.
I think the biggest concern with refurbs is cosmetic damage as that isn't covered.
Part of the saving should go onto the 3 year warranty and there's nothing to worry about. If you have a whole heap of problems with the machine, while it's under warranty, Apple would usually replace your machine with a new one.
Did anyone who purchased a REFURBISHED MAC have any problems at all in the 3 first years they bought it?
Is it worth saving about 300$ for the risk of having working components to fail down the road even after factory inspection?
Tks.
From Apple, they're no more likely to fail than a new computer. You take a risk with anything electronic, but that's what backups and warranties are for.
I bought a refurb MBP a year ago and it has been like it was new. As previously stated by others, they are fully tested and QA'd, so they are less likely in someways to be lemons that a new unit. The refurbs went through the same unit testing the new ones do (since they were new at some point), then were used by a person that found a problem. This problem was corrected and it was further tested and cleaned up before being put back up for sale. That is more testing than a new unit received.
You can't beat the savings. Also, check if your credit card offers additional coverage. The refurbs have a full 1 year warranty, same as new. If you card offers an additional year or two, then you are even further ahead. My card offered a 1 year addition and claim to match the original warranty covered issues. I saved $300, had free shipping, 2-years coverage and haven't had anything go wrong that would be warranty related.
Addition:
Also, I have heard, but never really confirmed that some of the units made available are not customer returns/repairs. Instead, they are units that were display or demo units from tradeshows and conferences, i.e. MacWorld. They open dozens of new units are these events and need to move them out somehow. If this is true, then a good time to check the refurb page is immediately (a day to a few days) after an event ends. I would expect they are still tested and vetted before going on sale, if this is the case. I know when I bought mine in April, there was suddenly a bit of a glut of units available, which was shortly after NAB that year.
Did anyone who purchased a REFURBISHED MAC have any problems at all in the 3 first years they bought it?
Is it worth saving about 300$ for the risk of having working components to fail down the road even after factory inspection?
Tks.
FWIW, I'm still happily Photoshopping, Illustrating, InDesigning and Final Cutting on a 2 year old PowerBook 1.6GHz (last model before the Intel switch) which I bought refurb. No problems ever. Made the switch to Leopard last month. Even better now.
In my experience, new or refurb, if an (Apple) computer is going to fail, it will usually happen within year 1, which makes the 1 year warranty fine with me - but by all means spring for the 3 year upgrade if you want full peace of mind.
Comments
Hi,
Did anyone who purchased a REFURBISHED MAC have any problems at all in the 3 first years they bought it?
Is it worth saving about 300$ for the risk of having working components to fail down the road even after factory inspection?
Tks.
Computers can fail at any time, old or new - a refurb has no more chance of failing than a new computer. In many ways it has less because it's been thoroughly checked by an engineer. New machines can arrive at your door DOA. I personally think it's well worth the saving. Even though I've never bought one myself, I almost did recently and I certainly had no hesitation doing so.
I think the biggest concern with refurbs is cosmetic damage as that isn't covered.
Part of the saving should go onto the 3 year warranty and there's nothing to worry about. If you have a whole heap of problems with the machine, while it's under warranty, Apple would usually replace your machine with a new one.
Hi,
Did anyone who purchased a REFURBISHED MAC have any problems at all in the 3 first years they bought it?
Is it worth saving about 300$ for the risk of having working components to fail down the road even after factory inspection?
Tks.
From Apple, they're no more likely to fail than a new computer. You take a risk with anything electronic, but that's what backups and warranties are for.
You can't beat the savings. Also, check if your credit card offers additional coverage. The refurbs have a full 1 year warranty, same as new. If you card offers an additional year or two, then you are even further ahead. My card offered a 1 year addition and claim to match the original warranty covered issues. I saved $300, had free shipping, 2-years coverage and haven't had anything go wrong that would be warranty related.
Addition:
Also, I have heard, but never really confirmed that some of the units made available are not customer returns/repairs. Instead, they are units that were display or demo units from tradeshows and conferences, i.e. MacWorld. They open dozens of new units are these events and need to move them out somehow. If this is true, then a good time to check the refurb page is immediately (a day to a few days) after an event ends. I would expect they are still tested and vetted before going on sale, if this is the case. I know when I bought mine in April, there was suddenly a bit of a glut of units available, which was shortly after NAB that year.
Hi,
Did anyone who purchased a REFURBISHED MAC have any problems at all in the 3 first years they bought it?
Is it worth saving about 300$ for the risk of having working components to fail down the road even after factory inspection?
Tks.
FWIW, I'm still happily Photoshopping, Illustrating, InDesigning and Final Cutting on a 2 year old PowerBook 1.6GHz (last model before the Intel switch) which I bought refurb. No problems ever. Made the switch to Leopard last month. Even better now.
In my experience, new or refurb, if an (Apple) computer is going to fail, it will usually happen within year 1, which makes the 1 year warranty fine with me - but by all means spring for the 3 year upgrade if you want full peace of mind.