Purchasing a Refurbished iMac

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mahoneedrmahoneedr
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
Hello all,

I'm looking for some feedback on purchasing a refurbished iMac. Has anyone purchased a refurbished system and if so how did they make out?



I'm very tempted to pick up the current 24" 2.4Ghz model from apple.ca for $1589 which is $310 cheaper than the Canadian retail price. With 200-pin DDR2 ram being $100 or less for 4GB I think I could have a decent system putting 4GB of ram into one of these refurbished models.



I will probably wait until the hardware refresh, but if there aren't substantial upgrades I might still go with this model, hopefully at a further discounted price.



Please feel free to post your comments.



Thanks.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    techound1techound1 Posts: 31member
    Apple does a divine job at refurb. I several years on these boards I don't recall ever seeing a bad comment on refurbs.



    Aftermarket ram sweetens the savings!
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  • Reply 2 of 4
    kpluckkpluck Posts: 500member
    I purchased a refurb MacBook just after the new ones were announced earlier this year. Cosmetically, the machine was perfect. It appeared brand new. Unfortunately, it was DOA. It wouldn't power up at all. After a couple calls to Apple it was determined I needed to return it for service. The first box they sent me went missing and I had to call again for another. All in all, two weeks after I first received the DOA MacBook I finally received a working unit. Since then, it has been absolutely perfect.



    Now, it may seem like I am slamming refurbs which is not my intent. I would probably buy one again given the right set of circumstances. The one advantage new machines have is that you generally have more choices in regards to where you buy from and, if you shop carefully, you can probably find a place that will allow returns. So, if you get a dead Mac, you can just return it and not have to deal with warranty service.



    -Keith
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  • Reply 3 of 4
    stukdogstukdog Posts: 53member
    I've purchased about 40 refurbed Mac minis when customers requested them and they've all worked great.



    I also just bought a refurbed iMac for my mother-in-law and it hasn't had any problems.



    Apple does a real good job with them. (You just miss out on the beautiful unboxing of a new Apple Product since they come in regular cardboard and foam inserts.)
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  • Reply 4 of 4
    zinfellazinfella Posts: 877member
    The main difference between a new model and a refurb is that you cannot spec out a refurb to order, you are limited to stock on hand. If there is a refurb that meets your needs, they are absolutely the best value, even cheaper than the education discount.
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