Macbook: Anyone bought refurbished or from reseller?

[neatfreak]

Hey all,

My laptop is about fried. I need to buy a new one and I want another MacBook. But I''d really love to save some money, so I am considering refurbished ones from Apple.

Has anyone bought one of Apple''s refurbished laptops? Or bought one from other resellers? Sometimes these resellers have discounts or cashback, etc. but I am a little leery.

I am a student, so I can get that discount, but it''s not a lot at all unfortunately.

 

[PinkTower]

I have bought 3 macs in the past two years from their site for my children and husband. All I used was the education discount.
The reburbished ones are marked down such a small amount I don''t think it is worth considering.
I have also noticed that the entry level ones are seldom on the refurbished list. They seem to only have the highend ones on there. I need to replace my laptop, I have some broken pixels. I plan to again just get the cheapest mac, the white one, new.

 

[iheartscience]

Date: 2/21/2010 7:05:03 PM
Author:neatfreak
Hey all,

My laptop is about fried. I need to buy a new one and I want another MacBook. But I''d really love to save some money, so I am considering refurbished ones from Apple.

Has anyone bought one of Apple''s refurbished laptops? Or bought one from other resellers? Sometimes these resellers have discounts or cashback, etc. but I am a little leery.

I am a student, so I can get that discount, but it''s not a lot at all unfortunately.

My current PowerBook is a refurbished one I bought from Apple about 5 or 6 years ago. It''s still working well (knock on wood!), but of course it''s kind of slow at this point. I''m too cheap to buy a new one until this one dies, though.

I''ve never purchased from a reseller and I don''t have any friends who have, either. I like the refurbed ones from Apple because you can still get AppleCare for them and Apple treats them just like a new one.

 

[SpareMyWallet]

notice the refurbished models have the same 1 year warranty as new models. compare these prices with new units after student discount.

or scan craigslist for new models. you can also purchase applecare for the models you buy from craigslist if they are still under warranty.

 

[cara]

Are you planning on getting the 3 yr applecare plan? that might make me less hesitant to get a refurbished model.

 

[neatfreak]

I should clarify that the refurbs come with the same warranty and I believe that you can also buy the 3 year applecare too.

My thought on the refurbs is that there is no way each computer coming off the new line is inspected as closely as one that has already had an issue, right? If it's had an issue, and been fixed, I assume it means they have gone over it carefully before determining it was ok.

And Spare: The refurbs are a good $200 less than the student prices on the model I am looking at.

 

[Callisto]

Ugh Im dreading being in your situation. My macbook is almost 4 years old and seems to be doing well but idk what I''ll do when it frys. I too would want another macbook but this one was a graduation present so it wasn''t out of my pocket. If you do get the refurbished one will you write a review of it here in a few months? I''d love to know if its a viable option.

 

[Inanna]

My current Macbook Pro is refurbished from Apple. I've had no problems with it. I also have a refurbished iPhone, which has functioned perfectly for the year I've owned it.

 

[neatfreak]

Thanks Thing and Inanna. Good to know you guys have had good experiences. I think when the time comes I will buy a refurbished one.

Callisto: No promises on when this will be occurring. Mine is showing signs of being done, but who knows when it'll actually go KWIM? So I don't know if I am buying this week or in a year. But I need to know what I am buying ASAP if it does go soon as I am in the middle of my Ph.D. Dissertation!

And yes I back up ALL the time!