Has anyone purchased a refurbished Mac laptop?

[stephen9666]

I use PCs and I don't know too much about Macs.

My girlfriend likes Macs and hers recently died. It's in the shop right now and they're quoting $350 + tax to fix it. She's considering buying a new computer instead, since this one is at least 5 years old.

I was poking around on the Apple website and they sell refurbished models that are about $150 - $300 less than a normal model. It appears they have the same one year warranty as a normal model.

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

So, has anyone bought a refurbished Mac? Were there any cosmetic/functional issues with it?

 

[apwillard1986]

I purchased one a few years ago and used it a long time. I guess what you have to ask yourself is simply is the 10-15% savings worth the risk? I was a student so it was worth it. The only cosmetic issue was a scratched battery sticker. Today, I would spend the extra 150 to buy a new one.

 

[SrDriver]

Back to school sales are going on.

Check some of the local stores that sell Apple products for specials.

 

[uc50ic4more]

How did it "die"? Maybe paying "retail" for some repairs that could be done yourself or replacing something that can be repaired easily isn't worth it. If the hard drive failed, for example, just get a new one. If it's a desktop Mac then it's simply a bunch of pieces and parts that can be replaced. Laptops maybe not so much!

 

[2009Edge]

I purchased a refurbished MacBook Pro about 6 weeks ago. The only thing I had to do was get an updated version of Quicken. It works just fine so far, no issues and have the same warranty as a new model. All files transferred with no problems.

Love it.

 

[apwillard1986]

Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
How did it "die"? Maybe paying "retail" for some repairs that could be done yourself or replacing something that can be repaired easily isn't worth it. If the hard drive failed, for example, just get a new one. If it's a desktop Mac then it's simply a bunch of pieces and parts that can be replaced. Laptops maybe not so much!


If you have time this is the way to go. I had my old iBook die and repaired it in a day by replacing the dead drive. It was very involved but rather fun.

 

[itguy08]

I have not but one of the guys at work did. Said it was like new and so far no issues at 1 year.

I wouldn't be afraid of it. Apple gives you the same warranty, you can get Applecae, and you save a fair bit of money. The only reason I didn't was because I wand to use Best Buy's 18 months 0% interest.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

I bought my MBP refurbished and it was a decent savings. And if you have Discover and get it through their link to Apple, you can get a decent chunk of cashback.

Mine had a bad motherboard, but it was taken care of under warranty, which is a pretty good time length for a refurbished product. If it didn't come in a white box with a refurb serial # you probably can't tell it was refurbished.

 

[stephen9666]

Repairing it myself may be an option. I have assembled several computers, so I'm a little bit tech savvy.

The problem it has is the display not working. It used to work intermittently, now it doesn't work at all. You can plug a monitor into it and the image will be properly displayed on the monitor.

My girlfriend doesn't know really what the person told her today. She said she couldn't understand what he was saying because he was mumbling so much. This is an authorized Apple repair place.

She's picking it up tomorrow along with a printed estimate, so I should know more when I see that.

 

[berniedd]

A refurbished Mac isn't such a bad deal. For one, they test the whole thing more thoroughly than a brand new unit, so any defect will more likely be detected than if you bought new. Plus, the same standard 1-year warranty is given. If it is allowed on a refurbished unit, I'd also suggest getting an extended Apple Protection Plan for it to extend warranty to 3 years. You can do it anytime within one year from the time of purchase.

If you elect to fix it yourself, see ifixit.com for guidance. There are many ebay LCD units out there to select your replacement.