[pxlshftr]

Yesterday apple put up some C2D refurbed 15" macbook pros, which offer some considerable savings. Unfortunately they sold out rather quickly, but I am willing to wait til the next time they appear. In general, I am reluctant to buy refurbed products on principal, but have a good feeling about Apple's refurb program, especially since you get the normal warranty.

Does anyone here have experience with Apple refurbs, and can you give me some insight as to whether or not it's a good buy?

[chris v]

My last three Macs have been from the refurb. store. They come with the same warranty, and don't seem to be any more problem-prone than any other Macs I've ever bought. My Powerbook had to go back twice, but it was for really common problems with the model. The other two have been glitch-free.

[gperks]

I bought a refurb G5 and apart from the box it came in you couldn't tell the difference. It still had all the plastic film over the metal and so forth. AFAIK it was a unit configured for someone then the order got cancelled. Based on that experience I would have no problem buying refurb again.

[jfobart]

Do a search and you'll find dozens of threads asking about the quality of refurbs....

The concensus seems to be they're a good deal (I'm a believer myself!), but there are some who just don't trust them or have other issues with them, so they'll only buy new. That's fine too, more power to them (and more money to Apple that way too!).

Personally, the warranty is still the same, it's been reinspected by a US based Apple tech, and I save a few hundred.... why not?!?!

I did pick up a MBP C2D 2.33 from my local Apple store the other day as an open-box-return for $2250, but the next day I saw the same thing online for $1999. I'm returning the local machine and I'll just buy the online one when they become available again (hopefully in the next few days)

[copanewbe]

I was in exactly your position about a week ago. You have to watch the website like a hawk as the C2Ds go pretty fast. I was able to snatch a 15" C2D 2.16 for $1600. I suggest watching the website in the morning: I found mine at about 10 AM CST. It's been flawless so far, no problems whatsoever performance wise. However, there were two cosmetic blemishes out of the box. Along the back by the vent was a tiny scratch maybe a half inch long, and the front case by the latch is bent ever so slightly. Maybe they would consider this damaged and give me a new case, but the marks are so minor that I felt it wouldn't even be worth the hassle. Other than that, the computer is flawless. Basically, I look at it like I got a new one and I got a $400 discount because of a little scratch that I won't see. I say go for it.


Oh yea, and the best part was I ordered it right before christmas so they gave me free overnight shipping....it was at my house in 18 hours!!

[Eriamjh]

Refurbs appear in the morning, typically saturday. Check around 7AM EST each morning.

[Lava Lamp Freak]

You can also buy refreshed from the retail Apple Stores. Thats what I did, and the system looked like it had never been touched before. A refreshed system is one that was brought back to the store without any problems, probably to trade for another system. I believe the prices are the same as refurbs on the Apple Store online. I got my 2.33 C2D for $2249.

[baeksoo]

How are refurbished units in terms of cosmetic quality? Are scratches/blemishes to be expected?