[omnicorp]

Hi,

I was looking to buy a macbook from apple in the new year after macworld but I was looking at the apple refurb store on their website and there are refurbished macbook pros for similar prices to new macbooks.

I was wondering has anyone bought anyone off the refurb store and have they had a bad experience or a good one?
Is the product in any way much worse than a new one?

I also noticed that they don't have core 2 duo processors, but core duo processors which suggests that they might be older computers.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks!

[donutogre]

i personally think buying reburbs is a great idea.

they should look indistinguishable from new products...if they don't, apple will send you a replacement. they have the same warranty as brand new stuff (1 year) and you can buy applecare if you are so inclined.

also, they update that store constantly, so keep your eyes peeled and you should be able to get a Core 2 Duo rather than the older versions. In fact, right now they have the 2.16ghz Core 2 Duo MBP for $1599. That's a GREAT deal if you ask me (I should be buying that exact laptop in about a month)...so yeah, pick that sucker up.

[FilthySprocket]

I have a white 2.0GHz MacBook on order from Amazon. But now I am thinking about getting a refurbished Pro instead because of the better graphics. But I'm not sure if I want the bigger size. I already have a notebook that is the same screen size as the MBP, but I want something smaller.

How portable are the 15" Pros. Do you find them too large to carry around from place to place in everyday use?

[jeffr]

I have a new MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo now. Before this, I bought a refurb from the Apple online store. I ordered a MacBook Pro Core Duo, 15". It arrived warped, it would not sit flat on a table. The thin strip of metal above the release latch for the lid was also bowed out significantly. Lastly, it could not read any burned DVDs. So I returned it. Apple was really good about sending out a replacement next day air no charge. This one arrived in better condition. The strip of metal above the release latch was bowed out, but not as bad as the first one. But this one had a dead iSight camera, and it was unable to burn DVDs or CDs. Each time I tried it would give me an error that the hardware did not respond.

After two failures, my wife told me to return it for a refund and just buy a new one. I am ecstatic with my new C2D, no problems at all.

I have to say Apple was good about working with me, but I have serious questions about their stringent refurbishment process. I am not sure how a refurb gets out the door with parts of the case bowing out, or warped cases. I have a refurb PowerBook G4 I bought about a year and a half ago, which arrived in mint condition and has never given me a minute's worry. I don't know what is going on with the MBPs.

[Mrjinglesusa]

I bought an original Core Duo MBP (17" Glossy) from the refurbished store. It's just like a brand new computer, except you don't get the fancy retail box. It's been perfect so far (3 months). Remember, "Refurbished" does NOT necessarily mean it was defective. If someone bought a MBP and changed their mind and returned it, Apple cannot legally sell it as new. Thus, it goes on the refurbished list. Plus, you get the exact same warranty as a new computer. All in all, refurbs are a great buy.

[omnicorp]

Thanks for the replies. Do refurbed macs come with updated software? ie iLife 07 in the new year etc?

[MarkMS]

They should come with their original software, but I don't know about iLife '07. It's not out yet, but I'm sure you will get iLife '06 until '07 makes its debut.

Instead of buying from the Apple store, I purchased mine from MacConnection a little over a month ago. Got overnight shipping and paid no taxes unlike the Apple store. The 1.83GHz MBPs $1299 price at Apple would have come to $1415 with free shipping. I got the 2.0GHz MBP from macconnection for $1333 shipped overnight. Only problem is that they only have glossy screens for that price. I liked glossy at my local computer store, so I didn't care much. I'm just a pre-med student and not a graphics designer. Another reason for going glossy, is that I heard that LCD defects (uneven backlight, graininess?) are more common on the matte than glossy. Don't know how much of that is true, but I was already moving toward glossy anyway and didn't matter much.

They have a free shipping offer until 1/31/07 at macconnection if you didn't notice. Might help you in your decision.

The MBP I got was built in August so it doesn't have the whine and moo. There is heat, but it's about the same as my old PB G4 and a bit warmer than my old iBook G4. Just gets a bit more hot when I plug it in and work with it on my lap. You can use SMC Fan control or Fan control and tell it to run the fans higher, which I tried and works flawlessly. Problem is that I think Apple would not warranty the MBP if I used those apps, so I did a clean install of OS X and didn't install them again. It's not as hot as people make it seem. Maybe the first batch of MBPs, but not the latest ones since May with the 80GB HDD and 512MB RAM. Glossy LCD looks great, no problems there. Again no problems so far with my CD MBP, but a Core 2 Duo MBP is much better when it comes to heat control and having a few new features like the ability to have 3GB RAM. MacConnection's Core 2 Duo MBPs start at $1844.

So in summary, I got my 2.0Ghz CD MBP cheaper new with box and everything like the warranty for a year from macconnection as if I would have bought it from the Apple store. I did about 12hrs of research before I finally decided to buy a MBP because of the negative reports people were writing. Sites that helped me where macintouch.com and their research, lowendmac and dealmac for prices. And forums like here on macnn.com and macrumors.com.

Hope this helps you.

[donutogre]

Originally Posted by jeffr 

The thin strip of metal above the release latch for the lid was also bowed out significantly.

That's weird, I bought a refurbed MBP back in May that had the same problem. I ended up returning it for a refund, not because of that, but it was annoying...makes me a little wary about buying a refurb now to be honest. At least they worked with you in the return process without fail.

[macintologist]

I don't understand why Apple won't adapt the Macbook closing mechanism for the Macbook Pro. It's far superior.

[romeosc]

Originally Posted by omnicorp 

Thanks for the replies. Do refurbed macs come with updated software? ie iLife 07 in the new year etc?

No only items included in original package.

[omnicorp]

how easy is it to add RAM to a macbook pro?

[thetman]

Originally Posted by omnicorp 

how easy is it to add RAM to a macbook pro?

very, remove battery > three phillips 0 or 00 screws and your at the memory


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