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Refurbished imacs

I'm considering purchasing a refurbished 20" imac to replace my old and faithful 'office PC'. I already have an imac 24" which I bought new, but finances suggest that thinking 'refurbished' is more appropriate than thinking 'new' at present.

Anyone like to share their experiences of 'refurbished' re reliability etc etc ?

Thanks, SeaDream

iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Jul 11, 2008 1:49 PM

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15 replies

Jul 11, 2008 9:26 PM in response to SeaDream

don't get a 20" iMac. Refurbished or New. The aluminum models have a noticeable gradient. The 20 inch has the worst gradient, washed out at the the bottom accurate at top. Also the new iMacs can have dirt under its glass panel. With a glossy screen you can see every spec of dirt under that glass and any thing on the glass. It is up to you, but if I had to do it again I would of bought a Macbook Pro. Anyway, I will be purchasing a Macbook Pro in a year, waiting for a new model till i purchase that baby.

Good luck with your iMac if you get it, those apple stores are very strict. No refunds, unless you want to pay a restock fee!

tkzal

Jul 12, 2008 3:01 AM in response to SeaDream

Eight months ago, I purchased a refurbished 20" 'white' imac as the second imac for our household. Also, purchased the 3 year extended warranty with it. Nary a problem with the refurbished. It definitely is 'like new'.

I would recommend going the refurbished route (with the extended warranty)on the imac of your choice. A money saver for sure.

Jul 12, 2008 8:13 AM in response to SeaDream

I bought a new 24" like you and then purchased a refurbished 20" for our kitchen/family room. Absolutely no problem with the refurbished. The only reason I went with a new 24" is I wanted an upgraded harddrive. What one poster stated about gradient issue on the 20" is true. I have never heard about the dirt issue he stated.

The screen will look different and you will notice it since you have a 24". We debated returning our 20" but in the end for us it wasn't a big enough deal since the it is used mainly for internet, email, playing music and entertaining the kids. Any video or photo stuff we do on the 24" which is in the office.

Go to the store and look at the 20' inch screen. Rotate it up and down and watch the colors on the screen. They will change. If its not a big deal for you then go for a refurb.

Jul 12, 2008 9:10 AM in response to SeaDream

I have had my refurbished 20 in. iMac for a little over a week... I am not sure what the new ones looks like out of the box... but I cannot imagine there is any difference... this thing looked brand new out of the box... and as George mentioned... it carries the same warranty as the new ones.

You should have no worries getting one of these.

Jul 12, 2008 11:27 AM in response to rdbroom

Thanks for the info. Since I'm used to - and just love -my 24" I think I really should take a look at the 20" in the local shop.

Cost is a BIG factor for me at present - that's why I was considering the 20" - and since my old PC will probably just stop one day soon, I need to know what to replace it with. My daughter would like to load up all her photos on the new one................ I imagine a laptop would be too slow with such a load, wouldn't it ?

SeaDream

Jul 12, 2008 2:23 PM in response to SeaDream

Not necessarily. It depend how many photos you are talking about because even the lower end MacBooks have enough storage for thousands of pictures. In general you will get more bang for your buck out of an iMac but if portability is important to her then the regular 13" MacBook would work quite well. What else is she going use the computer for?

George

Jul 12, 2008 5:57 PM in response to George Peters

Actually, portability isn't at all important to us at present or in the forseeable future. She mainly uses it foe Emails, researching and writing up schoolwork, listening to My Tube + her photos; whereas for me, it's the place where I research and prepare lessons, AND store all my worksheets as well as Emails, and info. The main issue is simply that we need a computer to replace the other one and since I've had the iMac ( December 2007 - bought to set up a computer music studio ) and realise how simple but efficiently it works, I just feel that I'd like to move over to Apple.

With Microsoft, there's always been problems ................ like recently when there was a Windows update ( on the second PC which is also for music purposes )and since then, I can't get into the internet any more !

I've used a laptop from friends ( not an Apple ) and haven't liked the small keyboard and monitor, which is why I was thinking in terms of another desktop computer.

Would it be a mad solution to buy a mac mini, and connect this to our existing monitor etc ?

SeaDream

Jul 12, 2008 6:19 PM in response to SeaDream

I just recently "switched" and started with a refurb because of the savings... i have the mac listed below and added 4GB ram, a new drobo and a 2nd monitor... I'm 100% happy and have had no problems at all aside from iphone/mobileme issues... I'm truly happy with my purchase and everything looked brand new except for the boxes they ship refurbs in... you will not be disappointed...AND for safety... they give you the 1 year limited warranty which allows you to add applecare at any time... definitely worth the purchase

Jul 16, 2008 2:57 PM in response to chipperz

I did visit an Apple supplier to compare the white and aluminium 20" macs ................ you were right, there was a noticeable difference. Unfortunately, only aluminium ones are on offer in the refurbished category in Germany where I live, right now.

In the shop, I was told that you can't get them any more - though this could have simply been sales talk !

Jul 16, 2008 10:11 PM in response to SeaDream

I just got a nice deal on a 24" White iMac 2.33GHz with the NVidia GeForce 7600 GT w/ 256 VRAM. Haven't seen it yet, but reports are good. Got it from Mac-Resource.com, which is apparently the Texas A&M affiliated store at that university. It's hard to find the 2.33GHz model, which is why I bought there.

I've bought refurb from Apple before and was more than pleased--delighted with the condition, packaging, operations, etc. Prices good, too, though they don't seem to have any white iMacs at the moment. I returned a 24" Alum because of the screen (unevenness and glare).

Refurbished imacs

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