Is the refurbish macbook pro good as new

ds store wrote:

eww wrote:

A small minority of refurbs have had problems and been repaired. Most have never been sold or used at all.

Then where do most refurbs come from if they didn't have "problems" or "been repaired" or been "used"?

How come they are not in a shiny new box all sealed from the factory and sold as new?

Is there some new catagory I'm not aware of?

Big hole in your logic circuits there eww. 🙂

ds, as we know, there have been problems with some posts not coming through, for some people, until hours after they were posted. Is this possibly the case with Allan's post, which I'll paste below?

Re: Is the refurbish macbook pro good as new

Oct 19, 2011 10:08 AM (in response to george-alexandre)

We have four refurb Macs, all trouble-free.

ds store wrote:

The refurbished one is not new, but slightly used, and the broken part in it replaced so it's a functional machine again.

Info I got from an Apple employee who works with refurbs is that "the slightly used" units are a small minority. Most are:

• a model that was just superseded by a new one and Apple is blowing the old units out of their inventory
• unused units returned from a dealer or major direct customer as overstock or in a negotiated exchange for a newer model.

My first refurb certainly fell in the later group and I was given the history on it. It was one of 31 identical G3 PowerMacs that had special-order A/V cards, ZIP 100 drives, and upgraded VRAM. A big corporate purchaser bought a bunch of these and still had some that were not yet deployed and in the boxes when the next model came out. They negotiated an exchange of all the unopened units for the newer model.

The first refurb I bought came with only a 90-day warranty. However, the other three had the same warranty as a new Mac and qualified for AppleCare.

I say go for it!

wow, wasn't even aware that apple did this sort of stuff!! *searches for refurbs.

TheSmokeMonster wrote:

wow, wasn't even aware that apple did this sort of stuff!! *searches for refurbs.

Main page of Apple Store, left hand side, near bottom. 😉 It really can be a great deal if there's a model there you were going to buy new (selection is definitely limited, more so on some models than others for some reason).

tjk wrote:

Info I got from an Apple employee who works with refurbs is that "the slightly used" units are a small minority. Most are:

• a model that was just superseded by a new one and Apple is blowing the old units out of their inventory
• unused units returned from a dealer or major direct customer as overstock or in a negotiated exchange for a newer model.

Cloesouts, exchanges, returns, overstocks are not "refurbished" in the definition aspect.

But I guess upon required inspection they become "used" in the sense the factory seal has been broken.

If Apple has to inspect these machines, means it's been out of their control, thus there is a element of risk involved compared to ones not out of their control.

The risk to the buyer is certainly reduced as not all "refurbs" are actually "broken" machines and required repairs, are more of a mix of odd status machines which their history or premature wear is perhaps not actually determined.

How would one know if the refurb they got wasn't bounced across half of India on a pickup truck on a pot hole filled road?

Or offloaded by a bunch of lazy workers in a semi who decide just to slide the boxes out the back?

Or subjected to extreme heat, cold or shock which ruins hard drives and sensitive electronics that won't show up on the tests because the machine works just fine at at time, only to die a year and a day later?

At least with a "new machine" I know it's been under Apple's control from the factory, they have a very big interest to make sure their product arrives intact, with little costly problems later on.

My original argument still stands, it's less risk buying a new machine than a refurb, and if your going to buy one and take the added risk and uncertainly factor, to make sure it doesn't cost one more in personal effort and funds than they are appearing to be saving.

ds store wrote:

tjk wrote:

Info I got from an Apple employee who works with refurbs is that "the slightly used" units are a small minority. Most are:

• a model that was just superseded by a new one and Apple is blowing the old units out of their inventory
• unused units returned from a dealer or major direct customer as overstock or in a negotiated exchange for a newer model.

Cloesouts, exchanges, returns, overstocks are not "refurbished" in the definition aspect.

But I guess upon required inspection they become "used" in the sense the factory seal has been broken.

If Apple has to inspect these machines, means it's been out of their control, thus there is a element of risk involved compared to ones not out of their control.

The risk to the buyer is certainly reduced as not all "refurbs" are actually "broken" machines and required repairs, are more of a mix of odd status machines which their history or premature wear is perhaps not actually determined.

How would one know if the refurb they got wasn't bounced across half of India on a pickup truck on a pot hole filled road?

Or offloaded by a bunch of lazy workers in a semi who decide just to slide the boxes out the back?

Or subjected to extreme heat, cold or shock which ruins hard drives and sensitive electronics that won't show up on the tests because the machine works just fine at at time, only to die a year and a day later?

At least with a "new machine" I know it's been under Apple's control from the factory, they have a very big interest to make sure their product arrives intact, with little costly problems later on.

My original argument still stands, it's less risk buying a new machine than a refurb, and if your going to buy one and take the added risk and uncertainly factor, to make sure it doesn't cost one more in personal effort and funds than they are appearing to be saving.

Ok, you're right. 😉

tjk wrote:

Ok, you're right. 😉

20 something years of using Mac's, having them delivered abused, reading horror stories how people had theirs arrive broken and had to ship them back, I know I'm right.

I go to a Apple Store and buy my machines, test them in a hotel room over night while on vacation in the area and if they stand my rigorous test, they go home with me and last 5-7 years with little problems.

(yes I seatbelt in my precious down too, in case I get into a fender bender)

Another thing to watchout for, is Apple firmware and OS updates, like EFI 2.2 and Lion, lab rats all of you. 😉

https://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/apple-ships-mammoth-security-update-101311

I purchassed a 2008 model MBP and also purchased the 3 year Applecare warrantee. My MBP experienced

seeral thousand dollars of hardware failures including several logic board replacements.

There's absolutely no assurance that a refurb will be trouble free.

ergotoo wrote:

There's absolutely no assurance that a refurb will be trouble free.

Or that a new MBP will. That's why both are sold with warranties. (Exactly the same warranties.)

to ergotoo:

There's no assurance that a "factory sealed" brand spanking new MBP's won't develop problems upon receipt that's endemic in systems of any sort.

Hard Drive life span is technically referred to as MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure). Mean is called average (as an aside reminds me of the joke that if a person has one of it's feet in a bucket of boiling water and the other foot in a bucket of ice water, he will on the average be comfortable LOL but I digress...)

Anyhoo...MTBF is usually >=5K hours...but guess what folks, some drives don't last a week where others last > than 5 years.( I personally don't go beyond 3 years: don't care if SMART says drive is "no problem")

So testing them in a lab or motel room is little assurance they'll last or any other component as far as that's concerned. Your MBP is eventually doomed and not for lack of OS upgrades. Thats what systems theory is all about: entropy which is decline/decay. Take a human: entropy eventually gets ya! You me we all age and decline in function: I have three university degrees...doesn't mean **** entropy will get me eventually

Don't you think Steve Jobs would possibly have given a $ 1billion to spend one extra day on terra firma and spend it with his four children and wife. ( iSad about Steve's passing knew him but not real well...)

So all systems will "experience" entropy. And regardless of a factory fresh MBP or a refurb you're talking probability of failure or entropy is a reality. Remember life (and the longevity of our MBP)is what happens when ywe plan something elseand for my recommendation for your consideration is to get AppleCare which is available on the MBP whether new or refurb. You all know the concept of life insurance: apply it to your MBP.

Let 'er rip and...

cheers

Sooo

Absolutely i just bought the refurbished 13" macbook pro (non retina display) and i you put it next too a new one theres no way to tell its not brand new, looks or functionality the only difference is the box they give you.

youre talking to a post thats 3 years old.

I just went through **** with this. Bought a rfurb 15 inch mac book pro early 2013 model. When there was a probelm, applecare had me take it to a store to test and they found harware problem and it needed a new logic board. Returned/exchanged for another which didn't work again and right out of the box--again with the same issue! Even though I was told that this was, "as likely as getting struck by lightning twice," by apple care, after hours and hours on the phone and me being out all my time spent on this I figured apple would take care of it and replace it with brand new since it is their obvious hardware issue. Right? Wrong. I was offerred a lesser speed new machine and since it retails at $430 more than what had already paid, they wanted me to pay more for it, but offerred me $100 off. Forget it. I've wasted the better part of a month with trying to get set-up on a new machine twice so far now and they aren't willing to fix the issue. I've had it. Returned for full refund and don't know what I'm going to buy now. I can't believe this is where their customer service has devolved to. Really disapointed.

I disagree with you. When you buy a refurbished Apple product you are not taking any more of a chance than if you buy brand new. There are many cases of people who buy brand new Apple products only to have a problem same as people who buy refurbished. There are a few reasons why a refurbished Ipad or macbook pro etc may be sold as such.

1)item is returned because buyer changed their mind

2)Item was faulty

3)item was swapped for another newer model

4)Bulk purchaser such as retailer(Stormfront or Argos etc) needs to clear inventory to make way for new models so swaps

5)other reasons such as apple took item back for some reason

In any of the above Apple go over the item with a fine toothcomb. For instance I recently bought a refurbished Ipad Mini(1st gen) it should have cost £199 but i got it for £169. It being refurbished meant that Apple replaced the entire case with a brand new one and a brand new battery. they also go over the entire electronics to make sure that every part of the logic board etc passes various checks. I used to work for a firm that amongst other things made electronic circuit boards for car alarms. They went a very high degree of testing to ensure that every part was functioning. The same sort of equipment is used to check Apple items. They also give a 1 year warranty so that says everything you need to know.

most people do not buy refurbished because they are snobs they see it as beneath them. That somehow brand new is better and more superior. not always, though it can often be the way.

In this case I know that the standards of apple refurbished Items are as high as they can be and virtually brand new apple items.

so if you bought a brand new Apple item such as Ipad you would have a 1 year warranty(in the UK) same as if it was refurbished. So if it goes wrong either way your covered so why not buy refurbished and save yourself some money.

About a year less it lasts!

once a computer/ipad has issues, it's more prone to have reaccuring issues.