Refurbished logic boards used to repair?

I have a 17 inch MacBook Pro. Out of the box the head phone jack did not work. Within one year the logic board had to be replaced on it. Recently it started to slow way down even with only one web page open, was slow to reboot, stopped recognizing the battery. I have some Applecare left and took it in with myriad problems for repair. I was told at that time that maybe when the brand new one year old logic board had to be replaced it was replaced with a refurbished one. That's something I wasn't told at the time and would not have liked one bit. I spent 3500 dollars on that machine and it has had problems from day one.

It's in for repair again as I said. With only a little Apple care left on it imagine my surprise finding out my one year old machine that needed a new logic board might have had a refurbished one placed in it without my knowledge. Don't tell me they are tested and retested. They aren't NEW and I paid a premium for this machine. I paid that much expecting this machine to last the same six years my previous MUCH cheaper windows computers lasted. None of those had to go in for any repairs I might add.

3500 dollars for a used machine basically if I got a used logic board. And to top that off I asked the repair person "How could I tell?" he replied "You couldn't, there's no way to know." Really? So 3500 dollars for a used machine?

Soon there won't even be support for the 17 inch machines on or off Apple care. Had I known that I probably wouldn't have got the larger one to begin with which is just another issue I have with Apple.

Repair people have all been quick to respond and professional however, I think the practices I've experienced were not worth the premium cost. The reason people opt to spend that much on a laptop is they want a work horse that is RELIABLE. My laptop has been sketchy from the very beginning. Repair person advised me if it were him he'd sell it and buy a 15 inch Retina display MacBook Pro. No kidding!! And that's exactly the scenario I wanted to avoid by switching to Apple.

I have tried to work with the repair persons and when the logic board failed after one year I took the replacement without too much fuss. I didn't make a huge fuss when the headphone jack was faulty out of the box either but, this last crash is a bridge too far. I think I should have been offered a new machine a while ago and if I had known back then that my one year old machine might have had a refurbished logic board put in it I would have been more insistent.

My laptop is still in the shop so I'm typing this on a tablet. I can't afford to fork out that kind of money for a machine that has this many issues from day one and then have to turn around and get a new machine anyway.

All in all? I preferred the OS, track pad, and ease of operating when it worked but, was it worth 3500 dollars and switching to Apple for that kind of money? Sadly, no I don't think it was and I wouldn't do it again. Fool me once. Buyer beware. I think Apple has an obligation to tell customers upfront if their brand new machine gets a logic board replaced it might not be "brand new" when you get it back. Otherwise it's pretty underhanded. I would NOT have accepted a used logic board for what I paid for that machine and frankly even if I had no laptop that costs that much should have had to go in for this many repairs to begin with.