Did I do the right thing? New vs Refurbished

I just purchased my first Mac and I am worried whether I did the right thing or not. I'm a returning college student on my own dime. I'm trying to stretch my dollar in a smart way.

I went back and forth over whether to buy a refurbished MacBook Pro or the new MacBook Pro.

I found a refurbished 15" MacBook Pro for $1,449. 2.53 Ghz, 4GB RAM, 320 GM Hard drive. 512 MB Video. As I understand it, this is the same aluminum MacBook Pro that was introduced back in the Fall. Obviously, it does not have the new 8 hour battery or the SD card slot. (I did purchase a Belkin Expresscard adapter for the laptop for 39.00). This price is $1,000 off what the previous new price was and I am buying it through Apple.com. Am I wrong to think it is the same thing as the current model, but I have the ability to replace the battery?

Did I do the right thing? Should I have bought the new MacBook Pro instead? I don't even have it yet. They are shipping it. I would have asked you sooner, but I just stumbled on this site.

College student making your own way. I think you did good.

Your new machine at $1449 has the:
Same CPU as in the current $1699 model.
Same hard drive as in the $1999 model
Same graphics card as in the $2299 model.

You can replace the battery yourself for $100 and even carry a backup battery with you.
Haven't seen what it's going to cost to have Apple replace the battery in the new 15" models, but the 17" is $250.

I give you 2 thumbs up for a wise decision.

All but one of my macs are refurbs and they have all been great. Actually just got the mac mini a month ago and just yesterday ordered the first of the new refurb imacs to replace the year old one I sold for $1300

good choice on the refurbished. i just got my refurbished MBP, and i agree with bobtomay about the battery. i like having the option to replace or even carry a second batt with me should i need it. you made a great decision.

bobtomay said:

College student making your own way. I think you did good.

Your new machine at $1449 has the:
Same CPU as in the current $1699 model.
Same hard drive as in the $1999 model
Same graphics card as in the $2299 model.

You can replace the battery yourself for $100 and even carry a backup battery with you.
Haven't seen what it's going to cost to have Apple replace the battery in the new 15" models, but the 17" is $250.

I give you 2 thumbs up for a wise decision.

Click to expand...

I'ma have to back him up on this, you did good.

Thank you to all of you for making me feel better about my decision. I saved enough money to buy a new PC, but I'd had my eye on a MacBook Pro for a long time and wanted to make the leap.

Heck, 2 weeks ago the same computer was $2,499 new or 1,999 refurbished, so when they dropped it to $1,449, I was doing back flips.

I know I can buy new with the academic discount, but it's still a net of $500.00 more. I know I could get $100 toward a new printer or an iPod Touch, but I don't need a new iTouch or printer. You're still spending more money because you have to buy the printer and iTouch and get reimbursed later, ya know? I'd really rather have a new iPhone with the difference and still have money left over. LOL. (We'll see.)

Thank you guys again. I hope I don't ask too many dopey questions as I'm coming up the learning curve. I'm really, really excited about learning to do new things, especially doing video like Youtube, podcasting and some music. Of course, I need the computer for papers for school, too, but I'm really looking forward to the fun stuff!

I completely agree with the rest of the people that you made the right decision. Just don't worry and be happy with you've got and yes its a good deal. Best of luck and I'm also switched to a Mac one month ago so I can very well imagine your excitement and trust me with Mac, you just don't get bored at all. You learn a lot literally on a daily basis and when you have to do some serious work, its just so much more fun