Can I buy a refurbished Macbook Pro?

Hello,

I am looking to buy a MBP and I see that there are pretty nice offers in the refurbished store.

I live in Bermuda and am travelling to NY in the end of April. i would be able to pick up the mbp at somebody's house, but because my trip is only a few days long, i couldnt return it.

How likely is it that the refurbished products are damaged? I dont care about scratches and stuff, but I mean errors that can be really annoying.

Do you think I could order a refurbished product or shall I spend the extra bucks on a new one.

refurbs are really good. the most you get is a couple scratches from what I can tell. if you have any errors you could just reformat.

I've heard cases where people got a product more damaged than they were expecting and Apple switched it out for something in better condition. That's helps if you're worried about getting something beat up. Even if you won't be in town long, there's always a chance they could just ship it to you if it isn't good.

Your problem is you don't have the time to mess around. If you buy from a store you can start testing it right there in the store. Sometimes stores have returns that they sell for a slight discount so you can ask a sales rep about that.

I've bought two refurbs. The first was a G4 tower that has been perfect. In November I bought a Macbook Pro Core Duo (previous model). I first had it fixed for a video flicker problem. Got it back and noticed the LCD had many non working pixels in blotches. When I got it back from the fix, the lid release didn't work. This isn't normal, but turn around time must be considered. Also note, that I was told that if I wanted to return it, I had to deal with the online store. The Apple store would not perform that transaction.

My friend got a refurbished macbook and about a week after he got it one of the speakers started going out.

refurbished macs are covered under the same warranties as brand new ones. if you experience problems you can call apple and have it fixed if it's still within your first year. i have a refurbished mbp and bought the APP just incase. i haven't had any problems and don't have one scratch on mine!

Mine has been running great for over a month!

BethanyLieb said:

refurbished macs are covered under the same warranties as brand new ones. if you experience problems you can call apple and have it fixed if it's still within your first year. i have a refurbished mbp and bought the APP just incase. i haven't had any problems and don't have one scratch on mine!

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Same here. The term refurbished implies that the machine has been serviced to be in "like new" condition, but there are always a few bad apples (excuse the pun). If there was a problem with the machine, you would have to coordinate with Apple to have them ship you another in Bermuda. I'm not sure whether the warranty is transferable to other countries, so you might want to check on that before you make your purchase.

BTW, Bermuda is absolutely beautiful - I hope to get back there someday. My wife and I were married aboard a cruise ship in Bermuda almost 5 years ago.

I bought a refurb Macbook Pro 15" a few months ago. So far its been running great. However there is always the slight chance that there may be a defect. You might be better off buying in the store so that you can start it up and make sure its 100% correct and not have to worry about needing to send for a replacement