New vs. Refurbished

First off, I am new to this forum, and reading all the good advice mac users have for others makes my choice to switch over very easy!

So, I have decided to buy an 24" 2.8ghz imac. What I am struggling over is whether or not I should buy the refurbished version off the mac web site. The guy at Apple Sales Line told me that they are mostly just computers people didn't like and returned, and none of them had had been through any extensive use. On the other hand, The apple tech at my local Best Buy (Chicago North Ave.) mentioned that a lot of them are computers that have been returned from a college lease program, and could have been used for as much as a year.

Does anyone have personal experience, or understanding of what a refurbed computer really is?

Thank you so much for your help.

the person who started http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97130 appears to be really happy with their refurb. A lot of people on this forum have gotten the Refurb models, and i have not read one complaint so far. By the way< i just bought a new 24" 2.8 ghz, 500 GB Hard Drive, 2gb ram and it is great! good luck with whatever you choose. either way, i'm sure you will be happy.

Well I would go with refurb there cheaper come with same warranty with the left over money you could put it to some apps.