Looking for a MBP ASAP !

Looking to replace a 15" 2011 MBP that died a slow death (GPU failure). Need to look at refurbished, open box, scratch & dent as new, at this time is not in the budget. Need my mac for job search (just recently laid off)
Had some suggestions from the forum to look into Expreimac, B&H Photo, Amazon, Ebay and craigs list. Will do this on Monday afternoon.
Question: Has anyone had any experience with purchasing Apple products from Groupon. A friend suggested I look into and found the following. Do these deals look worth pursuing ?
MacBook Pro 13.3” Laptop (2012) (Refurbished A-Grade)
Product number: MD102LL/A
Operating system: High Sierra
Year manufactured: 2012
Screen: 13.3” LED-backlit widescreen TFT active-matrix glossy display
Resolution: 1280x800
Processor: 2.9GHz Intel Core i7-3520M dual-core
Graphics processor: Intel HD Graphics 4000
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 750GB hard drive
Optical drive: 8X DL SuperDrive
Webcam: iSight video camera
Audio: built-in stereo speakers
WiFi: built-in AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth: 4.0
Ports: 2 USB 3.0, Thunderbolt, FireWire 800, mini DisplayPort
Weight: 5lb.
Product dimensions: 8.94”x12.78”x0.95”
Condition: refurbished (A-grade)
90-day warranty from Certified Preloved....$709

OR

Apple MacBook Pro 13.3” Laptop (Refurbished A-Grade)
Product number: MD101LL/A
Screen: 13.3” widescreen display
Resolution: 1280x800
Processor: 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 dual-core
Graphics processor: Intel HD Graphics 4000
RAM: 4GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
Storage: 500GB hard drive
Memory-card slot: SDXC
Webcam: yes
WiFi: 802.11a/b/g/n
Bluetooth: 4.0
Ports: 1 Thunderbolt, 2 USB 3.0, 1 Firewire
Battery: 63.5Wh lithium-polymer
Battery life: up to 7 hours
Weight: 4.5lb.
Product dimensions: 12.78”x8.94”x0.95”
For full specifications, consult Apple’s website
Condition: refurbished (A-grade)
90-day parts-and-labor warranty. For warranty information, contact Customer support.....$429

and last but not least

Apple MacBook Pro 15.4” Laptop (Refurbished A-Grade)
Product number: MD104LL/A
Operating system: High Sierra
Screen: 15.4” LED-backlit widescreen TFT active matrix glossy display
Resolution: 1440x900
Processor: 2.6GHz Intel Core i7-3720qm quad-core
Graphics processor: integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 and NVIDIA GeForce GT 650m with 1GB of dedicated GDDR5 memory
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 750GB SATA hard drive
Optical drive: 8x DL SuperDrive
Webcam: iSight video camera
Audio: built-in stereo speakers
WiFi: yes
Bluetooth: 4.0
Ports: 2 USB 3.0, 1 Thunderbolt, 1 FireWire 800, 1 Ethernet, 1 Mini-DisplayPort
Weight: 6lb.
Product dimensions: 9.82” (L) x 14.35” (W) x 0.95” (H)
Condition: Refurbished A-Grade
For full specifications, consult Apple’s website
90-day warranty from Certified Preloved

FYI..I will still have my 500 GB Samsung EVO SSD and 8 GB ram from my expired (rest in peace) MBP

Refurbished from Apple (and possibly some third party vendors) is different than what others suggest. Refurbs from Apple get the one year AppleCare like new machines and you can add 2 more years after that. Additionally, refurbs are only a year or two old at most. Once you find machines from 2012 or whatever, they might be marked at refurbished but do not carry any of the warranty that actual Apple refurbs do.

This is important since if those machines fail with a logicboard issue (and being old enough, they might), that'll easily run you what you paid for the machine itself.

If this is not going to be your long term machine (just need for the job search) then you might want to spend as little as possible to get something to get you through the process and then invest the money to purchase the machine that will last you for a few years.

Thank you all for the advice during my given situation. It has been much appreciated. Looking into the Apple refurbished deals. Realize that third party vendors are not that reliable in terms of model years offered (most are pre 2015) and warranties. Saw a refurbished late 2017 13" MBP on Apple store for $1260.
Retina display / 2.3GHz dual-cor intel Core i5 / 8GB 2133Mhz LPDR3 onboard memory / 256GB PCLe-based onboard SSD / Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640.
Can have it delivered to Delaware to avoid sales tax. Can also get Federal employee and/or student discount as well. Places like B&H and Experimac were all in the general neighborhood cost wise for the same type machine. May be worth the peace of mind to go Apple store route.
This machine will be handling major job search, email, Office work (excel, word & power point), other searches and so on.
No gaming or photo/music editing. With that being said, might a mac air be more reasonable choice than a MBP since they are considerably cheaper in price options.
Appreciate all insight and suggestions.

Just read about the butterfly keyboard issue in another thread...I guess I should maybe rethink the purchase of a refurbished late 2017 13" MBP on Apple store for $1260.
Just can't seem to catch a break in this new year !!

WW4B said:

Just read about the butterfly keyboard issue in another thread...

Click to expand...

It's a highly personal thing. I have a fleet of MacBook Airs for my office that I've been putting off replacing because I've hated all Mac laptop keyboards for the past few years and I'm hoping that they get better sometime soon. I tried the keyboard in the very latest MacBook Air...and it IS better, but just okay. I could force myself to get used to it, but I don't want to have to.

On the other hand, many users in my Mac user group have quickly gotten used to the butterfly keyboards on their various MacBooks, and they have no problem with them at all.

So...all that I can suggest is that you drop by an Apple Store, if one is available to you, or anyplace else that carries MacBooks, and play with one and see how you feel about the keyboard yourself.

I don't expect that I will have an issue getting used to the new butterfly keyboard, my issue is in purchasing a replacement for my dead 2011 MBP. The replacement laptop I was looking into was a 2017 13"MBP that falls in an earlier post concerning possible keyboard issues. Would hate to purchase the 2017 MBP only to have it come up with the keyboard issue. I guess, before purchasing it from the Apple store I could inquire about the possibility of a keyboard malfunction as noted in todays earlier post for the "butterfly effect".
The keyboard issue was the main reason I mentioned the mac book air. But if the MB air uses the same butterfly keyboard than I guess the point is mute.
Given my future usage for this machine as noted in my earlier posts would you lean towards the Pro or Air given that they both use the same keyboard.
Would appreciate your and the forums thoughts !

WW4B said:

Given my future usage for this machine as noted in my earlier posts would you lean towards the Pro or Air given that they both use the same keyboard.

Click to expand...

Even the slowest Macintosh that you can find made within the last 5 years or so can do just about anything that you ask of it with aplomb. The only exception might be if you did 3D modeling, video editing, or used Photoshop with a lot of plug-ins. You can never have too much power or too many resources for these.

Given that the MB Air is cheaper and lighter to carry, it was a no-brainer to get a bunch of them for my office the last time that I was shopping. Even the lower-spec display (than the MBP) looked wonderful.

However, you should also look at the number and type of ports of any model you are looking at, to see if they will be adequate for your needs. And, of course, you have to consider the keyboard.

Update...At the suggestion of forum members who replied to this post I have looked into and visited the Cherry Hill, NJ Experimax since they are 5 minutes away from my dentist. A customer bought a new laptop and had traded in a 2016 13" MBP that very same morning. The machine and screen do not have a scratch or blemish on it. The store was in the process of getting it ready to display on the sales floor.
2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
8 GB 1867 MHz LPDDR3
256 GB SSD
Intel Iris Graphics 540 1536 MB
Retina Display
Two Thunderbolt 3 Ports
Space Grey
1 year warranty
Paid $800 for the machine which included the power cord, dongle and migration of my SSD to the new machine.
All is done and the machine operates flawlessly !
How did I do ?
Will now need to adjust to the new keyboard !!

I think you did well. I have not priced that machine, but that seems a fine price to pay for that system. It should do what you need it to do as you look for a new position.

WW4B said:

A customer bought a new laptop and had traded in a 2016 13" MBP that very same morning.

2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
Intel Iris Graphics 540 1536 MB

Click to expand...

Are you super sure on the 2.3 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU & Intel Iris Graphics 540 GPU combo.? From what I'm seeing...there wasn't a 2016 13" 2.3ghz i5 CPU MacBook Pro.

- NIck

Nice price! I will point out the 2016 MBP has the potential keyboard issues. I suggest using a keyboard cover to prevent issues from dust.

Lisa

Sorry Nick, it is 2.0 GHz. Typo error and brain freeze. Had it narrowed down between the 2.0 which I bought or a 2017 2.3 GHz from Apple store ($1260 with discounts applied).
Opted for the 2.0 to save some cash and should cover my needs given my current situation.
Also, thanks for the reminder about the potential keyboard issue. Both machines I considered fell under the keyboard issue anyway.
Couldn't bring myself to purchase an older model from some sites sight unseen !

WW4B said:

Sorry Nick, it is 2.0 GHz. Typo error and brain freeze. Had it narrowed down between the 2.0 which I bought or a 2017 2.3 GHz from Apple store ($1260 with discounts applied).

Click to expand...

No problamo...just wanted to be sure it actually was a 2016 model.

Also wanted to mention (not that it helps so much now since you purchased something)...in the Apple Refurb area there's a 2017 13" 2.3ghz MacBook Pro for $1099. Downside is it has a pretty small 128gig SSD.

Congrats on the new computer.

- Nick

Thanks. Yeah, I saw the 128 gig SSD as well. But like you mentioned the SSD was smaller than what I was looking for. Anticipate using this MBP for quite some time and needed the larger SSD.
$$ trumped the newer model year and smaller SSD as well as the 256 gig & 2.3 for $1269 they had as well. Would have liked the faster 2.3 processor but for my needs (no video/photo editing & gaming) the 2.0 will serve my needs. For what I need the MBP for I doubt very much I would or will have ever noticed the difference in the two processors. Regardless the 2.0 is faster and a much needed upgrade over my old gpu failed 2011 15" MBP. Actually I might consider, when things improve to have the 2011 repaired. Experimac quotes they can repair the 2011 for $300. Might take them up on it or since I now have a replacement or may read up on the repair from IFIXIT and temp it myself. No better way to learn more....right !
All goes well I can then use the 2011 as a replacement for a very old desktop PC that we have in our back room.
FYI, Experimac also threw in a dongle adapter as well to connect via USB and HDMI.