Reliability of refurbished Macs (#2): Most have no problems; Getting AppleCare; Hidden benefits (extra RAM, etc.)
Reliability of refurbished Macs (#2): Most have no problems; Getting AppleCare; Hidden benefits (extra RAM, etc.)
Our call for reports on the reliability of refurbished Macs last week brought hundreds of responses from mostly satisfied purchasers of the pre-owned or demo-usage systems.
No problems whatsoever Most readers who purchased refurbished Macs experienced no problems whatsoever, receiving machines that work just as well as new units that were purchased alongside.
MacFixIt reader Dan Finegan writs:
"I bought a refurnished eMac directly from Apple for my daughter in the summer of 2004. It has been completely bullet-proof through numerous moves, dorm life, etc. I recommend the Apple store refurbs to my friends."
Reader Leeann writes:
"I bought a 12" iBook G4/1.2 (late 2004) in August directly from Apple. Came with Panther iLife 04 installed, but Tiger and iLife 05 in the box. The upgrade installation went without a hitch. I've never had a single issue with it. It's been the perfect machine."
Another reader, Jacob, adds:
"We have purchased a number of refurbished units, approximately five. We have never had any type of problem and have always received excellent support through Apple Care. We would never buy new again. Thank God for refurbs."
Finally, Victor Gavenda writes:
"Two years ago I purchased a refurbished 17" PowerBook (1 GHz) from the Apple Store on the Web. It's worked great--no problems."
Getting AppleCare for refurbs Perhaps the most important add-on to any refurb purchase is the excellent AppleCare program, which will guarantee quick replacement of failed parts and front-of-the-line service in the case of any oddities.
In fact, in most cases you can purchase a refurbished machine and AppleCare coverage for less than the cost of a new machine alone.
MacFixIt reader Tom writes:
"I make all of the Computer Purchases for my small Cartographic Company. Over the past few years I have switched to buying almost all of our machines as Refurbished. So far, only one was a dud (G5 2ghzDP). All other machines (PowerMacs, Powerbooks, iMacs) have worked without a hitch. The best part is you can pick-up AppleCare and still come out as or under the price of a New machine. The one dud machine was a pain mostly because I was using a local shop. Once I took the problem to Apple, they swapped out the machine."
Scott Hander adds:
"I have been purchasing refurbished macs for my company for over a year now. Out of 15 refurbished machines, I have had no problems with any of them (a mix of eMacs and Mac Minis). The refurbished machines work well for my company since we have an IT department for our 40 deployed Macs, and I know what we are buying and the possible pitfalls. We always purchase AppleCare for our Macs (refurbished or new), so there is always that warranty just in case."
Units usually work flawlessly after repairs When refurbished units do fail, Apple is generally quick to replace or repair them under warranty, and the units usually function without issue thereafter.
MacFIxIt reader Howard Salberg writs:
"I bought a refurbished 12" iBook from the Apple Store. The keyboard didn't fit right and there was a loud crackling buzz from the right speaker. After waiting 4 hours at the Genius Bar I mailed it back to Apple. It was returned in 2 days with a replaced cover and seems to be working fine now."
Another reader adds:
"I have purchased several iBook G3 and G4s , iMac G3s, eMac G4s, and a PowerMac G4 from the online Apple Store. I have been very happy with all of them. The standard warranties apply whether you purchase direct from Apple or from an online reseller. One of the eMacs was DOA. But, a call to Apple quickly resulted in a replacement."
One more reader corroborates:
"I had only one problem initially with an iBook, which they addressed immediately by sending out a packing box via overnight service, repaired the unit and had it back to me within a week."
Hidden benefits in some cases (Extra RAM, etc.) In many cases, users boot their refurbished Macs for the first time to receive a welcome surprise: the presence of additional RAM or upgraded storage capacity over the stated specifications at the time of purchase.
Travis Grundke writes:
"I have a refurbished 15? 1.25ghz Aluminum PowerBook direct from Apple, purchased in December, 2003. The PowerBook came with 512mb of RAM via one DIMM (a welcome surprise, in lieu of two 256mb DIMMs) and has worked flawlessly since day one."
Problems with screens One of the biggest areas of problems for refurbished units with built in displays (iMacs, eMacs, PowerBooks, iBooks) concerns dead pixels or otherwise faulty screens.
MacFixIt reader Don writes:
"I have bought two Powerbook refurbs from Apple, an 867mHz 12-inch model and a 1.5 gHz 15-inch model. The 12 was heavily used (one of my everyday work computers) and was less than two years old when it began having problems with the display. It had the dreaded blue vertical line, indicating display cabling problems. It still runs, but is only used a couple of hours a week. I replaced it with a new 1.5 gHz PB 12-inch. The 15 is not heavily used, usually only five or six hours a week (church presentations and such). It is a little over a year old and is working quite well."
Brent Thompson also had screen issues:
"I bought a refurbished a 2005 17" 1.8 GHz iMac in November from the online Apple Store as a Christmas present for the family. When we started it for the first time on Christmas day there was a 2-pixel vertical purple line on the screen. I used the online Apple support chat and given a variety of hardware resets to try to no avail. I was given an Apple case number and took it to CompUSA on Monday. On New Year's Day I got a call the the iMac was fixed with a new LCD screen. The tech believed that the problem may have occurred during shipping. The iMac came in a refurb labeled box and not in the standard and sturdier iMac box. It has worked fine since the repair."
Media issues In some cases, there are minor quirks with refurbished machines, like a lack of working installation media:
Frank Marder writes:
"Have had it since September and it is working just fine. The only problem was bad recovery media which Apple has replaced. I have been buying refurbished Apple PowerBooks since the days of the PowerBook 165 and have never had a serious problem."
Component failures Inevitably, some refurbished units suffer from severe component failure, including malfunction of the logic board or other key parts. While the incidence rate may be slightly higher than brand new machines, repairs are usually quick (as aforementioned).
One reader writes:
"I bought a refurbished iBook a little under two years I ago (12inch, 800mhz G4). I've had to have the cd drive, hard drive and logic board replaced separately (not to mention the power cord). (And, of course, I bought this computer as a replacement for my G3 iBook with logic board failure--before they expanded the repair program.)"
Harge Robba adds:
"I purchased a refurb eMac. It refused to boot up upon plugging in. Apple sent me another one upon returning. No problems since."
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