Refurbished Notebook
 

I am looking for a new notebook and came across a refurbished avertec from tigerdirect for at least 35% less than if new. As a refurbished unit it only comes with a 3 mos warranty instead of 12.

Are refurbished computers huge risks or are they a great way to save some $$.

Anyone have any experience with buying refurbished?

Merci.

I haven't been buying Dells for a couple of years, but we bought a number of refurbished Dells prior to that and had no problems with them. I believe we purchased the longer warranty and may have had a floppy go, but generally, they were equivalent in reliability to new computers. Don't know how Averatec refurbishes theirs though.

Don't know about them, but we've had great luck with refubished Dells, which you can typically get with a three year warranty, so all you are really doing is buying a slightly older model (if at all).

Steve

I got a refurb Apple G4 PowerBook last month because, for a bunch of reasons not worth going into here, I didn't want to switch to the newer Intel-based models after an FA spilled milk on my old one. (Details in the AA forum; suffice it to say that they paid with no pushback and no hassle.) Has a one-year warranty, same as a new one. No way of telling it from new when I unpacked it. (My previous one, quite similar, was purchased new, so I knew what I was comparing it with.) So far, after about a month, no problems.

Need more information on the notebook. I bought a brand new Acer laptop for <$500 since I wanted a photo storage and editing device that I could drop overboard without too much pain. It was a Circuit City web special. Celeron based. Heavy, but cheap and practical.

You could get a peach, or end up with a lemon. Many of the "refurbs" are just returns where the customer changed their mind for some reason. They clean them up, repack and you get a brand new computer (or whatever) for less. But in some cases they are returns where there were real issues with the product, and the "refurb" might still not be much more than new packaging. Even if a repair was made, it might be a case of getting what (or less) than you paid for.

No way.

For one thing, you don't know how much usage for the hard drive. They are all destined to conk out after a certain number of boot-ups, though the # varies widely. But why buy unknown mileage just to save a few bucks, particularly if the warranty period is short?

I'd do a refurb, just not one from Tigerdirect.

In fact, I wouldn't even buy a NEW notebook from them.

I got a refurb'd Thinkpad on eBay. Didn't go into standby for some reason (and I suspect it's the reason it was returned).

Solved the problem by reformatting and magically it worked! No problems at all w/ the laptop, and wouldn't hesistate to get another New-Refurb'd one after this experience.

I estimate i saved ~500 on the list price for an identical Thinkpad.

Why not tigerdirect? I have never used them and they have some pretty good prices. Bad service or bad product?

Also I think I will bypass on the model I was looking at, it is not getting great reviews. Only receiving between 3 & 3.5 out of 5.0. For a notebook that doesn't strike me as great.

They used to have some issues with customer service. I haven't heard anything recently but i remember several computer magazines rating them as "terrible" for customer service. I'm not sure if they cleaned up their act or not. You have to look at what they do, sell huge volumes of cheap computers. There's bound to be trouble but the chances are probably slim that it'll be your computer...

As far as buying refurb... tossup. Laptops can have problems brand new out of the box. I personally wouldn't buy a refurb laptop. Desktop, anytime though.

I recommend that you check out Dell's Outlet Store . They have three types of computers there.

Certified Refurbished
Fully refurbished, visually inspected or retested, and repackaged to meet original factory specifications

Previously Ordered New
Never used, cancelled orders, or returned systems that were never fully booted. Systems tested by Dell Outlet.

Scratch & Dent
Systems with cosmetic blemishes that do not impact performance. Includes standard limited warranty.

The Previously Ordered New systems are generally in the area of 25% off and you don't have to worry about someone already using that computer. There are some fabulous systems available there depending on when you check for inventory as they sell as fast as they arrive.

Thanks for the Dell tip but I am an AMD fan; from what I can see they only use Intel.

Unless its a significant price difference (in terms of $$ not % )
I wouldnt go with a refurb one....

^ to AMD. they are greener(energy efficient) compared to Intels.

I have had very nice luck with computer refurbs. I bought one (new) item from tigerdirect and had a problem outta the box. It took about 10 phone calls and 10 emails to tigerdirect get it returned and most of my money back. They aint got an single order from me since then. Same crappy customer service to others I know. Bottom line, refurbs are ok but never buy anything from tigerdirect.

MisterNice