Has anyone bought or had experience with a refurbished computer?

Question

If so, what kind was it and how did it work out for you, thanks....

Answer 1

I have bought a "refurb" from http://www.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh (dell outlet)

I used to work at Dell. I know that many of the "refurbs" are actually returns. Business with orders for Dell "SWAG" how many and what type of systems they want. Went they have overage or a bad quarter and can't accept the order, Dell can be left with them.

I had known the employees that were there; I know their procedures. I knew all systems that go to the Outlet are just system that were Quality Controlled twice and often are outfitted better than the "Screaming Advertisement" Buys (i.e., this way you can get a system with MS Office, Office Pro, etc...at about the same price as or lower than the Ad System without any of custom high-end extras a business might have ordered). Better system at a discounted price, checked twice for naughy or nice, same warranty?

Note: Dell now separates out those that were Previously ordered new, Certified Refurbished, Scratch and Dent and Off Lease. Previously ordered new would be the main ones to focus on from dell outlet.

Answer 2

I haven't bought one but I have worked on two that friends bought. One was a H.P. and was very good except they never gave him the system disk. The other was a Dell and a pile of junk. Whoever did the so called refurbishing didn't do anything but clean the outside of the tower. The hard drive was bad, and the CD drive didn't work. It is kind of like buying a used car. Just how bad were they when they were turned in and how well did the people refurbish them. If you can get them to offer a warranty, by all means do so.

Ron

Answer 3

I've never had luck with refurbs when it comes to computers. The whole problem is not knowing why it's refurbed. If it just had a cracked case then I'd buy it, but if it were a return because it was malfunctioning I wouldn't. To be quite honest, it's not worth it for the little bit of money you'll save.

Answer 4

want to buy a refub?
i advice you buy a branded refub.i mean one with a brand name e.g.compaq,gateway,ibm,fujitsu siemens,toshiba,dell etc.
Never buy a clone please.branded machines are easy to troubleshoot.they work well.infact a branded pentium 3 computer new or refub works better than a clone p4.