Dell Refurbished?

[hawkeye81x]

Has anyone bought a refurb laptop from Dell?
Are these the ones that have the dead pixels?
Any ideas on the return policy on these refurbs?

-Eok

 

[chiwawa626]

Two of my uncles have bought Dell refurbished laptops, ive used both laptops a lot, no noticable diffrences between a refurbished and a new laptop to me. The displays seem just as good as a brand new one, and generaly the laptop feels brand new, not used. Knowing Dell you can assume its great quality. hmm, if that helps, "Dude your getting a dell!"

 

[bacillus]

I've got one.
the laptop you get may be completely unused because of cancelled order or one that was returned because of incorrect specification.
I think if you're in the US you have 30 days to reject it like a 'new' one but I could be wrong on this point.

 

[Format C:]

If you read the fine print on Dell's site they really don't have any such thing as "new". They reserve the right to sell you a computer built with used or refurbished components. From the experiences of the people that I know who have bought Dell's I'd say the majority of them are built that way. Only one has lasted much longer than the standard one year warranty without major trouble.

 

[Murphyrulez]

Originally posted by: Format C:
If you read the fine print on Dell's site they really don't have any such thing as "new". They reserve the right to sell you a computer built with used or refurbished components. From the experiences of the people that I know who have bought Dell's I'd say the majority of them are built that way. Only one has lasted much longer than the standard one year warranty without major trouble.

Can you quote this "fine print"?

I have had an Inspiron 8000 now for over a year without ANY problems.

Hmmm. I just bought two Dimension 4500's as well. (Thank you Hot Deals Forum. My wife wants to meet you.)

 

[Aceshigh]

Got my refurbished Dell Inspiron 2600 laptop a couple years ago. It really was like new. No problems at all then or since.

 

[vi edit]

I've purchased over $30,000 in refurbished products from dell in the last 2 years. Of that, $30k, I've bought about 10 laptops, 2 servers, and around 15 desktops.

The desktops have been flawless and the servers have been bulletproof. My only problems were with some of my inspiron 4000 series laptops. 4 out of 10 of them had to have the motherboards replaced. All with the same problems - video died. I attribute this more to just defective parts in general. Not because of them being refurbs.

I save $200 or more per machine ordering refurb vs. new. I also get my machines much quicker as well. Usually shipped out the day I place my order. At my doorstep within 3 days.

 

[AmigaMan]

Just chiming in to say I've bought a refurb laptop. A Latitude CSx about a year and a half ago. It's worked great and I put it through it's paces. I upgraded the memory to 256MB and do software development work on it. Mainly it's just Java, but a little C code as well. I also play games on it, but with only 2MB of video RAM, it's a little pokey. BG and BG 2 play fine on it though, as do Roller Coaster Tycoon, and the occasional game of solitaire
I do have one stuck pixel in an area that would probably bother some people, but I hardly notice it. It's been a great laptop and I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I had the money.

 

[RossMAN]

Depending on how much your budget is I would wait for the next big round of Dell promo's and buy new.

Which model were you looking at?
What kinda configuration do you want?
Price?

 

[hawkeye81x]

Thanks for the all the input.
It just was a pretty good one:
Inspiron 2650
16 MB Go Nvidia graphics
256MB RAM
DVD-ROM
P4-1700

I figured it was a returned one from the last round of promos.
It was being sold for $814 or something like that.
I think I should have pulled the trigger on it, but it was rather late and I didn't want to make
a decision without some AT input at 3:00 AM in the morning.

Though I'm generally looking for a budget laptop with half decent graphics to play DVDs and maybe games
(nothing that requires something like a 32MB Radeon 9000).

 

[RossMAN]

I don't really like the 2650 (prefer the lighter/faster 4150) but for what you want to do that's a GREAT PRICE. Plus you don't have to hassle with the $300 rebates everyone else did.

The refurb's at Dell change inventory by the minute, one minute you're checking out a GREAT deal, refresh, then it's gone.

I would only be concerned with dead pixels on a Dell refurb. So if you buy one, immediately boot it up, customize the OS (or re-install your own), then check for DEAD PIXELS using an application. I think refurb's have a 14 day return policy, not a 30 day ... so you still have a safeguard if you do not like the laptop.

 

[stev0]

Originally posted by: Format C:
If you read the fine print on Dell's site they really don't have any such thing as "new". They reserve the right to sell you a computer built with used or refurbished components. From the experiences of the people that I know who have bought Dell's I'd say the majority of them are built that way. Only one has lasted much longer than the standard one year warranty without major trouble.

yea... that dosen't seem right. a new computer built with refurb parts...? lets see this 'fine print'

 

[llc00ljoel]

yeah, the refurbs are great...they even smell new!

 

[ElFenix]

i think its illegal to sell refurbished parts as new.

 

[Format C:]

Dell Computer Corporation ("Dell") manufactures its hardware products from parts and components that are new or equivalent to new...(emphasis added)

Seems pretty clear to me. If all parts were new there would be absolutely no need for an "or" now would there?

And if you buy that "brand new" machine and need it repaired/replaced under warranty, or otherwise, then you've got this to look forward to...

Dell uses new and reconditioned parts made by various manufacturers in performing limited warranty repairs and building replacement products. (emphasis added)

I don't know how much clearer it can get than black & white. Here's the link. Read it for yourself.