What are the cons of buying a refurbished laptop?

[DietDrThunder]

I found this DELL Laptop Precision M4600 Intel Core i7 2860QM (2.50 GHz) 16 GB Memory 256 GB SSD 15.6" Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit on NewEgg for $479.99, and I would like your opinions.

Here are the specs:

Model M4600
Part Number NE5-0902
CPU Type Intel Core i7 CPU Speed 2860QM (2.50 GHz)
Display Screen Size 15.6"
Operating System Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit
Hard Drives - SSD 256 GB
Memory 16 GB
Optical Drive Type DVDRW

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834298450

 

[JWade]

I have bought countless refurbished Dell's from delloutlet.com and never had any problems. if you buy from delloutlet.com they come with the same warranty as new ones from dell. also they currently have some coupon codes for up to 40% off some models

as far as buying refurbished from some other retailer other than the manufacturer I don't have much experience, that M4600 seems really good for the money to me

 

[corkyg]

Agree with JWade, but would add the following caveat. A lot depends on who does the refurb.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

A lot depends on who does the refurb.

This.

I've been very fortunate with a number of refurbed laptops though, and generally shop factory-refurb and store-returned hardware instead of new if I can.

 

[EXCellR8]

i own a couple factory reconditioned laptops and they both work great. they aren't very high end but i definitely saved some money still.

 

[holden j caufield]

I bought more than a few dozen for my relative's business, a lot of them traveling users. This was the thinkpad t420, x220, and w520. Rock solid, some looked brand new, zero wear on the keyboard.

That series was well priced after the t430 and t440 series (yuck) came out. Never had any real problems with them but for the guys on the road for sales all the time on the east coast I bought them onsite warranty upgrade which lenovo let us upgrade to afterwards.

I've had the dell 4600, w520, HP elitebook 8560w all very comparable and the thinkpads from that generation are by far the best to work on after warranty expired. The ones in the warehouse sometimes need to be cleaned and ibm hardware maintenance manual is the most detailed. Super easy to clean out the fan and put in new thermal paste, upgrade ram, add drives etc.

Ordered them new yoga's (not my idea as the 20 series does everything the new yoga's and the t440/t450 are capable of, the new ones are trash imo). I keep telling people touchscreen is not needed for a work environment and I've seen more cracked touchscreens than should be.

 

[Blain]

What are the cons of buying a refurbished laptop?

* That a defect wasn't discovered in the refurb process.

What are the cons of buying a NEW laptop?
* That a defect wasn't discovered in the manufacturing process.

 

[Blue_Max]

It's all in the return/warranty policies. Whether new or refurbished, being able to quickly and easily get it replaced is key.

Dell refurb's official site gets a thumbs-up from many users I've known, same as Apple.