Community Newsletter: Q&A: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers
- 2/29/08 3:23 PM
Opinions on refurbished or "recertified" PCs
by mparegian - 2/22/08 8:02 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Julianne: My experience with purchasing a refurbished HP computer is an excellent reason to "just say no"!! My experience was quite awhile back when the refurbishing of computers first started - but I figured I'd get a great computer for a whole lot less money - what happened is that just about every part of that computer went out one part at a time - I kept rushing it to the repair shop and each time it was yet another major part that had gone out - I finally had the motherboard redone and am using it to this day as a secondary computer - but the only original parts are the ones I have replaced !!! I figure I paid for that "refurbished" computer about three times more than if I had just gone out and purchased a new one !!! Don't fall for the ole "refurbished" trick!!!
Response to mparegian
by linadragon - 2/22/08 8:16 PM In reply to: Opinions on refurbished or "recertified" PCs by mparegianThis varies brand to brand really HP's for a long while shafted people with Refurbished system they'd put in bad products etc or they wouldnt actually check this. In the early days this was true especially. This is preferably why you shop locally (small around town businesses etc) for refurbished products if they offer them... I for one prefer building a new System. My first time building it was an adventure but i learned alot about building computers... Learned how to take things apart for periodic matinance (IE clearing dust etc...)
I dont agree that refurbished isnt the way to go however you need to be careful. Most people prefer Brand Names... Dell, HP , Gateway because they are familiar with those products. However they usually use the cheapest version they can find of that product and then you end up paying more for it.
You can save money upgrading like if you say currently have a hard drive and monitor you usually Dont need a brand new one Which is another thing you get charged for with most manufactures.... Also if you look around and can afford financing who is to say you cant necessarily afford that newer computer and just pay it off over time...
Anyways as stated before feel free to contact me in regards to it. We can figure out what you want to be doing with it and build from there :P
Purchasing refurbed or recertified PC's
by bshodges3 - 2/22/08 8:03 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Julianne,
Here's my take on this and it stems from fifty years experience of working with mainframes and PC's.
First, does the manufacturer of the hardware sell maintenance contracts at a decent price. If, "Yes" go for it and buy the maintenance contract.
I have both Compaq and H-P systems in our home. With a maintenance agreement, the cost for repair is miniumal. BUT, once the agreement has expired, H-P will re-work your system for $300 +/- and they MIGHT (their words) reformat your hard drive so that you loose everything!
Bob
Hello
by linadragon - 2/22/08 8:04 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
As A builder of Computers now and then I dont have a problem buying refurbished computers.... However.... If you cant afford a brand new HP have you considered possibly Building one(assuming it is a Tower/Desktop and not a Laptop) This often signifigantly cuts down on the cost. You can reach me at Linasable@gmail.com on MSN Linakits on yahoo and LinadragonX7 on AIM if you have more question or you can use that email to contact me directly.... And i could possibly throw together a solution for you and help you out a bit with building your own System.
I would highly reccomend looking into the refurbished system if you in a hurry assuming its from a dealer as most dealers will make sure things are working properly and at times replace parts if they are not. All system will work with most Scanners printer etc if they are a different brand. This is due to drivers and its highly unlikely for any company to make their products only work with their computers (bad move business wise) because they limit their consumer/sales ratio....
As i said make sure you go with a Dealer like tiger direct or newegg or a local dealer and if its a local dealer maybe ask them to show you its working (i know my local computer guy would be happy to and has in fact helped me when starting out at first 
)
Again if your interested in saving some money (possibly even over a refurbished system) you can IM me or email me and we can see what we can come up with) Refurbished arnt problematic in my experience, Just A make sure its a dealer.... and B make sure it still has some sort of warranty on it that isnt voided!!!
I could tell you the parts to buy for what you want to do specifically and tell you how to piece it together and offer you some support in an IM or email however this is entirely your call. I built my system and several others for friends and family!
go for it
by Robocoastie - 2/22/08 8:25 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If the price on the refurbished is reasonable go for it. The beautiful thing about desktops (particularly most towers) is they are like old Chevy trucks - drive it till it drops then stick some tin in the rusty floorboard, replace the engine and drive it some more. IOW they are generally easy to work on, add to, take away from, cannablize for parts in the future and so on.
You also might get more than the web site claims. For example my main rig is a Dell Dimension 5100 P4-2.8GHz. The web site said this "refurbished" was only that and only 32 bit (64 bits weren't so common yet). Well it turned out to be not only an HT but an Intel 64 bit HT and it still runs great and screams. (I dual boot Linux64 and Vista64 to get full advantage of the few 64 bit things that do give a boost).
Refurbed HPs
by capvideo - 2/22/08 8:34 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Julianne, I purchased my refurbished HP computer about 5 years ago. I have had absolutely no problems with this machine since purchase. I'm afraid I don't clearly remember what website dealer I purchased it from. It may have been ecost.com. Prior to this machine, I had also purchased a refurbed off-brand machine which also gave me no problems.
That has been the total of my experience with refurbished PCs....all good. But then, maybe I was just lucky.
Well...
by linadragon - 2/22/08 8:38 PM In reply to: Refurbed HPs by capvideoIts not really luck its more to due with the policy they have on what determines "refurbished"... Like if you went to gamestop and got a refurbished system its going to work because their corporate policy makes them have to otherwise you get a refund.... Like i was saying if your careful you can often still get a manufacturers warranty on the product still and if problems arise handle it like you would of if you had bought it straight from them.
Refurbished HP
by Chicken Little - 2/22/08 8:35 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Julianne, I am using a refurbished HP that I bought about two years ago. Believe it or not, I have had absolutely no problems with it. I always built my own systems in the past, which is probably why I needed a new one in a hurry one day. I actually ruined my OS and wanted to play games immediately. I just made sure the chip was Intel and booted the thing up and have been playing with no problems since then. And I have no other HP products. My multifunction printer is a Canon and my monitor is a Sharp. I use no "paid for" virus programs, etc. I use three free ones that I run weekly. Also, I have used Mozilla's Firefox and Thunderbird since their inception. By the way, I am a certified "Granny Geek" of 64 years and bought my first computer in 1985. I still have my "King's Quest" games on floppy disks!
I'd say go ahead and buy the refurbished HP if it's a reputable dealer that you're considering. And backing up your data, if it's important stuff, is a very, very good idea. Since my system is essentially a toy, I seldom bother. But if you have important stuff, then back up often.
refurb pc
by torchy1 - 2/22/08 8:43 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
i would'nt waste my time on a refurbished pc. pc world do a high spec one for around £300 to fit your needs, sounds like your not a heavy user so you could be spending a lot of cash on something with no chance of a future up-grade, new pc's are cheap enough and i think your hard buck would be better spent on new.
refurbished or "recertified" PC's
by revbhayes42029 - 2/22/08 8:47 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You should have no problem. I know you are asking about desktop systems, but every laptop I have had has been a refurb. Two have been Compaq's. The last a Dell. On the second Compaq, the hd crapped out in about a month, and had NO trouble with the warranty and getting it fixed. The other two ran perfectly, and the Dell continues to do so. I saved about 1/2 off retail on each purchase. I think as long as you stick with a "FACTORY" refurb, with a short-term warranty to fix any bugs left in the system, you can't go wrong.
Buying Refurb
by loftygc - 2/22/08 8:51 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The only downside (minimal) I see is the shorter warranty:specifically 90 days vs 1 year in the case of HP.
I am running a HP Pavillion 6130 bought refurbished (by HP not an after market refurb outfit) about 2 months ago and I can't see any difference between it and brand new. If an electronic product is going to fail it will probably do so within a few months so it shouldn't be a problem. As someone once told me, a refurb might even be better because a technician has actually verified that the product is 100% functional. I have bought several refurbed electronics items in the past and have never had a problem.
Finally, the 40-50% saving clinched the deal.
used pc
by jacques414 - 2/22/08 8:57 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
i purchase 3 pc [1laptop-2desktop]they where refurbished from a well
respectable store and never had a problem i have a dell-toshiba-hp
d'ont touch acer pc very unreliable
agree on acer
by Jo Lynne Lockley - 2/23/08 8:20 PM In reply to: used pc by jacques414Acer's board has an audio conflict with Vista. Wouldn't be that bad, but their service is not very well informed. Stay away, refurbished or not.
Recerts
by snoopysoup - 2/22/08 9:01 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Warranty is what matters. You want to make sure you get the best on site warranty for your dollar. I have bought recerts and been quite happy especially when I have that warranty. Most peripherals (printers and such)are inter compatible and will work with any standard PC (non-Mac). What you have to watch for is will the peripherals work with the version of Windows. You will have to check with HP if you are going to go from XP to Vista. Also your legacy (older) software might not work with Vista (that was my problem I had to go back to XP for that reason.)
Check on Ebay for a computer you like
by chrisluvsanimals - 2/22/08 9:05 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I was in the same boat and needed a laptop but couldn't afford a new one. There are lots of refurbished computers on Ebay and look for ones that offer a "Square Trade" warranty. The warranty is really quite a good deal, and when I bought a laptop and the warranty and a few months later a couple of the letters stuck, the warranty refunded the money with absolutely no problems. It was a great product and only cost me about $40 for 2 yrs. of warranty. They were very helpful and within just a few days, my refund was given to me. This is a great deal and well worth the money it costs.
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