Community Newsletter: Q&A: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers
- 2/29/08 3:23 PM
Refurbed Computers
by Bozz5384 - 2/29/08 8:49 PM In reply to: refurbished computers by aureliusrI have bought probably 10 refurbed systems from Dell Financial Services, and they have all been GREAT! Some come with warranty left on them, and come with new keyboards, mouse, etc.
For less money than a crippled inexpensive computer, I get yesterdays tech which will run circles around the low end ones.
Highly recommend, from a reputable reseller as mentioned before.
Buying a computer - refurbished or not? HP or not?
by ben_myers - 2/22/08 7:45 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First, let me set the bar vary high for sellers of refurbished or recertified PCs. I sell them, and I always give a one-year warranty. In the past 4 or 5 years I have sold hundreds here locally and had only 4 come back for warranty service, all with failed hard disk drives and all within the first two weeks. When a computer, new or used, leaves here, I do my very best to make sure it works 100%, so it does not have to come back again.
Dell sells computers through its factory outlet and also gives a generous warranty. So if you buy a refurb or recertified PC, ask for a one-year warranty. No. Demand it. Of course, buy from an established company with a good track record.
Now for HP. As a service professional, I find them hard to service because HP has little or no service information on line. I also find HP's web site for drivers and general technical information to fall way short of others, notably Dell, Lenovo and Gateway. Parts for HP computers are harder to find, and cost a lot when you do get them. From a service point of view, the most important part and the most difficult one to obtain is the system motherboard with a "branded" BIOS, i.e. a BIOS that says the computer is HP, Dell, Lenovo or whatever. Everything else inside is a commodity item, often with a sticker identifying it with the brand name of the computer. In short, I cannot recommend buying an HP, whether new or refurbished. On the other hand, many people are satisfied with their HPs. Go figure... Ben
HP or not?
by NewEnglander - 2/23/08 3:54 PM In reply to: Buying a computer - refurbished or not? HP or not? by ben_myersAlso avoid Compaq. They have been around for many years, but last I knew, their parts were proprietary, meaning you HAVE to buy from Compaq when something fails. Not good. I know a lot of people who bought PCs for home and they settled for Compaq because they were inexpensive. To me, inexpensive translates to cheap.
I tend to buy 'middle of the road' when I buy most anything. I don't want the cheapest and I don't NEED the most expensive. Want? Oh yeah .. want. But it ain't gonna happen. I would also love a Sony, but that ain't gonna happen either.
Compaq
by Rich D. - 2/29/08 7:26 PM In reply to: HP or not? by NewEnglanderI wouldn't be too quick to bad mouth Compaq, now owned by HP. All my PC's are HP's, 2 HP laptops and 2 Compaq laptops. To tell you the truth my Compaq's outperformed the 2 HP laptops. Performance and reliability for both is outstanding.
Nothing wrong with refurbished or HP
by Heartmate - 2/29/08 7:39 PM In reply to: HP or not? by NewEnglanderDoesn't matter what brand of computer you buy, there are going to be some failures. What do you think a refurbished computer is? It is a new one that something went wrong with and was returned and repaired. Sometimes no more than customer remorse.
I have bought several HP and Compaq laptops and yes some from U-bid and have had excellent results with all of them. At least I know they were tested before they left the repair facility.
Some of you people need to talk from personal experience and not from what you heard someone say.
HP is number one in sales for a reason. They build a good product and stand behind it.
Loved my HP
by theamaria - 2/29/08 11:21 PM In reply to: Nothing wrong with refurbished or HP by HeartmateNow have a Dell computer with Windows Vista.... I Have had so many problems with this machine.... And you jut try and get help all India
cant speak English I was on the phone to them at least twice a day
2to 3hr a pop trying to understand them. They asked if they could go into my comp I said yes of course....they would fix it what a horrible mess they made about 4 different people messed with my comp. I finally
brought it to my computer guru and he said pick it up in an hour....
picked up $50.00 really cheap and runs great now ...I would have a hart attack if i ever have to phone these people again.... No more Dell for me. Thea
avoiding Compaq computers
by Wizentub - 2/29/08 8:17 PM In reply to: HP or not? by NewEnglanderI have a compaq and recently upgraded my RAM.
I didnt have to buy hp or compaq memory in fact i got a mem card that was cheaper than i had anticipated.
One thing I would make sure of with buying a second hand pc though is to make sure the operating system comes with your machine.
1 to avoid added cost of buying operating system
2 In some cases like with Compaq only the operating system that came bundled with the machine will work on that machine
I also added a new monitor with a nice new 22 inch LCD that cost under 200, I havent seen one for less than 650 since but it still worked out much cheaper than buyng anew machine or even a second hand one.
Replacing a computer cheaply-question in today's newsletter
by Kitty I - 2/22/08 7:45 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I got a settlement. My best friend had a son in High School. Their computer was stolen. I bought them a new one as he needed one. Within two weeks my laptop (I also had all HP products) died. No way to fix it. I was on limited funds by now. I went to the county surplus sale and bought a computer/keyboard/mouse&monitor for $100. I bought an XP update (don't get the home edition), replaced the mouse and keyboard and have a really good system. I spent under $250 total, but wish I'd spent the extra for the office edition of XP. Just be sure what you need is contained in the upgrade. If you watch for the sales you can get a good system going for not a whole lot of money.
I'll throw in what I do when my XP bogs down -- in answer to last week's question. I clear the email temp files and defrag the system. It really, REALLY, REEAAALLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYY helps.
I hope both these suggestions help the respective readers!
Refurb or new-- it's a question....
by bvanwely - 2/29/08 7:42 PM In reply to: Replacing a computer cheaply-question in today's newsletter by Kitty II've done a lot of both. I have a refurb IBM x30 laptop and a refurb HP desktop, and I'm happy with both. But both were bought before the last year's price crash for new. Refurb is the way to go if you don't want to deal with Vista, because you can get 'em cheap with XP Pro. Otherwise shop around. If you buy from the manufacturer you can get a good warranty so that's not a question. Third-party vendors are cheaper, but you usually don't get much of a warranty. I've done it both ways and have been happy with the results, but--- your mileage may vary.
Refurbished computer
by mikenelson - 2/22/08 7:48 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
By all means do it. I've been buying used computers for years and if you don't need or want the newest there are great bargains out there. For instance, I bought a dual Xeon 2.8 GHz machine recently for about $300. It can with a WindowsXP COA and was ready to rock.
Refer
by mirit125 - 2/25/08 1:19 PM In reply to: Refurbished computer by mikenelsonWhere did u buy your computer for 300 $ ?
Thanks
Re-certified? Read - Reboxed...
by Mark0 - Technologist - 2/22/08 7:50 PM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I hear your pain.
Computers have gotten much faster in the last few years, making ones that are even 2-3 years old seem slow. As always, the 'top of the line' ones cost a arm-and-a-leg, or so it seems.
You want a new one, but can't shell out the cost of a brand new one and are considering a 'refurished', 'reconditioned' or 're-certified' computer. In a word: Don't.
Unless your buying off the shelf at a store like Costco which will accept the product back if it does not work when you get it home (and send you home with another one), don't consider buying anything but new.
Sadly, what you'll likely find is simply a 'reboxed' unit that not only has the prior owners problems, but their customizations and information on it!
I used to work in tech support and time and time again, we'd get calls from helpless folks who just brought home a dead computer. Expect to spend hours on the phone "jumping through hoops" to attempt to fix it.
The LAST thing tech support wants to do is have you ship the computer back to the factory. Even then, 1/2 the time you'll get it back in the same condition you sent it in. Broken.
We ARE NOT ALLOWED to suggest to customers that if their Visa/MC/AMex card gives them a 'refund policy' they should rebox the computer and RETURN IT and DEMAND A REAL refurbished/renewed/whatever one!
In the end, you'll end up spending at least, hours on the phone, non-use of the computer for days or weeks and endless frustration.
Agree 100%
by anna3333 - 3/2/08 11:50 AM In reply to: Re-certified? Read - Reboxed... by Mark0 - TechnologistONLY buy a refurbished PC if it is from a local store where you can return it if it doesn't work properly (make sure ahead of time).
ONLY buy a refurbished PC if you can stand the loss and can afford to replace it if it doesn't work or stops working.
Otherwise, research parts yourself or get someone to help you to buy the best of LAST year's parts (new, but not latest/greatest parts) (newegg has always been good for me) and have a local shop put it together for you (while you watch - and see how easy it is). There are instructions with every part and general instructions on the 'net. The only thing you really need much extra knowledge for is being sure the BIOS and drivers are set up correctly - and the local PC shop can do that for you (again, while you watch and ask questions).
Good luck. Whatever you do, I hope it works out well for you. --Anna
I JUST NEED TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS SCHEMATICS FOR 1999 GATEWA
by froyslusher - 2/28/08 10:33 AM In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I JUST NEED TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS SCHEMATICS FOR 1999 GATEWAY COMP.
SELECT 400 I NEED TO LOOK AT MOTHERBOARD IF ANYONE DOES COULD YOU
EMAL ME A PICTURE OF THEM THANKS
Message was edited by: admin to remove email address for the reason stated below in a reply to this post.
Hi Froy, wrong discussion thread
by Lee Koo (ADMIN) - 2/28/08 10:32 AM
In reply to: I JUST NEED TO KNOW IF ANYONE HAS SCHEMATICS FOR 1999 GATEWA by froyslusher
If you are reading this, this thread topic is on refurbished and recertified computers. If you would like to start your own topic of discussion I would recommend posting your question in one these forums listed here--post it to a forum that matches best with your topic at hand (ie PC hardware):
http://forums.cnet.com
Anyways good luck with your quest. BTW I've edit out your email address in your post as I'm sure you wouldn't want the whole world spamming you. Posting your email address in a public forum isn't a good idea, as spam harvesters love to take advantage of these opportunities.
Good luck!
-Lee
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