Community Newsletter: Q&A: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers

Refurbished PCs...

In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

Julianne,

Hey, as a longtime builder of personal systems and a techno-junkie in general, I would tell you that buying refurbished is fine. I am currently typing this reply on a refurbished PC (I refurbished it with my own purchased parts), and I have had two other refurbished PCs in the past. One of them was an HP Pavilion that lasted for a long time (five years). However, if you have the technical know-how, I'd suggest looking at TigerDirect.com for parts and putting one together yourself. For about the same price as a refurbished ($500-$700) you can build yourself a new PC with top of the line parts. I am also open to hearing from you if you would like me to do it as well. You can e-mail me at shortround_to@yahoo.com if you are interested. However, I do think that you'd be able to find a local shop to do it; watch out, though. They like to prey on those who don't know what the latest and greatest is and will try to pull one over on you. Hope this helps out!

new or refurbished my thoughts

My desktop was purchased as a refurb and is still working. Since then, we are talking about 7 years, many in the family have gone through several computers. I originally bought my dell xps as a 500 mghz and then i switched out the processor for a 1.2 ghtz and upgraded ram to 768 MB. It still works , but will need to replace my dvd drive as it just died last mont. for the cost savings; you should consider a refurb or remanufactured. key pointsw are if they still offer full warranty from purchase date of the refurb system, and offer at least a 1 yr warranty. I think you can benefit from buying used/ refurbished...as long as the manufacturer is reputable or the store/outlet is. Even new computers can be defective/ the refurbs have been tested again and are already through the usual "burn" in period. If a new system goes bad within the year you ship it back...as long as the refurb carries a similar warranty, then save some $$$$.

'refurbished' or 'recertified' - YES!

I bought a refurbished, upgraded DELL INSPIRON 8600 about four years ago, from DELL, and I can tell you it is probably the best buy I have ever made. Not only did I get a good laptop it was upgraded and guaranteed.
I paid less than the retail price for a superior machine that was tried and tested.
I travel the world a lot so you'd think I'd get a lightweight machine
but this 8600 is tough, heavy yes, but gives me everything I need.
Never let me down and is as good now as when I got it.
I do maintain it very carefully and it has paid off.
So, yes go for it.
fair153

(NT) Did you mean "lenovo thinkpad"?

Warranty half price

Hi
Terry&Marilyn thanks for the info
I am also in Canada Vancouver. You said you get your warrenty
for half the price... Were should I go
Thank you
Thea

refurbished computers

In reply to: Your thoughts on refurbished or "recertified" computers by Lee Koo (ADMIN) 

My first comment on your preferred brand of computer would be to run in another direction. For a brief time I had a brand new HP from a local rent-a-center type store. While the computer was wonderful, it did have a few issues and the tech support for HP is awful. It was always a 1-2 hour wait for someone to get to me, and then I discovered the tech support was based in India so there was a major lack of understanding - both ways. Gateway is the only company that still has US based tech support. Dell does but only for their most expensive computers. Try to find a refurbished Gateway, and trust the person you get it from. I would strongly recommend you stay away from Freecycle if you don't want more headaches. Sometimes major pharmaceutical companies sell off their computers when they get new ones. Is there one near you? Try a local computer store that takes trades and reconditions them, and generally will give at least a 1 year warranty. Good luck.