Would you buy a refurbished laptop?

Voyager2002

As per the subject: for a given budget, I could get a better machine by buying a refurbished one from EuroPC rather than a new one from the Dell website. However, it is really important that I get something that works properly and does not need maintenance since I shall be taking it to Africa with me and Dell support would be a long way away!

Specifically, I have to choose between a new Vostro or a refurbished Latitude. Apparently the Latitude has a better chipset and battery, giving more reliable performance when working away from a power supply (important to me). Some reviews comment that the Latitude keyboard is comfortable to use, while the Vostro one flexes alarmingly. But the price of a new Latitude with the specs I need is beyond my budget. The refurbished one is offered with a three-year warranty, suggesting that Dell are reasonably confident about its quality. But the warranty would not be much use to me if I ran into trouble.

exup

You could have as much problem with a refurbished laptop as a new one . so its which one you want to risk. Although I would buy a refurb for alot less money than a brand new model if I was going travelling - then I may not be so worried about it getting damaged or stolen.

posted_2

The one thing that could be less reliable is the battery, depends how old it is, and what treatment it had before being refurbed. Also, make sure you include vat in the prices.

Voyager2002

Thanks to both of you.

My employer is paying for the machine and has given me a budget, so the loss in the event of theft would be the same. (In any case, the data on board would be worth more than the machine.) And yes, I have been adding on VAT in both cases.

It sounds as if I could optimise my budget by getting the refurbished machine and a new battery.

darich

i'm posting this from a refurbed laptop.

same guarantee but reduced purchase price.
my laptop is a higher spec than a mate's who bought his brand new.
he got a cpu with 1.66ghz, 3gb ram and integrated/shared graphics.
i got a cpu with 2.1ghz, 3gb ram and a seperate graphics car (ati 3450)

i got it from dixons as did my partner about 18months ago.
no problems with either machine so far although mine is only around a month old.

i also think the battery is new in mine as are things like the screen (it's completely unmarked) and cables.

i'd go refurbed but not buy an additional battery until i needed one.

GunJack

All three lappys in my house are refurbs.....mine is dual-core, 15.4", etc., £240-odd from pcw last May, with 12-month guarantee and quidco cashback...no problems. Prices seem to be creeping up, though.

Got my boys (10 and 7) refurb IBM Thinkpads for xmas from bigpockets....£160 each and an absolute bargain...1GB, XP Pro, and IBM build quality...worth a look at their site, see what they've got in stock..

http://www.bigpockets.co.uk/cat.php?search=laptops&lang=

weegie.geek

I'd have no problems buying a refurb. They tend to be in more or less as good nick as a brand new one. Consider the money saved, and you're halfway to buying an even faster one in a couple of years.

I bought mine second hand, for a ridiculously cheap price, and it was more or less as new. Lappy users tend to underestimate their robustness, so treat them like newborn babies.

bobby-boy_2

I would take the Latitude over the Vostro. I had a Vostro (before it was stolen) and it was fine but the Latitudes we have at work are better re-battery life Comm port, some applications still require it, and the fact you can use a docking station with the latitude would sway me.

peter_the_piper

We have 3 Dell refurbs which we bought from the Dell Store on ebay. You get a guarantee with them which can be upgraded (I think) So far we have not had problems with 2 of them and a screen fault on the other which was corrected by them. Been great since.

deejayen

I'vs bought from from EuroPC many times in the past and never had any problems with them -- In fact a PC bought from tghem [Refurb] is still going strong after 4 years [It was for my grand-daughter] -- Dave

epz_2

No offence but if i were going to africa i would be looking at a toughbook and fitting an ssd, not a dell designed to sit in a nice office.

Seriously look on ebay at the toughbooks, they are prety cheap for military grade kit.