Refurbished PCs: What's the Deal?
Aoife McEvoy
When it was time to upgrade his five-year-old Pentium-75 Gateway computer, Scott Noren of Columbus, Georgia, considered buying a refurbished PC. Refurbished or remanufactured PCs are usually unwanted units returned to the manufacturer, which are then tested, polished up, and resold at discount prices. Noren thought it was a good idea--until he picked up the phone. "Gateway said it wanted $899 for a refurb, and it offered only a one-year warranty," he recalls. "I'd have to pay an extra $199 to get [my preferred] three-year warranty."
By buying a refurbished computer, you can save 5 to 15 percent (and sometimes more, if you buy an older system) off the price of a new PC. For example, as we went to press, a brand-new Pentium III-733-based Dell Dimension with 64MB of RAM (without monitor) cost $928. A similarly configured refurbished Dell PC cost $719--that's $209 less.
Still, the drawbacks could outweigh the savings. Beware of shorter warranties, the details of which vary from brand to brand. Dell and Micron, for example, offer the same warranty on refurbished PCs as on new systems. Gateway reduces its warranty from three years to one; and Compaq, HP, and IBM offer just 90 days of hardware coverage. The vendors' money-back guarantees are skimpy too: Dell offers 14 days, Gateway 5, and Micron 0.
You can't custom-configure or get the latest technology with a refurbished unit either. At press time, the most up-to-date refurb from Gateway sports a 500-MHz Celeron CPU, whereas the corresponding new model has a 667-MHz Celeron.
So before you buy, balance the potential savings against the likely limitations of refurbs--skimpy warranties, limited product choice, and aging technology. For his part, Scott Noren abandoned the idea of buying a refurb in favor of a new PC.
Heads Up...
Bad Batteries in Dell Laptops: The company is recalling defective batteries that shipped with certain models of its Latitude and Inspiron notebooks. These batteries can short-circuit, even when they're not in use, creating a fire hazard. For a list of the notebook models and batteries affected by this problem and to exchange a recalled battery for two replacement ones, call 877/741-6420 or go to Dell's support site... Dell Delays: Despite Dell's top ratings in PC World's PC Reliability and Service survey, I've received complaints about shipping delays. David Garvett was shocked to find out that his new Dell wouldn't arrive for seven weeks. (Delivery usually takes a week.) Geoffrey Sanders, Dell's manager for executive support, explained that certain components--namely, hard drives and controller cards--were unavailable. "We've replaced those components, so customers can expect delivery within three to five days, which are estimated, not guaranteed," says Sanders... MSN Mayhem: Customers of Microsoft's MSN ISP service have reported some billing errors. MSN was testing a new billing system, which assessed some improper charges. Affected users can get a refund and a month of free Internet access. Call 800/386-5550 for information.
Letter of the Month
I bought Sony's Clie organizer directly from the company's Web site for $450, plus an extra $18 for next-day delivery. Two weeks passed and I didn't get my handheld. I wanted a refund, but Sony told me it could only refund the shipping charge; it couldn't cancel the order because the Clie was still in stock. According to the company, in order to get a full refund, I'd have to wait until I received the package and then refuse delivery. Can you help?
Michael Yucha, Milpitas, California
On Your Side responds: We contacted Sony on Yucha's behalf and the company responded by issuing him a full refund immediately. "Last July, we introduced a beta version of sonystyle.com," says Sony spokesperson Grace-Anne Arnold. "During the transition over subsequent months, we had a glitch in the flow of orders on our Web site. Unfortunately, Mr. Yucha's purchase got caught in the process." Arnold also informed us that Sony expects to have an improved refund-procedure area on the company's site by the time you read this article.
Gotten a raw deal? Or a great one? E-mail the details to onyourside@pcworld.com. We'll follow up on complaints and publish items of the broadest interest. Aoife McEvoy is a senior associate editor for PC World.