I have had a Dell Refurbished P3-750 Dimension Mini-Tower for 3 years now without any problems . . . The morons on this thread that think that there is something "wrong" with these units have no understanding that when a large workstation type order is "cancelled", Dell must sell them as "refurbished" and not as "new" even though they have never been used. Get a clue before you go off talking about refurbished "chewing-gum". Or do you always talk out of your arse?
Had an almost identical experience purchasing a Gateway laptop. In the end I ended up with a much better computer, brand-new, and saved 20%. I still haven't found a comparable deal to what I got and I got it a year ago.
my "new" ( refurbished ) Dell Dimension 8300 with Intel's latest 875 chipset and P4 at 2.6 with the 800 mghz front side bus and 512 mb of RAM, CD-RW, DVD, and 64mb graphics card for $765.00 Checking the Service Tag on the packing slip, I find that the unit was "initially" sold on June 2nd, 2003 I'll take a 5 Week Old Dell 8300 for $765 anyday of the week! Thank You Dell!
I'll use the term ignorant, rather than moron... I can understand why the term 'refurbished' conjures up bad images, but at Dell it shouldn't. I ordered an Inspiron 2500 for my folks last year and was completely shocked--this thing might as have been brand new! It was shipped within 5 days. It has worked without a hitch for 15 months. They also received a year's H/W support/warranty directly from Dell. Waggie is right about Dell's cancelled orders--many go right into the refurb pipeline, ready to be sold quickly and off of their books and inventory. Also, some orders get cancelled *by Dell* for credit reasons. At that time, I looked at want ads, e-Bay, etc., but decided to get a Dell refurb. I'm glad I did. In fact, when I get a second Dell Precision for myself, I'm strongly considering a refurbed unit.
I'm now on my 4th Dell refurbished system. In April I got an Inspiron 5100 for $1207 that had a 'new' price of $1800 for my configuration. 3 months later it still has a 'new' price of around $1500. As far as I'm concerned this is a new system, and may very well be. I am delighted with my choice. I have never had any problems with any of the systems that I bought that wasn't the fault of myself for screwing around with things. PS. If buying a refurbished, wait until there is $300-500 off, even after the refurbished price. Don't be enticed by $100-200 as it always goes higher.
I've had a refurbished work station for a couple of years. It worked fine but there were some glitches with the G400 dual card, although they didn't affect my use. Upgraded to xp and it works like a charm. I would not just rush in and buy something off the refurb site. You have to wait for the right deal. Often the prices seem very high. But you can get some deals if you're patient.
I noticed Dell charges tax (on internet transactions) regardless of the state you're ordering from. On a $650 system that's $55 extra bucks you shouldn't have to pay...IMHO
Okay, I guess I misinterpreted it. On their Ebay auctions it says..."Sales tax is additional and will be applied on each purchase based upon the shipping address. DFS does NOT accept tax exemptions on auction transactions." Maybe that means..."Sales tax is additional if you live in the same state the computer is being shipped from, and if it is being shipped from the same state and you claim tax exemption it will not apply"...or something like that.