My RSS Feeds
Beware Refurbished Computers: Our Experience with TigerDirect.com
My son's HP computer came from TigerDirect.com, where we made the mistake of buying a refurbished computer that was sold with a "warranty." We called and asked about the warranty before we bought, and mistakenly understood that it was as good as if we were buying it new. We didn't realize that the 90-day warranty offered is just a fraction of the normal 1-year warranty HP offers on new laptops, and when we asked about disadvantages to the refurbished route, that didn't come up. Our mistake, certainly, but a frustrating one. We saved a few bucks short term, but about 120 days later the screen started malfunctioning. HP would have covered the repair if it had not been refurbished. The cost to repair is about $400 - the better part of what a new laptop would cost. Not worth it. Ouch.
Don't buy refurbished computers! And perhaps those selling them should let consumers know the risks they face and the lost warranty rights they will suffer.
In general, I'm noticing that recently made computers from several brands are having a lot of problems, as if cost-cutting pressures are leading to cheaper parts and construction. Beware. And the extended warranty may be a good idea for computers, though I agree that it's a waste of money in general for most products.
I concur with your statement not to buy refurbished (recertified)
computers. I bought an HP Pavillion x6114a on January 21, 2008 from
newegg.com. Beginning on February 26, 2008 the computer began to
spontaneously reboot. After a few days it would get blue screens of death.
I could not exchange it with newegg since you must do that within 30 days.
I called HP and tried to return it for a refund or at least an HP credit
since I did not want the same computer "repaired" again (that's what they
just did to refurbish it). The problem was not the hard drive because I
replaced that and got the same errors. Since all the components are
on-board, there is probably something fundamentally wrong with the
motherboard. I noticed that the pci express expansion slot had something
installed and removed because the cover plate has been removed. Most
likely it was a video card because the on-board one is somewhat lacking. I
"saved" $130 buying refurbished, but now I have paid for many hours of lost
time. The "savings" was definitely not worth it. I'm afraid my computer
will be "repaired" and die again after the 90 day waranty is up. The HP
"tech support" is pretty bad too.
I'd give TigerDirect another chance. I have been buying items from them
for more than 5 years and I only had a problem once. Their customer
service handled it well and I got satisfaction to my problem. If you are
truly concerned about recertified/remanufactured, why not buy the extended
warranties and still save $ over new?
excuse me for saying, but it seems you and your son did not do your
homework. Perhaps next time you make a purchase you should investigate the
warrenty or see if an extended warranty is available. Having bought a few
refurbished items (including a dell laptop), I always buy the 2-3 year
complete care warranty.
I work for a company here in the fox valley. I buy ALL my workstations
through TigerDirect/ Global Computer. Some of which are refurbished. I've
only had 1 problem, and it was a cpu colling fan. They sent me an entire
heatsink/ colling fan next day for replacement, with suprisingly little
phone time. I spend the extrra $50 to extend the warranty for 1 yr. Well
worth it.
"It sounds like you never even went back to Tiger about your problem" -
Absolutely wrong, Mark. We went back to them twice. The Web site, at least
on the page for the product we bought, does not warn that you are losing
the normal manufacturer's warranty and ONLY getting their 3 month warranty.
We spoke with them before making the service to make sure that there was
warranty protection, and didn't learn what we were losing. That was the
problem. Had we known that a year of coverage was being lost to save a few
bucks, we would not have gone with the refurbished system.