Refurbished or Regular?

[Josh220]

I was looking at the refurbished D300 bodies and they are $170 less than new. Has anyone had or heard of any issues with refurb. bodies? Should I just pay the extra money for new? I wouldn't mind saving some money, but not at the expense of quality. I'll be ordering tomorrow, but I haven't decided on new vs. refurb. yet, so any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[farmerj]

Look at the difference in warranties and ask yourself if the reduced warranty is worth $170?

 

[benhasajeep]

I have had 8 digitial cameras to date. 5 purchased new and 3 purchased refurbished. I have had the first refurbished camera for over 4 years now. Not a single problem with it ever. Last Thanksgiving I purchased a new D300. We liked it so much we decided to get another but wanted to save a little. So, we picked up a refurb D300. Cannot tell the difference between the two. Around christmas I was really getting frustrated with my Coolpix that I carry when I travel. So, I decided to get a small DSLR and kit lens for travel. Again I didn't want anything expensive incase its stolen. So, I purchased my third refurbished camera a Nikon D40x and a refurbished kit lens for less than the best current Coolpix model. I could not be happier with it. I get a smallish very capable camera that is not expensive. Great for travel. So, over 4 years now and 3 refurbished cameras, I have not had one single problem. They all came with a 90 day Nikon warranty, and a 1 year private warranty. So, they have the same warranty period as a new one. Since I have not had a problem I can't say if the warranty is good or not.

 

[Josh220]

As Benhasajeep stated, it comes with a 90 day Nikon warranty, and since it's from Adorama I would assume it has the 1 year warranty as well. Adorama is out of the memory card I want, so I'd have to order the body from them, and the memory card from B&H so I haven't decided if it's worth the $170 savings. (B&H doesn't have any used or refurb for the D300 for some reason).

 

[Josh220]

I went ahead and just bought new from B&H. I don't want to take the chance of being the slightest bit unhappy when it comes. I figure I didn't buy used to save $15K on my truck, so why do it for $151 on a camera. Thanks.

 

[blash]

I don't buy too much new stuff anymore, just used - which, I figure, is a worse condition than refurbed. The majority of refurbished stuff is something that somebody opened, returned for some reason like they couldn't really afford it, they decided it wasn't what they really wanted/needed/etc., and is then repackaged and sold as refurbished because it legally can no longer be sold as new. Refurbed stuff that is originated from broken equipment has whatever was broken completely replaced and the entire item is retested for quality control before resold as refurbished. The only real difference, as noted, is the warranty - and I haven't had anything from Nikon break on me yet.

 

[benhasajeep]

I went ahead and just bought new from B&H. I don't want to take the chance of being the slightest bit unhappy when it comes. I figure I didn't buy used to save $15K on my truck, so why do it for $151 on a camera. Thanks.

Yea, for my first bodies I have always gone with new. But for back ups and just plain extra's I don't mind used or remanufactured as long as there is a real savings. On a DSLR 10% is not quite enough for me to take the slight risk. On the ones I have purchased, the minimum difference has been 20% for the D300, and the latest one the D40X was just under 40%. These were both ebay transactions through Cameta which I completely trust.