Ok, so I drive a used car, so if I have a refurbished radio it does not bother me, what I don't want is a radio with a big scratch or dent in it... Here's my options and I really just want to purchase tonight so I can move on and end the "shopping around" phase I am in, I just want to bury this thing.

Refurbs:
This one is $629, just head unit
http://cgi.ebay.com/KENWOOD-DVD-GPS-...3A1%7C294%3A50

This one is from the same seller as above, comes with the Ipod cable, and only costs $627, this a sign something is wrong?
http://cgi.ebay.com/KENWOOD-DVD-GPS-...3A1%7C294%3A50

New:
This is the best price I could find on a new one $799, buying new I see no issues but like I said the car is used so I don't mind if the radio I buy was opened before me... Main attraction of buying new is that I will know what I am getting, I've never bought refurbished before.
http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=KWDNX7100

I'm really hoping someone with experience buying refurbed stuff can advise me, either way, any thoughts? A better price on a new one anywhere?

I've spent far too much time on this already...

 

refurbs are fine as long as they have a warranty in my experience..

 

"new" is a pretty relative term. The 7100 is an old model.
You might be interested in this:

https://my350z.com/forum/forsale-soc...5120-bnib.html

The seller is very knowledgeable about Kenwood products. I'm not sure if he works for them or sells their stuff or is just smart!

 

A refurbished unit can be anything from a failed installation (for no good reason) to excess inventory to a defective product.

The story from the seller is that the unit was returned to the factory where it was rebuilt, fully tested, and warranted as new. Yeah…right… The manufacturer sells new units to authorized dealers. The manufacturer certainly does not want to sell refurbished units at a significant discount that adversely affects their reseller channel. They can build a new one for the same or less than what a repair costs, so why would they authorize the sale of used/returned (and potentially compromised) products?

Buying refurbished products is “hit and miss.” You might get a product that is new, or you could get a lemon returned by a previous customer.

Your success or failure buying from refurbished resellers mainly depends upon the reseller and whether or not they are willing to swap a product that is still defective or doesn’t meet your expectations.

--Spike

 

Thanks for the link but he is local pickup only...

Anyways, I ordered a refurb'd unit (fingers crossed). For the price it's a bit of a gamble I guess, for $630 with the Ipod adapter included I guess even a blemish might be acceptable so long as the unit works right and is not beat down. I requested an unblemished unit even though they might not be able to peek in the box it's worth a shot.

I came to my decision after reading through the feedback, the ratio is pretty good and the nature of any negative was mainly due to specs and shipping costs, both of which I am clear on, I saw no complaints about the product quality. Even if there's a dead pixel, for the price it's pretty tough to ***** about it, my justification still lies with the car being used so the radio can be used too. Keeping the faith on this one...

 

Refurb and warranty is a good choice. You should be okay.