Tivo HD - New or refurbished?

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I've been thinking about picking up a refurbed unit for the family room, but some of these stories are a bit concerning. I had so many issues getting my first (new) Tivo HD working that I'm not sure I'm up for the hassle.

But I do have one question... If I try to order the refurbed unit online, it will not let me select the service plan with the multi-service discount (i.e., $99 for one year instead of $129). Anyone know if you can order the refurbed unit over the phone so you can get the MS discount?

 

It took me three tries to get a funtional refurb, so definitely buyer beware. But the third time was the charm, and it certainly saved me a decent amount of money.

You technically can't get the multi-service discount with the refurb, but I called customer service and they were kind enough to give it to me. YMMV.

 

Order monthly service with the web purchase, then within the first 30 days, call and switch. Seems to be working for most folks because the CSRs don't know or care that it's a refurb.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'm not sure what I'll do - I can save $70 on the price by getting refurbed, but that's kinda silly that they won't let you get the MSD. Maybe I'll see if any other retailers are selling refurbed units at similarly low prices. It shocks me that Tivo will "refurbish" units, but then send them to people and they don't work.

 

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I rolled the dice on a refurb yesterday. Time will tell if I did the right thing but it's difficult to argue with the savings. It was for our bedroom and in all honesty will probably be used more for recording shows that our living room TiVo doesn't have the ability to recored because of over scheduling. We are planning to mainly transfer shows from the refurb to the LR.

I have my fingers crossed.

 

I finally got my replacement unit. I had a refurb unit that worked for one week before failing the last week of August. I suspect a complete power supply failure, but I can't be certain. One morning it was completely DOA.

I RMA'd it back, after a lengthy - 30-40 minutes TS call. ("Is it still dead?" Yes, it's Still Dead". "Is the fan running" No. "Is it plugged in another outlet?" Yes, still dead. "Hmm, hold on I need further authorization, but this could take a while".) Prepare yourself with plenty of time if you need to RMA one. Or maybe it was just my rep, I dunno.

Anyway, I got the RMA after 9 days of waiting. I understand tivo offers advanced replacement. But no one offered me that at the time. Something to keep in mind.

I'm now waiting on Comcast to return. I can't believe they have to make a field visit to reauthorize the MCARD. But I called them twice to be sure, and called Tivo. Yes, this is indeed the case with Comcast. As they won't allow users to call the operations center here in Ft Myers. Plus they are charging me for the field visit. When I insert my previous MCARD in the new box, the Cablecard screen flashes MCARD for a sec then back to SCARD. The menu shows "Cablecard 1 is not in normal operation"....I sure hope this RMA unit is functioning properly when the Comcast dude shows up. The Tivo rep I called last night said this message is normal when the card is not authorized in the new Tivo.

The refurb I recieved as an RMA is not mint. It has lot's of handling scuffs on the front. It's looks like it was around a while. Couple scratches on the plastic. The original one I had was near mint. This one I would rate as good condition. Last connection was in Dec 07.

Buyer beware. Refurbs may be someone elses problems. It's a gamble. You may be lucky, or you may suffer undo frustration.



DB