Under even the best of circumstances, most manufacturers experience "failure rates" that are fairly consistent for products that roll off their assembly lines.

Statistically, the chance of having a problem in the first year of owning a refurbished computer is considerably less than if you bought that same product "new-in-the-box", right off the assembly line.

A refurbished product may be an item that had an immediate problem, or wasn't what the customer ordered, or was a "Demo" product at a trade show or store. In any case, it is thoroughly gone through and tested before selling as refurbished. The manufacturer doesn't want to deal with it again if they can avoid it.

Dell, Apple, Gateway, and many other manufacturers usually have online stores to sell their refurbished goods. Almost always they offer full warranties and may qualify for optional extended warranties.