Mind sharing the details of your bad experience? I'm sure many here would be interested to know. Cheers.
Even some brand new MacBooks come with scratches based on complaints in the Apple forums in US. And IIANM, from what I've read previously, refurbished sets normally do not provide a brand new battery, but just a battery which is 'new enough' - at 80% minimum capacity left.

Yup. The price difference is actually not significant. If you are not on a tight budget and are planning to use it for personal use and for years to come, better get a new one

Though I believe some people really don't mind cosmetic issues on their MacBook and are fine with the slightly-used battery capacity, and these are their target market.

i bought a refurbished unit from Apple. the casing and battery is totally new when i bring to diagnosis at genius bar

https://www.forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs...w/#2e58b7d97e4f

This might give a small insight on refurbished units