Budget DSLR?

[foxor]

I take photos of a bit of everything...landscapes, macros, pets, friends...etc.

I will be looking to buy a used or refurbished DSLR in the near future. My budget will be $500 or less initially, and then eventually I'll probably look into buying additional lenses. I am a huge fan of canons, as all my point and shoot cameras have been canon, and not only am I familiar and comfortable with the interface, but I have been thrilled with the reliability of the cameras, and canon's customer service.

Given that, any thoughts or suggestions? What should I watch out for in used cameras? What sorts of things would you consider "deal killers"?

[inkista]

For me, personally, if there isn't a return policy in case I find something wrong with the equipment or disagree about the stated condition of the camera, that's a dealbreaker, but that's just my personal tolerance levels, and how much money I have to spend on camera gear.

Sidenote: if you have a broken S-series or G-series Canon P&S camera, give Canon Service a call and see if they offer you the Canon Loyalty Program for it. From the higher-tiered P&S cameras, they might offer you a refurbished XS for around $350. I do know that refurbed G!1s are $250 under the program right now. The A-series, won't qualify for the higher end cameras, though.

[foxor]

Wow, that sounds great about the loyalty program. I didn't know that existed. Too bad I just had one of my old canon p&s cameras repaired (totally free of charge, even though it was technically long out of warrantee) by canon because of a faulty image sensor.
I agree that some sort of return policy seems like a suitably cautious thing to do if dealing with used or refurbished cameras...thanks for the tip.