There's a rather unsettling rumor floating around the 'netwaves today concerning 'new' European Xbox 360 bundles that may be old refurbished consoles with outdated parts.

The Web site Logic-Sunrise claims that the new European bundle deal consisting of two games and two wireless controllers could contain hardware that predates the Falcon motherboard, meaning they are more likely to suffer the "red rings of death." The site says it has found Hitachi 47 DVD drives in the machines, as well as after-sales white labels in place of the common silver labels. One customer also reports his newly purchased 360 lacked the HDMI port, and even had pencil marks and blood stains on it. 

This is just a rumor until anything more concrete arises, but it's not like Microsoft has a proven track record of care and efficiency when it comes to electronic hardware. Considering the entire reason there are so many refurb units is because The 'Soft cuts corners and damns the consequences is enough to make this rather believable. It could also be a case of retailers switching out consoles themselves, like the shady wankers they are. So far, MS has not commented on the issue, but I'd check your 360 for spunk marks if you decide to buy one soon.