To answer your questions:

1) Does anyone have experience with refurb AED's?
Refurbished AEDs are pretty much as good as new, except often not the newest technology. I have used refurbished cardiac monitor/defibrillators over the years and think they are a good choice for agencies with tight budgets.

2) Any specific manufacturer better than the rest?
I have my favorites, but it is nothing more then personnel preference. Stick with the big names like Medtronics/Physiocontrol (aka LifepPak), Zoll and Philps.

3) Is a vehicle mounted/charged (12VDC) option available?
Yes, however for your application you would be better suited with a unit that has a 2 to 5 year battery and doesn’t require a charger.

4) Is a refurb AED like the refurb parachute, better than nothing?
No, see question #1 above… a refurbed AED is tested and like new. You need to make sure you purchase refurbs from the company that does the work.

5) If purchased new, what is the life cycle on something like this?
Really it is dependent on how it is abused/used. We have a defibrillator that is over 15 years old, it continues to function and pass annual tests… this unit was on a busy ALS engine company for 6 years as the primary monitor/defibrillator and as a backup since then.

6) How often / how expensive is re-calibration?
Again, depends on the unit, but if you get one of the 5 year shelf life… well, 5 years unless you use it or something happens to it.

7) How long is training?
An AED can be used by anyone, but I highly suggest at the minimum a basic CPR class with AED. For what you are doing, a 40hr First Responder course (like ARC’s Emergency Response) would give you some more training and tools for a wider scope of emergencies.

8) What legal mess am I opening up?
Yes and no, as a “Good Samaritan” you may be covered where you live/work (you will need to check local laws). However, there is always a potential legal problem anytime you render aide to an injured or sick person. There is also legal risk for NOT rendering aide, especially in a remote environment. Only you can ask yourself if the risk outweights the benefit or vice versa.

9) Anything I missed?

Most AEDs that are designed for applications like you are thinking of are pretty simple. The daily check is simply checking the indicator light/window on the AED to see if it passed its own daily self-test and is in the ready state. Most of these units have disposable batteries that require replacement every 2-5 years and you can get a spare battery to throw in trunk if you wanted. While these aren’t the units I chose for our fire department (mostly because of a different set of requirements) I would seriously look at Zoll’s AED Plus (which I believe uses Type 123 batteries).

As far as getting one legally, everyplace is different but I do know more than one person who has gotten one by getting s prescription from their doctor. With today’s technology, it would be really hard to do harm with one (but not impossible).