refurbished laptops

[me]

Hello:

I'm in the market for a laptop. As money is tight, I've been exploring
the used/refurbished market.

The laptop doesn't need to have a lot of horsepower. It would be used
for word processing, E-mail, Web surfing and file transfer through the
network port.

I'm currently considering a refurbished IBM Thinkpad offered on IBM's
Website. The price fits my budget and the hardware specs look good.

I was wondering if anyone here has any experience buying anything from
IBM in this manner? Positive or negative experiences would be appreciated.

regards,
me

 

[Dave C.]

Hello:

I'm in the market for a laptop. As money is tight, I've been exploring
the used/refurbished market.

The laptop doesn't need to have a lot of horsepower. It would be used
for word processing, E-mail, Web surfing and file transfer through the
network port.

I'm currently considering a refurbished IBM Thinkpad offered on IBM's
Website. The price fits my budget and the hardware specs look good.

I was wondering if anyone here has any experience buying anything from
IBM in this manner? Positive or negative experiences would be appreciated.

regards,
me

Well, if you have to get a refurb, IBM is a good bet. But I think it would
be tough to beat a new Dell for less than $700. -Dave

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/outrageous_notebooks?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd

 

[12volt]

I bought a used Thinkpad from thinkpads.com and it has worked well. Even
with an older TP, you can still download a lot of drivers etc., from IBM
along with documentation. But Dell and HP also seem to offer just as much
from my experience.



You might also consider places like Compgeeks.com, usanotebooks.com, or
dellauction.com. for other brands.



You probably realize this already, but with most of the used machines you
can count on the battery being shot, or close to it. If you intend to simply
run off the power supply it's no problem, but new batteries often command a
hefty price.

 

[me]

Hello:

Thanks Dave and 12v for your thoughts. According to IBM, the refurb
laptops come with a "refurb" battery. I suspect that means they at least
checked the battery to be sure it holds a charge.

I did comparison shop at Dell, Gateway and HP. Their prices are
considerably higher for similar laptops.

regards,
bruce

 

[John Mann]

Well, if you have to get a refurb, IBM is a good bet. But I think it would
be tough to beat a new Dell for less than $700. -Dave

Dell is even a better choice if you know how to speak Hindi; it really
rattles their tech support when you start barking back at them in
their native language.

 

[jimbo]

I am on my second refurbished Sony. I still use the first one for a
travelling companion. The warranty was the same as a new computer and
the price was about half that of a new one. Check out Ubid for many
options on new, refurbished, discontinued, etc. at great prices and
reasonable cost.

jimbo

 

[AndrewJ]

Hello:

Thanks Dave and 12v for your thoughts. According to IBM, the refurb
laptops come with a "refurb" battery. I suspect that means they at least
checked the battery to be sure it holds a charge.

I did comparison shop at Dell, Gateway and HP. Their prices are
considerably higher for similar laptops.

regards,
bruce

Instead of rebuilt this one is like new since it got no use. You can
upgrade to a CD burner for about $55 or a DVD burner for $165, at any
time.
1700+ m-AMD Vaio, 15" screen, 386MB RAM, 40GB 5200rpm Seagate
Momentous, DVD/CD drive: http://tinyurl.com/4xdn4

 

[JK]

Well, if you have to get a refurb, IBM is a good bet. But I think it would
be tough to beat a new Dell for less than $700.

It would be very easy to beat a Celeron notebook at around $700. There
are nice Athlon XP notebooks for around that price.

 

[Claire]

Not sure how much you are looking to spend, but if you have access to Sam's
Club, they have a new ECS Althon 1600 laptop for $578. And a 3 year service
policy available on it for $80.

I have a TP that is only good for a doorstop right now - it lasted a little
over a year. My Dell laptop has been good for almost 3 years, but I paid
about $300 for the 3 year warranty with it.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your search.

Claire

 

[me]

Hello:

Thanks to all who responded and shared their thoughts.

Of the new laptops, the Dell Inspiron noted by Dave seems to be the
best. Only drawback I can see is there is no mention whether it comes
with a modem. As I live in "no broadband land," a modem is necessary.

Thanks again for sharing your wisdom.

regards,
bruce