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Refurb IBM laptops. How good a deal is this?
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Refurb IBM laptops. How good a deal is this? Al Dykes 01-23-2007
Posted by Al Dykes on January 23, 2007, 10:34 am
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A major store here in NYC always has refurb IBM laptops that seem like
a pretty good deal. I'd like other opinions.

Yesterday they had a T30/256MB/40GB with XP/Pro (if it had WiFi, I
couldn't tell by looking) for $400. It looked clean.

90 day parts-only warrenty. two years full warranty for an extra $100
with a third party.

That machine is a damn sight better than the 1GHz Compaq laptop I use
now. I'd stuff more memory in that machine.

The store is J&R Music World which has a compter store as big as any
CompUSA or Best Buy and predictabbly has very competative prices.

http://www.jr.com/


I have no connection to J&R other than having been a happy customer
for decades.

The only think that worries me is that the sales guy I talked to said
that the store's usual 7 day no questions return policy didn't apply.
I have a fealing that I could get a second opinion on that if I pushed
them.





--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Harrison for Congress in NY 13CD www.harrison06.com
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001

Posted by Bert Hyman on January 23, 2007, 10:44 am
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 adykes@panix.com (Al Dykes) wrote in

> Yesterday they had a T30/256MB/40GB with XP/Pro (if it had WiFi, I
> couldn't tell by looking) for $400. It looked clean.

You can find out what the original config of a Thinkpad was by
visiting the Lenovo support site and entering the complete model
number. This will tell you things that aren't readily visible, like
WiFi or Bluetooth installed, what's the video card and display
resolution, etc.

Go to http://www.lenovo.com/ select "Support & Downloads" and enter
the model number in the product number field.

A T30 will have a part number like "2366-xxx" or "2367-xxx" which
should be on a sticker on the bottom of the unit.

Of course, there's no guarantee that the machine hasn't been modified
since it was sold.

--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN | bert@iphouse.com

Posted by Al Dykes on January 23, 2007, 11:12 am
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>adykes@panix.com (Al Dykes) wrote in
>
>> Yesterday they had a T30/256MB/40GB with XP/Pro (if it had WiFi, I
>> couldn't tell by looking) for $400. It looked clean.
>
>You can find out what the original config of a Thinkpad was by
>visiting the Lenovo support site and entering the complete model
>number. This will tell you things that aren't readily visible, like
>WiFi or Bluetooth installed, what's the video card and display
>resolution, etc.
>
>Go to http://www.lenovo.com/ select "Support & Downloads" and enter
>the model number in the product number field.
>
>A T30 will have a part number like "2366-xxx" or "2367-xxx" which
>should be on a sticker on the bottom of the unit.
>
>Of course, there's no guarantee that the machine hasn't been modified
>since it was sold.
>


IMO the chances of a random business laptop being "modified" other
than chaning memory or disk size is zero. Both of these are sacy to
check by laying on of hands. I'd bring a Knoppix CD to test the
puppy.

After I posted that message, it occurs that I should have asked if
offical and correct media comes with the machine. Probably IBM
recovery disks.


--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Harrison for Congress in NY 13CD www.harrison06.com
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001

Posted by Charlie Hoffpauir on January 23, 2007, 11:21 am
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On 23 Jan 2007 10:34:13 -0500, adykes@panix.com (Al Dykes) wrote:

>
>A major store here in NYC always has refurb IBM laptops that seem like
>a pretty good deal. I'd like other opinions.
>
>Yesterday they had a T30/256MB/40GB with XP/Pro (if it had WiFi, I
>couldn't tell by looking) for $400. It looked clean.
>
>90 day parts-only warrenty. two years full warranty for an extra $100
>with a third party.
>
>That machine is a damn sight better than the 1GHz Compaq laptop I use
>now. I'd stuff more memory in that machine.
>
>The store is J&R Music World which has a compter store as big as any
>CompUSA or Best Buy and predictabbly has very competative prices.
>
>http://www.jr.com/
>
>
>I have no connection to J&R other than having been a happy customer
>for decades.
>
>The only think that worries me is that the sales guy I talked to said
>that the store's usual 7 day no questions return policy didn't apply.
>I have a fealing that I could get a second opinion on that if I pushed
>them.

I owned a T30 that had a problem (common to many of that model,
apparently) with the power circuitry on the main board.... It would no
longer operate off the AC lines... wouldn't charge the battery nor
allow AC operation. I used it for several months by buying an external
(IBM) battery charger and a couple of extra batteries (it also had the
ability to remove the CD drive and insert a special battery there).

It was a wonderful machine and I hated to give it up.... but I
eventually sold it to a college student for $400.... I'd paid almost
that much for the extra batteries and charger to keep it running, but
it just got to be too much of a hassle. Repairs were estimated to be
over $1000... it required a new main board.

If the one you found doesn't now have a problem, it probably will
eventually, so definitely go with the 2 year full warranty if you
decide to get the computer.

Charlie Hoffpauir
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~charlieh/

Posted by Chris F Clark on January 23, 2007, 3:58 pm
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I've bought several refurb'ed thinkpads in the last couple of years.
More than a couple have died within about 9 months of my purchase.
Moreover, I get the impression that the T30, because it runs hot and
can have memory issues, is more failure prone than most. I don't know
about a 3rd party warantee, but I would also consider it, especially
if it is one +$100, which is much cheaper than ante-ing up for another
$400.

My gut feel is that $400 for that machine would be cheap. However, if
you go to Ebay, you can quickly see what similar machines go for. My
current primary machine is a T43p for ~$1k and I love it. It's on a 1
year IBM + 2 year 3rd party warantee. Once I'm past the 1st year and
it's still running, I will be happy.

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