Refurbished T40 - A good idea?

Hello,
I've been looking for a well built, inexpensive ($550ish) laptop. My first thought was to look at ThinkPads, and since I can't afford any new ones, I've been looking at used/refurbished ones.

I recently found a refurbished T40 for $500 on eBay. It has a 1.3GHz Pentium M, 2GB of RAM, and a 30GB hard drive. It also comes with XP Pro, which is a big deal since I'll be using it on my college's network. It's listed as being in Grade-A condition.

I already have a fast desktop, so I'm looking for an inexpensive, portable laptop that I can take to classes and be able to work outside my room, without breaking the bank.

It looks to have everything I want (I don't care about hard disk space) but before I pull the trigger, I have a few questions:

1) Is buying a three year old laptop as opposed to a bargain basement new one a good idea?

2) I expect the battery to be less than perfect, so if I find its life unacceptable, would I be able to buy a high-quality, 9 cell replacement?

3) How does the Pentium M compare to a modern Celeron M?

4) Is there something better for around this price? (I could go higher for something that's really worth it)

Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

I believe IBM/Lenovo sells refurbished laptops. Their prices should be higher than eBay prices, I imagine.

 

google ibm certified used notebook. they come with good batteries.

yes pentium m is much better than celeron.

the t40 is good, and the one on ebay will run nicely for your needs with all that RAM. Depends on the condition as to whether it's a good deal or not. At least the certitifed ones from ibm tend to be like new, and can be returned no questions asked.

 

I think a T40 for $500 is a solid choice. There really isn't too much of a difference between the T4x's. My friend has a t40 and it still runs great.

I don't think it will be a speed demon, but it should work well for your needs. It should get very good battery life with that processor, and it will also be lighter than the other T4x's. The only thing I don't really like is no warranty.

Are there any issues T40s have that would make you worry? I don't know of any, but I would check that out to be safe.

2. Yes, the 9-cells from ibm/lenovo fit all the t4x's.
3. PM > Celeron M; celeron Ms have speedstep disabled --> poor battery life

If you need something portable, you could also look at the x40's, which are 12". Here's one on ebay for pretty cheap.

You could also check out dells maybe? Either refurbished or new with coupons, you can sometimes get a computer for pretty cheap. I've had bad experience with dells, but it might be worth a look.

 

Perhaps if you want to go new, something like the HP V3000Z with the Sempron CPU might work. It won't be as well built as the ThinkPad, but you will have a years warranty.

 

Thanks a lot for your responses, I ended up getting the thinkpad, and I'm pretty excited! As it turns out, the one I've bought still has a few months of its warranty left.

I had looked at dells, but I also have had some bad experiences, (and seen a lot of dell laptops going back for warranty repairs here) so I decided I wanted something with a proven track record. I looked at the X series, but I couldn't justify the extra cost and reduced performance to save a pound or two.

The thing that really attracted me was the promise of 5+ hours of batterly life from the T40. Now that I'm getting one, can anyone reccomend a good merchant to get that 9 cell battery from? I've seen prices ranging from $80-$180, so I'm not sure if I'm getting the "real deal" at the low end of prices.

Thanks again, I'm glad to join the thinkpad owners club!

 

I would suggest Pricegrabber.

 

http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/s...2&catalogId=-840&langId=-1&categoryId=2576396

Here is the link for officially certified used Thinkpad's. The warranty is for three months, and the batteries are "refurbished and tested" (used?). $500 could buy a T30.

 

What about the warranty for the ebay laptop ?

 

I got a refurbed T41p about a year ago, somewhat similar specs to yours: 1gb, earlier centrino (1.4ghz I think) etc. I got it off of eBay from a group called thinkpad world and it came with a 3 year warranty from IBM.

A few months after I got it (and the day before my first day of law school) the hard drive died. IBM screwed up submitting my first call, but they had a tech out to my home the day after they got it submitted properly and he replaced the drive. I'm still using this laptop for all my notes and what-not and it is very easy to carry around, even with all the huge law school books they make us tote, so it sounds like if you can get a T40, with a decent warranty through IBM this might be a good plan, think of it like buying a used car, would you rather have a used beamer, or get a new Chevy Aveo (sorry to pick on Chevy for all the GM fans out there)?

 

A T40 is unlikely to have any warranty left.

 

I just checked the site for the guys I bought mine from and they are listing several T40p's with 3 year warranties as well as T30's with a 3 year warranty, I assume other resellers are doing the same thing. If you just buy one from Bob in podunk Michigan, then yeah, the warranty is gone, but if you buy one from IBM or a reseller then you can probably get some sort of warranty at least.