Warrant check, does it show when reported stolen?

I'm currently looking for a new Thinkpad. Because of extreme pricing in Europe and a budget of around $1000 chances are I will get a used one.

There are quit a few secondhand Thinkpads on sale which still have Lenovo warranty, and even more people selling them who seem to lose any proof of purchase on the same day they actually buy them..

I was wondering, if I type in type and serial and it shows the laptop is still under warranty, does that say anything about the laptop being stolen? If a laptop gets stolen and it is reported to Lenovo, will they revoke warranty? Or show that a certain serial is reported as being stolen?

 

i dont know the answer to your question, but i suspect that the reason they "lose" proof of purchase is because they dont want you to see how much money they're making off you lol

 

I'm not sure how it works with Lenovo. With Dell, if I have the Service Tag, I've been able to call support and verify the owner. I've helped a police department track down a thief or two over the years, but all of this was dependent on the original owner registering their system after purchase.

If the laptop was owned by a company or school, it is probably easier to tell than an individual purchase. If the purchase has the majority of its warranty left, especially if it is a 2+ year warranty, or the system has accidental damage protection, it could be a red flag. A system missing an AC adapter could be another one (snatch-and-grab). Finally, a price that's a little too good to be true could be that way for a reason.

If something doesn't feel right, walk away.

 

Lenovo can't tell you whether the machine is stolen or not from the serial and model number. However, the original purchaser of the machine can get another copy of the receipt even if they lose it.

 

CompuTrace is a good way to recover a stolen machine. I had mine (and computrace) stolen a couple of years ago and as soon as the machine was plugged into the net the culprit was in the hands of the police. It does take a little time.

Renee