refurb laptops: Are they reliable?

[mrming]

So, whats the word? Do refurb laptops from the original makers hold up as well as the nib ones?


I'm looking for is just a basic laptop, for some light programming, web browsing, and hauling around on vacations to dump images to. At present, I'm considering only fujitsu and IBM for refurb's and am trying to stay south of $1k. Am I asking for trouble with a refurb, or do they have to clear a higher standard to be put back in the market?

[unclescrooge]

i am also looking at refurbs for my first laptop.

here's what i know so far...

first things first...figure out what you're going to use the portable for--buy a little more than you need because you never know what your future needs (and finances)might be.

buy from reputable dealers

buy a reputable brand (i'm leery of the reliability of white box laptops)

do your homework on the models of the brands you do like

research the price

remember that the battery will probably also be used so you might want to consider adding a new battery (priced around $150 or less on average) into the purchase price.

finally...drive around town and see if a pawnshop or some other place has one that you can look at. you're not going to buy it from them but it'll give you an opportunity to put your fingers on the keys and feel the weight.

i am seriously looking at the dell c400 because it's lightweight. it'll run me about $500 plus $150 for a new battery = $650

so to answer your question...yea..some refurbs are quite good and some are mutts (like everything else). you have to arm yourself before you go hunting for one.

good luck!

[coolqf]

The best guess, they're as realiable as the person you buy it from.

[red bioroid]

I got both my IBM Thinkpad 240\240x from Ebay. $200 and $300 each. Off course, ask the seller what the return policy is. If there are any cracks and dead pixels, jammed keys on keybaord. If Windows istall fines and you left the laptop powered on for 12 hours burn in test, you're likely fine. I resold the 240 later on. Both were rock solid laptop. If you know what you are looking for, you'll be fine.


$200 for laptop for $100 for 60GB hard drive upgrade and you're ready to go. $200-$300 is near risk free.

[stonez]

eh well i've had hit or miss experience with my dell refurb. LCD is fine, hard ware seems fine. Fans cut out on me and it start overheating, but that was after i upgraded the bios and then i downloaded a program to manually control the fans. My processor hardly ever want to run at full speed (thanks to intel).. so i have kinda had to refurb my refurb lol.

[ua549]

There is either no warranty or a very short warranty on used equipment. What will you lose if the system breaks a few weeks after you buy it? What will it cost to recover your data? Is the additional risk worth the few dollars you might save?

[stonez]

It would have cost me 300 bones to fix the problems i had with mine (dell out of warranty service), I figured it out by myself and save some money.

[SkyDog]

Originally posted by ua549
There is either no warranty or a very short warranty on used equipment...

That may usually be the case, but some manufacturers give longer warranties on the return/refurb systems they sell. Dell, for example, offers the same standard 1-year warranty for new or refurbished laptops (with options to purchase longer warranties).