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[Lazy]

The Specs:

IBM T30
P4-M 1.8 Ghz
256 MB RAM
40 GB HD
CD-RW/DVD

$1000 (CDN)

Actually, it's not that I don't trust the seller, it's more that I don't know him too well. He's my friend's former co-worker, and my friend has good things to say about him, but still...

I'm going to check out the laptop very soon and I was wondering what warning signs I should look for so that this thing doesn't crap out on me the second I start it up from home.

When I'm looking at it, I'm going to do the following:

- check for scratches/damages on the outer casing (to see how the previous owner handled it...although I'm told it was barely used)
- stare-down the screen, making sure there are no dead pixels
- open up notepad and make sure that every key works
- play a DVD movie and maybe burn a CD

Please help me add to this list. Even though I don't completely trust the seller I'm thinking very hard about getting this. I've used T40s several times at work and I LOVE them. This is obviously a step down but the deal seems pretty good to me (assuming everything is in good working condition). Also, brand new laptops are too expensive.

He's also selling the docking station for $50 more. Is there any reason to purchase it? The laptop will mainly be used for school (taking notes, typing reports, etc) and for wireless access to the internet.

 

[belgurdo]

P-P-P-Powerbook

 

[ShadowRed]

You can get a brand new on for a 1000 with most of those features.

 

[aoi tsuki]

i don't know laptops very well, but i'd recommend checking out a new laptop versus getting one used. i'm sure you could find something comparable for a little more, that you could return should you have a problem and have a warranty should something happen a little further down the road.

 

[DaveH]

That's 1K Canadian, which is about $775 USD... about right. Not a deal if you're buying over eBay, but pretty good if you're buying from someone you trust. Which... apparently, you don't. I doubt it's a lemon. People who buy Thinkpads tend to be the type who buy higher end laptops, so they're bound to replace their hardware a little quicker.

Ask him if it's still under warranty. See if he tinkered with the bios (not necessarily a bad thing, a "hacked" bios will let you use non-IBM miniPCI wireless cards). The keyboard can be replaced pretty cheaply/easily so I wouldn't worry to much about that. Definitely check the battery health to see if it's been cycled to death (that'll be about $80USD to replace).

 

[ohamsie]

Try to find his secret porn stash, it's got to be somewhere