Anything to watch out for buying a used laptop?

LeeH · 02-09-2008, 08:53 AM

I need a laptop, but don't want to spend much. There are a couple of guys in town who sell off lease P4 and faster laptops already loaded with XP Pro, MS Office, and wifi. Seems like a fair deal at $350. Is there any reason to be concerned buying one of these?

The same guy has a dozen or so of the same models which give me some confidence they weren't plucked from the backseat of someone's car yesterday.

gr8fl4porsche · gr8fl4porsche's Garage

I bought a couple off Craigslist recently.

No problems and scored some real nice notebooks. Both came with all the original packaging and recovery discs as well as loaded with all kinds of software.

Just make sure it boots up fine, the hard drives are fairly silent and the screen is scratch free without dead pixels.

A leased notebook was probably used for business , carried a lot and used a lot. Maybe try to find someone who bought it new, barely used it and now just wants it out of their house. Lots of folks buy notebooks and never use them.

Joeaksa · 02-09-2008, 09:20 AM

Would look at IBM Thinkpad, Panasonic Toughbook or Dell laptops.

Any chance you could get him to install a new hard drive (usually under $100) then put the software on them? If the computer has been knocked around a bit the hard drive is usually the first thing to go and putting a new one in right off would end that issue.

If you want one to run faster, max out the RAM possible and put a 7200 RPM hard drive in the unit. Really speeds them up for low cost.

Before you start using whichever you buy, if its not had a new hard drive installed, would check it extensively for both virus's and key loggers. No need to send your personal data around the world to the hackers.

Joe

Scott R · Scott R's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Would look at IBM Thinkpad, Panasonic Toughbook or Dell laptops.

Any chance you could get him to install a new hard drive (usually under $100) then put the software on them? If the computer has been knocked around a bit the hard drive is usually the first thing to go and putting a new one in right off would end that issue.

If you want one to run faster, max out the RAM possible and put a 7200 RPM hard drive in the unit. Really speeds them up for low cost.

Before you start using whichever you buy, if its not had a new hard drive installed, would check it extensively for both virus's and key loggers. No need to send your personal data around the world to the hackers.

Joe

Great post IMHO, Thinkpad and a 7200 will be a great combo.

Moses · 02-09-2008, 10:00 AM

JavaBrewer · JavaBrewer's Garage

I spec'd my new IBM with a 7200 HD. That upgrade is not common, they are not stocked, and delivery took 3 weeks as they had to build it custom... I admit the laptop is a performer.

I would go with a used laptop but also scan the sales for a week or two at Best Buy or similar. I recently picked up a brand new Sony Laptop with Core Duo processor for $550.

Flatbutt1 · 02-09-2008, 10:26 AM

Be sure it's clean WRT viruses and such. AMHIK.

RickM · RickM's Garage

Ask if they have a standard warranty as well as extended. If they're local and want to retain their reputation they should be quite accommodating.

azasadny · azasadny's Garage

A used Dell Latitude D600 is a decent laptop. There are many available as big companies tend to lease them for 3 years, then the lease company unloads them on eBay for $300 or so.

Halm · 02-09-2008, 02:41 PM

Might try Dell Financial Sales too:

http://www.dfsdirectsales.com/

LeeH · 02-09-2008, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halm

Might try Dell Financial Sales too:

http://www.dfsdirectsales.com/

I looked at that web site last night. The Latitude D600 is $450 with limited software. The ones that are for sale locally have MS Office already installed, plus the docking station and a case for $350. Really sounds like a pretty good deal.

Sapporo Guy · 02-10-2008, 02:55 AM

I always wipe the harddrive clean ... as in having zeros written to it several times. This normally gets most viruses and problems off the drive.

Then reinstall the system.

lolo, you could always try to recover the drive and see what was on it before

Joeaksa · 02-10-2008, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmoolenaar

I spec'd my new IBM with a 7200 HD. That upgrade is not common, they are not stocked, and delivery took 3 weeks as they had to build it custom... I admit the laptop is a performer.

Its not common if you get the faster hard drive direct from the maker, but you can get a 7200 rpm drive from any of the usual providers in several days by UPS or FedEx. www.pricewatch.com is a good place to look for parts.

Pop in the "rescue disk" and restore everything back to the original config and you have a laptop that boots and runs about 1/3rd to 1/2 faster. Really made my old Dell 600m work a lot nicer.

Halm · 02-10-2008, 05:00 AM

Lee, I agree with you about price. These are a bit more expensive than your local source. I mentioned them only because you know that they are "cleaned up" by Dell.

Also look at Dell Auctions: http://www.dellauction.com/ . I have never used it, but the prices appear to be a bit lower.

And still another option, you can get a brand new Dell for $499 at their Small Business site:
http://www.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/hot_offers_nb?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
And you can get it with XP if you so prefer.

Finally, you might want to compare the price of a D610 versus the D600. The 600 is decent, but it is much older technology. The step up in models might get you a lot more use before you need to upgrade again.

nightheart · nightheart's Garage

Also keep an eye on the battery. If the laptops are even a few years old, then the battery normally won't hold much of a charge. They can normally be picked up on ebay for a few $'s. I'd also check out the model number and recalls. Dell and a few others have had recalls on the power cords, due to fires.

Sapporo Guy · 02-10-2008, 08:13 AM

Sony batteries.

however, this issue should be solved by now.

+1 harddrive

hytem · 02-10-2008, 01:27 PM

Try to avoid commercially leased ones. They have had heavy use and can go on you easily after a short time.
Better to get a top of the line privately used one for about $400-450. They are better built than the cheaper laptops. IBMs are most all commercial. Now another name. Begins with an L.
Dell Latitude or HP Pavilion are good. Pentium 4 system. Get one with windows XP. Vista still has bugs.

LeeH · 02-10-2008, 03:01 PM

Thanks for all of the input.

I just picked up the D600. It's a Pentium M 1.6 GHz with 512 MB of Ram, 40 GHz hard drive and a CD Burner/DVD drive running XP Pro. It's main purpose is running Quickbooks and surfing so it should have plenty of resources for my needs.

Short of a tiny scuff on one corner it looks like it's never been used. Screen, case, and keyboard are virtually perfect. Battery meter was showing 4 hours remaining on boot up. For $350 I'm really impressed with how nice it is. We'll see how it goes... I'll certainly report back if it bursts into flames.

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