help! roomate stepped on laptop but i'm unsure of the cost

[cLiPLiK]

hello,
i don't know much about computers but my roomate stepped on my laptop, which is a COMPAQ Presario 80XL200 i have had for like 3 yrs now. it's broken now and he wants to pay me only 150 dollars for it, and for some reason i think i'm getting jipped. i tried to do some research on line of how much this computer would cost, but couldn't find much information. my computer looks like this one here although it's a different model:
http://hardware.earthweb.com/c...ers/article.php/773621

i then did a search on ebay for a computer with similar specs but only found this one, which doesn't look like mine:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...;rd=1#ebayphotohosting

can anyone help me in finding out a fair valuation of my computer? thanks so much in advance!

 

[imported_whatever]

i dont know exactly how much it should be, but certainly more than that. laptops keep value very well.

 

[Mik3y]

what are the specs of the system and define broken.

 

[UsandThem]

A new price check is born :Q

Why not get a price of a system similar to yours?

 

[minofifa]

he offered you 150 bucks for a broken lap top? haha what a jerk

 

[cLiPLiK]

wow! you guys responded fast!

the specs are appox as follows:
700mhz/256mb/10gig hd

he stepped on the lcd screen, which cracked in half....
any additional help is greatly appreciated

 

[Malak]

Eh, it is 3 years old, but could have been 4 year old hardware... Don't think a computer that old, regardless of desktop or laptop, is worth much. But how do you step on one? Slap your roommate for me.

 

[robcy]

Ask him to replace it with something similar in specifications, I bet he will spend more than 150 to do that.

 

[RussianSensation]

Since the laptop is unworkable, find the price online of a similarly configured used laptop and show him.

 

[asm0deus]

your laptop and your roommate suck, the value is obviously more than $150, settle for $200 and he watches his damn step from now on.

 

[Dennis Travis]

With those Specs typically on Ebay $450 or more. That one you gave a link to is similar in specs to yours and was a very good deal actually. Places that sell used Laptops are even higher for a 700 Mhz PIII. To me he at least owes you $400-450. You might be able to find a new display if that is all that broke but often on the TFT Panels it might run as much as a whole used Laptop to replace yours! $150 will not even buy you a used IBM Thinkpad 770 with a 233 MMX in good shape! Don't let him rip you off. That is WAY too little.

 

[jpeyton]

Look for a completed eBay auction.

 

[w00t]

"roomate stepped on my laptop", "it's broken now and he wants to pay me only 150 dollars for it" ROFL owned. dont be someones bitch man tell that fool hes gonna have to pay for a newone or replace the one u have. i would say get money and than buy a new one.

 

[imported_Leaf]

Originally posted by: w00t
"roomate stepped on my laptop", "it's broken now and he wants to pay me only 150 dollars for it" ROFL owned. dont be someones bitch man tell that fool hes gonna have to pay for a newone or replace the one u have. i would say get money and than buy a new one.

:thumbsup: yea he stepped on it on purpose to spite you.

 

[fuzzynavel]

get him to get it repaired and make sure he pays for it....see if there are any companies locally who do laptop TFT repairs....or get in contact with the original manufacturer and get a quote from them.....definately more that $150 though....that is not going to get you a working laptop.....

Tell him to find a working laptop of similar specs and get him to buy it....that is the value of your laptop...

 

[kranky]

What did he do, climb up on a table then stand on it? Or was it laying on the floor?

 

[Andres3605]

just tell him to replace your computer with other with similar specs, dont take cash, tell him if he gives u another one he can keep yours

 

[piroroadkill]

I have physically JUMPED with all my weight onto a Compaq Evo something or other, can't remember the model, and it worked perfectly after.

It was techincally mine but a friend of mine was borrowing it and he pissed me off so much I jumped on it. Yeah, I wasn't clever but then it's not every day you find out he was planning on fukcing my girlfriend.

It was upside down though, so maybe that makes a difference.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Be glad that it was a human that broke your laptop, and that you can verify the identity of the perp. A friend of mine had his Dell laptop broken while visiting a friend. His friend's cat dropped an entire stereo on it.

 

[Cheetah8799]

IMO, I think if you left the laptop on the floor and your roommate accidentally stepped on it, then you are each half at fault and should split the replacement cost of a similar spec laptop.

If however it was intentional on the part of your roommate, then he should pay full replacement cost.

Or if you left it under a pile of clothes or newspapers or something on the floor, then you obviously don't seem to care for it much, and should maybe cover 75% or more of replacement because you are more at fault for being careless.

 

[Tiamat]

Thats bull, 150$ is too low. If it was totally his fault, he should pay 200-300$. I found this similar item on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...em=6727994349&rd=1

and

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISA...em=6728512508&rd=1

 

[dullard]

Laptops generally keep their value for a longer time than desktops. But that is due to the fact that you could get laptops for $1000 minimum and desktops for $300. In the last few months, laptop prices have plunged. You can now get a brand new laptop for as low as $600 and the price is still falling. I'd say the days of a 700 MHz laptop selling for $450-$500 are almost gone.

Due to that fact, I'd say your laptop is probably worth $300 (give or take $50). Now since it may very well be your fault that the laptop was on the floor, you might want to offer to pay for half of it (give us details if we are wrong). So $150-$200 isn't a bad offer.

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: piroroadkill
I have physically JUMPED with all my weight onto a Compaq Evo something or other, can't remember the model, and it worked perfectly after.

It was techincally mine but a friend of mine was borrowing it and he pissed me off so much I jumped on it. Yeah, I wasn't clever but then it's not every day you find out he was planning on fukcing my girlfriend.

It was upside down though, so maybe that makes a difference.

LOL

 

[cLiPLiK]

wow, i'm so surprised by the number of replies.
first of all, thanks for everyone's responses, even if it were just to share an anecdote about an old or broken laptop,

now, for further details of the destruction of my laptop. i actually didn't leave it on the floor or anything like that, he borrowed it to use at one of his club functions or whatever and left it on the ground and then stepped on it. so, all in all, it was completely his fault since he borrowed it and took on responsbility for it. at least that's my interpretation of the situation.

i think dullard's response is close to my thoughts on the value of the laptop. i saw dell selling laptops their basic laptop for like 600 dollars or cheaper lately, so it seems like 450 for a 3 year old laptop is a bit much. thanks to all of your suggestions, i'm going to see if i can tell him to do one of the following:
1. replace my laptop with one of similar specs
2. tell him to give me 350 bucks and call it even
3. tell him to take it to see if it can be fixed
4. tell him i "accidentally" stepped on his desktop while break dancing :evil:

if anyone has any other links to completed ebay auctions or used laptop websites that show the value of a similarly configured laptop, please post them here.

once again, thanks to everyone for being so helpful. In particular, thanks to tiamat for the links to ebay auctions and Dennis Travis and dullard for their valuations on the laptop. oh yeah, loved all the stories, esp the one about the stereo and also asm0deus' quote "your laptop and your roommate suck" was good. i've got to say, don't think there are many other online communities out there that parallel anandtech's. thanks again

 

[Tiamat]

Definately option 2. Take 350$ or so. As per your story, he was completely at fault. You trusted him, and he fvcked up. Therefore he pays for it. It doesnt matter how much it is worth - it matters how much it costs to get you back up and running.

For instance, if my roommate was drunk and hosed my system, i would make him pay 3500$ even though components alone are 2500$. The time and effort to set it all up, trouble of getting all 500 GB of my media encoded from my hard copies... etc.