is it a good idea to purchase a used Laptop?

[andylawcc]

i never thought buying a laptop second hand is a good idea, mainly because it won't depreciate as fast as it become obselete. (I can save few hundred bucks in buying used, but I will also lose a few hundred mhz, RAM, HDD, and wireless capability).
Another thing is warranty, what happen if it breaks? i once had a bad experience myself where my mom bought a used Compaq and it cannot boot properly. Compaq won't fix it unless we pay X amount of dollars: almost 1/4 of the laptop price.

of course, that was an individual case, has anyone of you have good luck in getting a used laptop?

 

[CreativeTom]

If you are looking in that direction I would consider looking at a refurbished laptop, you can still save a few hundred, and usually you can get a warranty with the purchase.

 

[angstsoldat]

laptops suck imo .. only reason I would get one is maybe for college.......

 

[DaveSimmons]

Having a warranty is important for a laptop since you can't repair it as easily or cheaply as a desktop PC.

Also, speed has jumped so fast and prices have dropped so much that a used $400 laptop is not a great deal compared to a brand new $600 one.

Why do you want a laptop (what uses), and what is your budget?

 

[Cheezeit]

Originally posted by: angstsoldat
laptops suck imo .. only reason I would get one is maybe for college.......

nice thread crap:roll:

Anyways, its usually not a good idea to get a used laptop because they cost more to repair than desktops.

Edit: you beat me to it, dave 😀

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Having a warranty is important for a laptop since you can't repair it as easily or cheaply as a desktop PC.

yeah, that's also another reason why i try to stay away from used laptop.

Why do you want a laptop (what uses), and what is your budget?

well, it is not for me, its for my dad; he wants a cheap one (doesn't care much about Mhz, but do need some basic stuff like 802.11b/g) and most importantly a light weight. He doesn't care if the display is tiny, just as long as its light.
i guess that boils the selection down to only a few models. (Transmeta anybody? 🙂)

 

[furballi]

I wouldn't do it. Number one failure mode is the hard drive. Easy $300 repair bill. Other problem is the overheat issue with older notebooks. These things suck in a lot of craps. Overtime, this will cause the CPU to overheat.

Older backlight can also go out. Same with the battery. You can buy a new notebook with 512MB and Wi-Fi for about $500.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Light costs more, the $500 laptops are 6-7 LBs, for 4-5 LB you need a Dell Hot Deal and expect to pay $700+.

 

[andylawcc]

okay, thanks for the confirmation guys.

 

[corkyg]

I would never buy a used laptop for all the reasons stated above. I am on my 5th laptop and have never sold one. I always give them away to deserving people with the understanding that it can die any time. The useful life of a laptop is about 2-4 years depending on use or abuse.

 

[svi]

I'd say it depends on the laptop's make, on the components, on what you want from a notebook, and how much effort you're willing to put into restoration.

Make: Some notebooks just aren't built as well as others. This is a fact. I won't get into brand names or ODMs here (lest I insult an oversensitive owner of a poorly-made notebook), but some notebooks are still after 5-7 years and some have a lifetime limit of around 3.

Components: It makes more sense to purchase a used notebook if you're after a low-power (in both senses of the word) CPU.

What you want: Kind of self-explanatory. If you want to get the cheapest usable Windows XP notebook you can, you should probably look elsewhere; if you want something light and cheap but don't care about speed, you can find some great deals with old notebooks.

Restoration: You're going to replace the hard drive whether you want to or not, and you're probably screwed in terms of batteries too (you'll have to buy a "refurbished"/recelled battery if you want any sort of life with the older ones). If you're not up to replacing parts yourself, don't even bother.


Of course, if you're asking about a fairly new lightly used notebook (like, six months old), ignore all of the above. There is no real reason not to buy a given NEW-MODEL used notebook from a reputable seller... none that wouldn't apply to fresh-out-of-the-box ones, at least. I'm talking about 3+-year-old stuff.