<p>Is the risk of a hidden problem worth it to purchase a high end laptop that’s gotten a about three years of ordinary business use? The asking price from the refurbisher is a fraction of what the thing sold for when new. The shop says that the computer is in good working order, has only cosmetic wear, and they offer a 30-day warranty.</p>
<p>IMO if it’s high end from three years ago it’s probably the same specs as what a new low end laptop is going for on the market today. I’d say just to buy a cheap new one if you are trying to save money, with a full warranty rather then 30 days. But that’s just my opinion.</p>
<p>My BF bought a used laptop about a year or so and when he told me how much he paid for it I almost fell over. My brand new laptop which is much faster then his only cost about $100 more.</p>
<p>We got DD a VERY high end laptop four years ago. It was expensive and had all the bells and whistles…we got it through the Dell outlet for $1000 a top of the line Dell Latitude (business machine). It was a deal but very good.</p>
<p>We just replaced that computer with a NEW Dell Inspiron I-4 1440R. It is much more powerful, much better equiped and cost us about $400.</p>
<p>If it were me, I’d buy new. I’m quite sure my DD’s old laptop has virtually NO resale value.</p>
<p>Having owned new Dell products over the last 10 years, i feel their quality has become miserable.Also,I would never buy a used computer…It seems todays computers have become disposable in less then 3 years…Though i hear Apple products are worth the cost,so perhaps that is my next purchase</p>
<p>I’ve bought used laptops but only for myself and for specific reasons ($50 bucks for a Lattitude with a smaller screen that would fit pretty much in a large purse etc,) and I’m capable of doing more maintenace than most… otherwise the cost for a basic PC new that will do what 99% of people need to do…super inexpensive.</p>
<p>We purchased a refurbished laptop from Dell for our son. Computing power is not that big of a consideration for him, as he only needs internet access and word processing, so going low budget seemed like a good way to go. When he dropped the computer and needed to replace the screen, it wasn’t easy or cheap as the model was outdated and the part could not be sourced locally. Would not recommend older models for this reason.</p>
<p>Our upcoming engineering major daughter will be receiving a new and higher performing laptop (with replacement insurance) for college.</p>
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<p>The DD I referenced above was an engineering major in college. AND she had the three year in home warranty. Her Dell Latitude from the outlet was actually a NEW return…never had been out of the original packing.</p>
<p>I’m going to say with great exception, you can purchase a new one with equal (or better specs) to that top of the line, for a a fraction. Where the price will jump up is with the service agreement, which you wouldn’t have with a used one anyway. Avoid that with a new one. It will have a manufactures agreement, and most credit cards you use will extend this (check your TOS). You should be able to find a pretty decent toshiba for about $600.</p>
<p>EDIT: I crossed posts with a few members. I do advocate purchasing computers from the bookstore on campus with a svc agreement when your student is at school. Service with a loaner for a student on-site is a real blessing when a drink is spilled on the keyboard or something else happens. With engineering students you can’t buy anything until May anyway when the schools put out the specs for the new class.</p>
<p>We have bought a number of used apple laptops, mostly from e-bay. And we have resold them for a decent price. Never had much of problem with them, although both H and sons can do a techy stuff. As a matter of face right now I am working on a MacBook that we bought on ebay about four years ago for $400. It works great.</p>
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<p>I’m glad I went for the service agreement on my S’s laptop…it’s covered two hard drives, a battery, and a new power cord in the course of 3 years so I definitely got my money’s worth! Unfortunately, it expired 2 days ago.</p>
<p>I second the idea of buying from the college if they have decent prices. My D’s business class machine was offered at a very good price, with pro-version software and 4 years of on-campus service included. They had it all set up and ready to go before she stepped foot on campus and will provide a loaner if it needs service/repairs, most of which can be done in-house. It has been worth it for the peace of mind alone.</p>
<p>sk8rmom, out of curiosity, can i ask something?, does your S have a Dell? They are the only laptop maker that I have seen where their laptops go through hard drives like candy on Halloween. I always tell my friends not to bother with the service agreement unless they are buying one of them because more then likely they will have to use it. Not that they are all bad… but I’ve only met a handful of people not to have issues with them.</p>
<p>3 year old laptop? No. Every single laptop my DH has had died right from 2 to 3 years old. Not easy stuff like the memory or hard drive, tough expensive stuff like the screen. </p>
<p>It should be a very tiny fraction, like a tenth… and I wouldn’t expect it to last much longer than 30 days.</p>
<p>My dell laptop is currently on its fourth year and is very much on the way out. By the end of the second year we had spent more than the original cost on repairs, and we are about to have to make the same repairs on it again. Unless it was a really good deal I’d rather just buy new-- and not a dell.</p>
<p>My dad used to swear by dells but every one we’ve bought in the last five years or so have been crap. I’d be willing to consider defecting to mac now and abandon PC altogether if I wouldn’t have to re-purchase all my games.</p>
<p>There was an industry-wide problem with laptops from about Summer 2007 to the end of 2008 with graphics chips from nVidia. These tended to be mid-range to high-end models. There were large number of laptop failures after a few months to a little over a year of use. Many vendors replaced motherboards for the systems with the same faulty chips and some users had several motherboard replacements before demanding a refund or replacement of their laptop.</p>
<p>The pace of technological improvements has been breathtaking in the last five years. Disks continue to get bigger or faster with SSDs, bus speeds are getting faster, memory is getting bigger and faster, screens have better technology to save power, CPUs give you more compute horsepower while consuming less battery power. With a new system, you’ll likely get a much better warranty too.</p>
<p>What did they do in the refurb? Did they replace the hard drive? Hard drives accumulate bad sectors over time. Do you want the old operating system (maybe Windows Vista which a lot of people don’t like)?</p>
<p>If you need to save money, could you get an old machine from a relative for free? Shaking the family tree a little might get you something at no cost.</p>
<p>We have 9 laptops with the oldest from 2000. They all work. We have Dells, HPs and Apples. We’ve been very lucky on quality. Dell and HP have had their share of quality problems over the years. If you buy one when they’re in heavy cost-cutting mode, you might get a bad one.</p>
<p>I have two toshibas, one from about 7 years ago that is still going strong and a newer one that I bought about a year ago for portability. (It’s amazing how far we have came in making things tiny… My old one looks like a tank compared to the new one!!) My sister had one, my mom had one, and my grandmom has one also. Never any issues with the exception of when my sister dumped iced tea on hers. Wound up shorting out the speakers and she had to have them replaced. As far as I know hers still works, she bought it about 5 years ago but replaced it not too long when she decided she wanted an apple.</p>
<p>There was a study done by a warranty company about a year or two ago… you can read about it here… <a href=“http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf[/url]”>http://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_laptop_reliability_1109.pdf</a></p>
<p>It says Toshiba and Asus are most reliable, and HP and Gateway are the least reliable.</p>
<p>The (refurbished) iBook G4 I am currently using was purchased from an authorized MAC dealer when DD was a h.s. sophomore … that was 2003/2004. When she left for college in 2006, she got a new laptop and I inherited this one. We have replaced the battery once (bought a used one) and I’ve been through two power cords due to my tripping over them and damaging them. I had always used a desktop PC and was resistant to change (MAC) but when my Dell desktop computer crashed, I started using this exclusively. Some of the letters have completely disappeared from the keys due to heavy use, but I’m very familiar with a keyboard, so it’s no big deal. My husband and DD have MAC laptops, too, and we’re all very happy with them.</p>
<p>If the deal was right I’d be willing to buy one. There isn’t much risk of ‘hidden problems’ - especially if there’s some kind of warranty with it. </p>
<p>Forget about its current price relative to its original price since that’s not relevant. What’s relevant is its price now relative to what you could buy an equivalent new laptop for. With computers as time goes by they get more powerful and less expensive. It’s possible you could buy a new laptop with equivalent power for not much more but of course it depends on what the actual deals of the two are.</p>
<p>Pay close attention to -
- The hinges for the display. These can break over time.
- The keyboard. This can wear and some keys might not work as well as new. It can also get ‘gunk’ under some keys that can affect their actoin. However, laptop keyboards are usually inexpensive and easy to replace as long as one’s still available for your model which should be easy enough to check on. Maybe the ‘refurbisher’ just replaced it in which case this is a non-issue.
- Power adapter. Make sure the cord and connector are sound and not frayed.
- Hard disk. Newer ones can sometimes be more error prone than older ones so I wouldn’t be too concerned here although a diagnostic could be run on it to see if it has an abnormal number of bad sectors.
- Overall condition. Make sure the overall condition of the plastic parts like the corners which hit the ground first when dropped, the surface of the display, the connectors are sound.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that a newer operating system and current software apps may not run as well on an older computer. Generally the hardware requirements the OS and apps need increase with every release - for example, what Windows XP might have run just fine on Windows 7 may have a hard time with. If you don’t plan on switching to a newer OS/apps and are happy with what’s currently on it then you s/b fine. OTOH my D has upgraded her laptop (about a 5 y/o Dell) from XP to Vista to Windows 7 although she upgraded the memory along the way. </p>
<p>So, it really comes down to what the cost is, what kind of shape it’s really in, and what you plan to do with it.</p>
<p>Yes, COST, what you plan to do with the computer, how good you are at repairing/maintaining/fixing/upgrading computers & its current shape are all very important. </p>
<p>For MOST people, it is NOT worth it to buy a used laptop. For both of my kids, neither laptop lasted 3 years; both had problems with their respective machines from when they were purchased & ultimately, S received a full refund after 2.5 years (2 years under manufacturer’s warranty for his Sony & the 3rd year under AmEx’s warranty). For D, hers was 1.75 years old (1 year under HP manufacturer’s warranty & 2nd year under AmEx’s warranty). They have both replaced with lighter netbooks at a fraction of weight & cost & are happy with them.</p>
<p>One GREAT advantage in buying new is you get a warranty from the manufacturer (often 1-2 years) and ALSO MAYBE a warranty from the credit card company you charge the computer on (e.g. many AmEx & some other companies). This is very valuable & keeps you from having to buy an extended warranty. The warranty covered EVERYTHING and ultimately gave us full refunds when the kids computers malfunctioned. When S’s replacement Netbook malfunctioned, the warranty again came through & got him a free repair!</p>
<p>Anyway, that’s our opinion. We also LOVE buying from Costco, because they have fabulous customer service & return policy. They give “concierge” service on all electronics purchased from them as well.</p>
<p>fendergirl, my S has a lower-end HP. My Dell desktop is about 10 y.o. and is just developing it’s first problem! When I turn it on, it starts to boot and then completely shuts off. Anyone ever experience this? Obviously the machine doesn’t owe me anything but there are a few photos and files I’d like to retrieve before it goes to CPU heaven!</p>
<p>sk8, does it turn all the way on in safe mode? Do you know how to do that? Try pressing F8 as the computer is booting up. Don’t hold it down, just press it over and over from the very beginning. See if it lets you turn it on in safe mode. if so, you should be able to at least back up your stuff. I had something similar happen to my desktop and it needed a new power supply, which was very cheap.</p>