so hubby tells me I need a new laptop

[NMDemDist2]

and i hate buying ANYTHING new. my current laptop was a lease return and it's a good little unit that I will miss

what expierences have you had (if any) buying refurbished electronics?

[FloridaPat]

1. The stuff I buy new hardly lasts more than 3 years because

of Windows upgrades, faster chips, and I wear the things out. I have one friend who buys used PC's because she only wants interent access. Her computers last about a year.

[ThoughtCriminal]

2. I've had several windows laptops

Never tried a used or refurbished, but here's my experience:

eMachine - AVOID! 3rd rate components, serious overheating problems, not repairable.
Compaq - Numerous problems, bad customer service
HP - still have this after 7 years but only use it for testing. Tends to overheat
IBM Thinkpad - I liked it. They seem to be hard to find in retail.
Sony Vaio - Easily the best laptop I've had - three years and no problems

The Vaio is a 2.5 lb sub-notebook. There is no internal CD or floppy, but it has USB ports so it's not hard to connect external drives and memory sticks. One important thing this older unit lacks is an external monitor connection. I have had a screen go bad on another machine, and it's nice to be able to connect to an external monitor so critical files can be salvaged.

[NMDemDist2]

3. DH had a Vaio and liked it, my current laptop is a lease return Compaq

and I'm very happy with it, but as a P3 700 MHz it needs upgrading. I'm looking at a refurb lease return Toshiba Tecra 9100 with a P-M 1.8 Ghz 512mg 50GB with docking station. it has Bluetooth and WiFi, DVD-CDRW with plenty of ports

and for $600 it's looking like it will do the job for me for a couple more years........

[sbj405]

4. Try the Dell outlet

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh&~ck=mn

They typically have some good deals and come with a warranty.

[NMDemDist2]

5. thanks for the link, n/t

[NMMNG]

6. I got a refurbished IBM Thinkpad through Overstock.com

It lasted 3 or 4 years, though it was giving me problems long before it ultimately crapped out. I wouldn't recommend going through Overstock.com for refurbished electronics because there's no real warranty. You can get a replacement if it doesn't work when you get it, but if there's a problem down the road you're SOL.


My current computer is a refurbished Dell that I got right through Dell. I've never had a problem with it and I've had it over a year now. I managed to save several hundred dollars by getting refurbished over "new".

[NMDemDist2]

7. thanks for your experience buffy! i have heard the IBM's have troubles

and you're not the first person to tell me this story.

I went for it last night, it'll be here tomorrow (it's getting shipped from only 125 miles away today)