I've been looking at secondhand laptops and wonder whether they're
worthwhile.
A couple of years ago I bought a secondhand laptop for �200
The charger blew up a year ago and cost me �50 to replace.
It needed more memory which cost me �30
It came without a manual - which cost me �10
It came without a carrying case - which cost me �10
I had to buy a lan card - which cost me �15
Thus far my "cheap" secondhand laptop which was 1/3rd of the price of a new
laptop has cost me 2/3rds of the price of a new laptop and is both heavy and
slow.

Now the battery is getting a bit weak and that'd cost �80 to replace.

I've got the thing on sale on QXL but bidding hasn't even reached the
reserve and I'm including all the goodies - extra memory, lan card, case etc
and it's a pretty low reserve.

I don't want to repeat the nightmare so I ask the question: are secondhand
laptops worth having? I resent having spent pretty well the equivalent of a
new laptop on something ancient. What are other people's experiences. I'm
getting very much the feeling that I'm going to end up slinging that laptop
and the �300 I spent on it, into the dustbin.

-- 
Yours

Zebedee

(Claiming asylum in an attempt
to escape paying his debts to
Dougal and Florence)

What in hell do you want for a low price?????A new up to date one!!!Get real
in todays market.........You have to spend more to get more....
"Zebedee" <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:40853c4c$0$14286$afc38c87@news.ukonline.co.uk...
> I've been looking at secondhand laptops and wonder whether they're
> worthwhile.
> A couple of years ago I bought a secondhand laptop for �200
> The charger blew up a year ago and cost me �50 to replace.
> It needed more memory which cost me �30
> It came without a manual - which cost me �10
> It came without a carrying case - which cost me �10
> I had to buy a lan card - which cost me �15
> Thus far my "cheap" secondhand laptop which was 1/3rd of the price of a
new
> laptop has cost me 2/3rds of the price of a new laptop and is both heavy
and
> slow.
>
> Now the battery is getting a bit weak and that'd cost �80 to replace.
>
> I've got the thing on sale on QXL but bidding hasn't even reached the
> reserve and I'm including all the goodies - extra memory, lan card, case
etc
> and it's a pretty low reserve.
>
> I don't want to repeat the nightmare so I ask the question: are secondhand
> laptops worth having? I resent having spent pretty well the equivalent of
a
> new laptop on something ancient. What are other people's experiences. I'm
> getting very much the feeling that I'm going to end up slinging that
laptop
> and the �300 I spent on it, into the dustbin.
>
> -- 
> Yours
>
> Zebedee
>
> (Claiming asylum in an attempt
> to escape paying his debts to
> Dougal and Florence)
>
>
>

"Dick" <n1rsp@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:wOydnazR-KeWzhjdRVn-sA@adelphia.com...
> What in hell do you want for a low price?????A new up to date one!!!Get
real
> in todays market.........You have to spend more to get more....

That wasn't the question. The question was whether secondhand laptops were a
liability. I see no reason why you show so little comprehension of such a
simple question.

-- 
Yours

Zebedee

(Claiming asylum in an attempt
to escape paying his debts to
Dougal and Florence)

Dick wrote:
> 
> What in hell do you want for a low price?????A new up to date one!!!Get real
> in todays market.........You have to spend more to get more....

Personally, I think the subject, in itself, is pretty silly.

Never has a question been so easlily answered by two words...

"It depends."

Larry

Zebedee <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote:
> I've been looking at secondhand laptops and wonder whether they're
> worthwhile.
>
> I don't want to repeat the nightmare so I ask the question: are
> secondhand laptops worth having? I resent having spent pretty well
> the equivalent of a new laptop on something ancient. What are other
> people's experiences. I'm getting very much the feeling that I'm
> going to end up slinging that laptop and the �300 I spent on it, into
> the dustbin.

As with all things in life, you get what you pay for. Rather than purchase
another outdated POS, look into getting a one or two generation removed
laptop (e.g. PIIIM or P4M) from a top manufacturer, preferably one with some
warranty remaining.

There are simply tons of bargains to be had in well outfitted, late model
laptops as everyone chases the newest Centrino offerings.

Regards,

James

Lawrence Glasser wrote:
> 
> Dick wrote:
> >
> > What in hell do you want for a low price?????A new up to date one!!!Get real
> > in todays market.........You have to spend more to get more....
> 
> Personally, I think the subject, in itself, is pretty silly.
> 
> Never has a question been so easlily answered by two words...
> 
> "It depends."

Uuhhhh, that was "easily."

Damn spell checker! <g>

Larry

Sometimes secondhand laptops are like new and in mint condition. Other times
they can be old, worn out pieces of junk. As Larry said, "it depends", and
this should be obvious.

"Zebedee" <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:40853c4c$0$14286$afc38c87@news.ukonline.co.uk...
> I've been looking at secondhand laptops and wonder whether they're
> worthwhile.
> A couple of years ago I bought a secondhand laptop for �200
> The charger blew up a year ago and cost me �50 to replace.
> It needed more memory which cost me �30
> It came without a manual - which cost me �10
> It came without a carrying case - which cost me �10
> I had to buy a lan card - which cost me �15
> Thus far my "cheap" secondhand laptop which was 1/3rd of the price of a
new
> laptop has cost me 2/3rds of the price of a new laptop and is both heavy
and
> slow.
>
> Now the battery is getting a bit weak and that'd cost �80 to replace.
>
> I've got the thing on sale on QXL but bidding hasn't even reached the
> reserve and I'm including all the goodies - extra memory, lan card, case
etc
> and it's a pretty low reserve.
>
> I don't want to repeat the nightmare so I ask the question: are secondhand
> laptops worth having? I resent having spent pretty well the equivalent of
a
> new laptop on something ancient. What are other people's experiences. I'm
> getting very much the feeling that I'm going to end up slinging that
laptop
> and the �300 I spent on it, into the dustbin.
>
> -- 
> Yours
>
> Zebedee
>
> (Claiming asylum in an attempt
> to escape paying his debts to
> Dougal and Florence)
>
>
>

"Papa" <bikingis@my.fun> wrote in message
news:ezdhc.3974$e4.777@newsread2.news.pas.earthlink.net...
> Sometimes secondhand laptops are like new and in mint condition. Other
times
> they can be old, worn out pieces of junk. As Larry said, "it depends", and
> this should be obvious.

The problem is, of course, when you buy your first. That's when you really
don't know what you're doing. Which was the case with me. Now I have had the
experience, I know roughly what to look for. Having said that, I think the
low price of new laptops now makes buying secondhand seem a somewhat foolish
option. I see laptops going in the shops for as low as �500. When they were
going for a minimum of �1000 as they were a couple of years ago, secondhand
made sense. Now it seems that the secondhand market is laden with lemons.

-- 
Yours

Zebedee

(Claiming asylum in an attempt
to escape paying his debts to
Dougal and Florence)

"Zebedee" <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote in comp.laptops:


> That wasn't the question. The question was whether secondhand laptops
> were a liability. I see no reason why you show so little comprehension
> of such a simple question.


Is a used car a liability? 



-- 
CeeBee


_Got no wockin' furries_

"CeeBee" <ceebeechester@start.com.au> wrote in message
news:Xns94D2B451F1671ceebeechesterstartco@195.121.6.84...
> Is a used car a liability?

That's a bit different. It's easier to predict what's going to fail with a
car because it gives symptoms ages before the failure becomes apparent.

The only conclusion I can come to is that secondhand laptops are trouble.

-- 
Yours

Zebedee

(Claiming asylum in an attempt
to escape paying his debts to
Dougal and Florence)

"Zebedee" <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote in comp.laptops:

 
> That's a bit different. 

It isn't.

> It's easier to predict what's going to fail
> with a car because it gives symptoms ages before the failure becomes
> apparent. 

As do hard disk, screens, drives, fans etc.

> The only conclusion I can come to is that secondhand laptops are
> trouble. 

The only conclusion you could come to was already indicated elsewhere: 
that depends.

If you target a second hand laptop, there are tools to check the disk 
fitness, like S.M.A.R.T., to see if colours are okay with test images, 
to check performance of memory, CPU/case fans.

If they test okay, you could have a great buy. If not, you likely 
wouldn't.


-- 
CeeBee


_Got no wockin' furries_

"CeeBee" <ceebeechester@start.com.au> wrote in message
news:Xns94D2D01B41B63ceebeechesterstartco@195.121.6.83...
> The only conclusion you could come to was already indicated elsewhere:
> that depends.
>
> If you target a second hand laptop, there are tools to check the disk
> fitness, like S.M.A.R.T., to see if colours are okay with test images,
> to check performance of memory, CPU/case fans.
>
> If they test okay, you could have a great buy. If not, you likely
> wouldn't.

That's just it. It all checked out fine. The transformer blew up after about
6 months. No way I could have predicted that. The mouse button failed after
a year. The battery was always weak but seems to have got worse. The extra
memory - when I had it, it had Windows 98 which ran well enough under 32mb.
NT4 needed 64 MB though. No fans in the case. It's got a heatsink, which to
me seems a better idea.

I don't go for speed with laptops - merely convenience. They're not desktop
replacements. Having said that, 150mhz is a bit too slow. I can't even find
Linux that'll give me a GUI environment and read PCMCIA at that speed.

-- 
Yours

Zebedee

(Claiming asylum in an attempt
to escape paying his debts to
Dougal and Florence)

"Zebedee" <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote in message news:<408577f6$0$25060$afc38c87@news.ukonline.co.uk>...
> I see laptops going in the shops for as low as �500. When they were
> going for a minimum of �1000 as they were a couple of years ago, secondhand
> made sense. Now it seems that the secondhand market is laden with lemons.

You asked if it was "worthwhile." It Depends.

If you're spending more than a few hundred �, I would say that unless
you are on a really tight budget, buy new.  On the other hand, you can
get really good deals on used laptops.  Depends on what is most
important to you:  costs vs reliability vs hassles vs performance.
FWIW, I have found IBM Thinkpads to be very reliable.

I currently have an IBM 560x (Pent I, 233Mhz, 64MB RAM) which is
adequate for what my modest needs.  Needed a new keyboard to make it
functional, and is missing some screws but otherwise flawless. Since
my total costs were $59 US, I think it has been worthwhile.  This is
my 4th 560x, first 3 sold to friends who saw and wanted them.

I also have an IBM 560z (PII, 300MHz, 96MB RAM) purchased for $25;
have to install new LCD ($33) and find or make a HD cover.  Might
spend another $20 to bring it up to 128MB Ram. When that's done, I
think this will also have been worthwhile.

"Anonymous Jack" <alordofchaos@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:cf889346.0404220548.550f4f10@posting.google.com...
> If you're spending more than a few hundred �, I would say that unless
> you are on a really tight budget, buy new.  On the other hand, you can
> get really good deals on used laptops.  Depends on what is most
> important to you:  costs vs reliability vs hassles vs performance.
> FWIW, I have found IBM Thinkpads to be very reliable.

Mine's reliable. Nothing's really failed aside from the charger (which the
pillock in the shop was using for 12 hours a dar, keeping a slilly little
ball bouncing about on the screen). The battery ain't much cop but I don't
think it's too bad for an ancient battery.

> I currently have an IBM 560x (Pent I, 233Mhz, 64MB RAM) which is
> adequate for what my modest needs.  Needed a new keyboard to make it
> functional, and is missing some screws but otherwise flawless. Since
> my total costs were $59 US, I think it has been worthwhile.  This is
> my 4th 560x, first 3 sold to friends who saw and wanted them.

My 760el is 150mhz approx. Works well enough. The mouse button's gone a bit
funny - sometimes left click doesn't register for half a second. Otherwise
it's fine. I had it on QXL, trying to sell it together with a carrying case,
LAN card and manual. The bidding reached �45 and that was it. Reserve was
�50. I can't believe nobody bought it! - especially when it's got extra ram.
I wonder whether they were put off by the fact it's running NT4?

> I also have an IBM 560z (PII, 300MHz, 96MB RAM) purchased for $25;
> have to install new LCD ($33) and find or make a HD cover.  Might
> spend another $20 to bring it up to 128MB Ram. When that's done, I
> think this will also have been worthwhile.

That sounds good as long as the HDD is brand new :)

-- 
Yours

Zebedee

(Claiming asylum in an attempt
to escape paying his debts to
Dougal and Florence)

Like I said,you have to spend money to keep things up.It is not going to
last long if you don't take care of it.
If you get sick you buy medications to fix yourself.If you dont you get
sicker then die.
Batteries don't last a life time.Does your car last a life
time................Get real man...........Duhhh
"Zebedee" <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:4086d444$0$25061$afc38c87@news.ukonline.co.uk...
>
> "CeeBee" <ceebeechester@start.com.au> wrote in message
> news:Xns94D2D01B41B63ceebeechesterstartco@195.121.6.83...
> > The only conclusion you could come to was already indicated elsewhere:
> > that depends.
> >
> > If you target a second hand laptop, there are tools to check the disk
> > fitness, like S.M.A.R.T., to see if colours are okay with test images,
> > to check performance of memory, CPU/case fans.
> >
> > If they test okay, you could have a great buy. If not, you likely
> > wouldn't.
>
> That's just it. It all checked out fine. The transformer blew up after
about
> 6 months. No way I could have predicted that. The mouse button failed
after
> a year. The battery was always weak but seems to have got worse. The extra
> memory - when I had it, it had Windows 98 which ran well enough under
32mb.
> NT4 needed 64 MB though. No fans in the case. It's got a heatsink, which
to
> me seems a better idea.
>
> I don't go for speed with laptops - merely convenience. They're not
desktop
> replacements. Having said that, 150mhz is a bit too slow. I can't even
find
> Linux that'll give me a GUI environment and read PCMCIA at that speed.
>
> -- 
> Yours
>
> Zebedee
>
> (Claiming asylum in an attempt
> to escape paying his debts to
> Dougal and Florence)
>
>
>

"Zebedee" <abuse@127.0.0.1> wrote in message news:<4087ebcf$0$25500$afc38c87@news.ukonline.co.uk>...
> My 760el is 150mhz approx. Works well enough. The mouse button's gone a bit
> funny - sometimes left click doesn't register for half a second. Otherwise
> it's fine. I had it on QXL, trying to sell it together with a carrying case,
> LAN card and manual. The bidding reached �45 and that was it. Reserve was
> �50. I can't believe nobody bought it! - especially when it's got extra ram.

Not familiar with QXL; I'm an E Bay addict myself :-)
I've watched laptops like yours sell for your reserve price or higher
- the trick seems to be in that it must be in "ready to go upon
arrival" condition.  I suspect that they're being purchased by the
technologically unprepared. It helps to say "Internet ready" in the
auction title.  Lots of these laptops have the OS installed, set up
for a free ISP (like NetZero), andoccassionally something like Open
Office installed.

> I wonder whether they were put off by the fact it's running NT4?

Could be - NT4 was typically found in business computers, while the
technologically unprepared would be more comfy with Win9x or XP. 
Those folks might be nervous about running NT4 and may have never
heard of it (if they were folks who did not use it in the workplace).

My wife's employer has been running NT4 for years, but being
uninterested in technology, she had no idea of that fact (and would
not be able to identify an operating system at all).  Despite having
used NT4 daily for years, if she was given a choice of buying a
computer with Windows 98 or NT4, she would opt for  Win98 - because
she's heard of it - rather than NT4, which is better and which she has
used daily (she has almost never used Win98).

Best regards,
Jack