SOLD: T43 (1.86GHz/1GB/80GB/SXGA+) - $620

[pianowizard]

UPDATE: both the right palm rest squeak and the CDRW/DVD drive eject problem have been fixed.

I have a T43 for sale locally in Providence RI and Boston MA. I don't have a car and so it's best if you can come pick it up, but I don't mind taking the Commuter Rail to Boston. The fan does have the always-on problem common for T43's, but I find it perfectly tolerable (it's far more benign than the pulsing problem that affects many other T43's). The specs are described in detail in this Craigslist ad, but let me copy-and-paste everything here anyway:

Up for sale is a high-end IBM Thinkpad T43 laptop (model # 2669-C8U) in excellent condition, except for two minor cosmetic blemishes explained at the bottom of this ad. It's thin and light, weighing barely over 5 pounds. The laptop was manufactured in June 2005, whereas the memory stick was purchased in Nov 2006. The specs are:

1.86GHz Pentium M processor
1GB PC2-4200 RAM on one stick
80GB 5400rpm hard drive
14.1" 1400x1050 (SXGA+) display in impeccable condition, i.e. no dead pixels
ATI Radeon X300 graphics card
CDRW/DVD combo drive
built-in 802.11bg wireless card
1Gb ethernet and modem
two USB2, external monitor, infrared, S-video, parallel, ports
PCMCIA and ExpressCard slots
headphone and microphone ports
touchpad and trackpoint
ThinkLight for illuminating the keyboard under dim environments
excellent 6-cell battery with only 18 cycles of charging
AC adapter
Windows XP Pro with Certificate of Authenticity sticker
product recovery discs with Windows XP Pro and all drivers

You are welcome to come take a look to see if you like it. I LOVE it, and am selling it only because I just got a Thinkpad T60 from a friend. This top-of-the-line laptop is being sold for so cheap (check eBay and you'll realize $620 is a great price for this) because it has two minor cosmetic blemishes. Similar blemishes are very common for used laptops; many sellers won't even mention them, but I believe in honesty and full disclosure. First, a small piece of plastic between the USB ports is missing. Second, there is a subtle 1cm crack between the cable lock hole and the USB ports (see photo below).

The price of $620 is firm. And as usual, local buyers and cash please.

[RUSH2112]

Selling it so soon? I'd buy it back if I had the money.
Just curious, how is the T60 next to the 43 in terms of build quality?

[pianowizard]

Selling it so soon?

5 months is pretty long for me!

Just curious, how is the T60 next to the 43 in terms of build quality?

The T60 is noticeably sturdier, though it's not a huge difference.

UPDATE: I finally had a chance to use the T60's wireless card. Surprisingly, it can detect far fewer networks than the T43.

I am actually not completely ruling out shipping this thing, it's just that I have shipped three laptops before and each time I was paranoid about the laptops getting damaged during shipment. By selling it locally, I won't have to go through several sleepless nights again.

[RUSH2112]

I am actually not completely ruling out shipping this thing, it's just that I have shipped three laptops before and each time I was paranoid about the laptops getting damaged during shipment. By selling it locally, I won't have to go through several sleepless nights again.

A decent box with some of the oversized bubble wrap does the trick just fine. You can also get insurance against damage.

5 months is pretty long for me!

I hear ya. I'm on 6 months with my X60s, which I think is a new record (barring my Sony Vaio from 1999, which I still have but it doesn't work).

Anyway, I can provide some feedback to any potential buyers. Pianowizard is great to do business with, no problems in my experience. This T43 (which I once owned if you haven't picked up on that) is a great, solid machine. I took excellent care of it when I had it. As of my owning it, there were no major problems other than the minor cosmetics pianowizard pointed out (which I never even noticed until he told me about them). Really, its a great machine and a great price.

Good luck with the sale.

By the way, I think I still have some of the pictures I used when selling it if you want them. Your pictures over on Craigslist aren't the best I've seen.

[Ken Fox]

I am actually not completely ruling out shipping this thing, it's just that I have shipped three laptops before and each time I was paranoid about the laptops getting damaged during shipment. By selling it locally, I won't have to go through several sleepless nights again.

If you have the original Lenovo shipping boxes, they should work fine. I always keep them around for when I resell. I also find that laptops sell better on ebay if you include "in original box" in the subject line. For some reason people assume it must be "newer" when it's sold like that. There are a number of other items that sell best if the original boxes are included; wristwatches spring immediately to mind.

[pianowizard]

An update: The right palm rest squeak is gone. The trick was to LOOSEN a screw under it. Anyone who has squeak problems should try it.

Pianowizard is great to do business with, no problems in my experience. This T43 (which I once owned if you haven't picked up on that) is a great....

RUSH, thanks for praising both me and the T43! With the palm rest problem gone, it's now even more pleasant to use this laptop.

By the way, I think I still have some of the pictures I used when selling it if you want them.

Oh that would be great! Do you still have them on a web site? If not, would you mind emailing them to me?

If you have the original Lenovo shipping boxes, they should work fine.

Good idea, but unfortunately I don't have them.

[pianowizard]

More good news. I don't know how I did it, but I opened up the optical drive, removed several screws and put them back, and now the eject button works flawlessly. I did find a hair inside the drive and removed it, so that could have been the problem. So now the only issues with this T43 are the missing plastic between the USB ports and the small crack nearby.

[taishan]

bump for such a nice price....

[Ken Fox]

More good news. I don't know how I did it, but I opened up the optical drive, removed several screws and put them back, and now the eject button works flawlessly. I did find a hair inside the drive and removed it, so that could have been the problem.

and when will you be posting the DNA results on the hair?

[underclocker]

Seriously, that must have been one strong strand of hair, no doubt the owner used some kind of PH balanced, vitamin fortified shampoo...

[dwallace]

I'm in Boston, but don't mind coming to Providence, especially when it might include a snack at Haven Bros.

Is your T43 an IBM or Lenovo product? And would any of my current T40 toys (optical drive, mini dock) be of any use?

Thanks
David

[pianowizard]

Is your T43 an IBM or Lenovo product? And would any of my current T40 toys (optical drive, mini dock) be of any use?

It was the last Thinkpad model that was made by IBM. The first Thinkpad that Lenovo made was the Z60 series.

A potential buyer is looking at this T43 tomorrow at around 3 p.m. If he falls through, I will let you know. Thanks for the interest!