Thinkpads Forum

I spilled wine on my out-of-warranty laptop and fried the system board. The tech company says it will be $1000 for a new system board, so I did some searching and found a person on EBAY who sells new IBM system boards at a 50% discount. He warrantys them for 30 and provides another if the board fails within 30 days. He claims to buy systems that are still under warranty and that he sends the laptops back to have new system boards put in them, which is how he gains access to the system boards he sells.

Taking recycled laptops and selling the good parts seems plausible to me. Does anyone have comments on the above scenario?

Thanks, Linda

The description of how he or she gets the boards sounds questionable to me. I have bought boards that work and boards that don't work. Make sure you buy one that uses the same fan you have. If you have a 15" model, you need to look at the interposer card (the thing that extends some of the conectors) and make sure the spill didn't affect it.

The sellers name / and or a link to a few of his auctions would be helpful.

Linda wrote:and found a person on EBAY who sells new IBM system boards at a 50% discount. He warrantys them for 30 and provides another if the board fails within 30 days. He claims to buy systems that are still under warranty and that he sends the laptops back to have new system boards put in them, which is how he gains access to the system boards he sells.

Seems like he is stealing. Beware of that seller, if he lies to others he might lie to you too.

Guess what, it was me Linda was talking about. Want to take your words back?

Dimitri_P wrote:

cmarti wrote:Seems like he is stealing. Beware of that seller, if he lies to others he might lie to you too.

Guess what, it was me Linda was talking about. Want to take your words back?

Of course.

Ooops.

So you would be able to guarantee her a working board?

I always do.


I don't necessary get the whole idea of this topic though.

Dimitri, I was just trying to see what others thought about buying a system board over the internet. Glad to see you are a member of this site. Everyone, please let me know what other things I need to be asking to ensure I get the right board.

thanks, Linda

I've bought a number of ThinkPad parts, including a system board, from Dimitri and wouldn't hesitate for a second to recommend him. If he has something I need listed in his eBay store, I don't look any further.

Also, the motherboard I got from him was already mounted in the case bottom and included the drive cages, PC card slots, speakers, etc. This eliminated close to half the labor involved in replacing the board.

linda..

first, being a member of this forum does NOT convey any guarantee upon a user of honest dealings..
witness the recent fraud committed against harryc..

second, you will note that dimitri is located in sunnyvale and since you are in los altos, you are close enough to complete a transaction face to face, should you wish to do so..

I am not exactly sure how you have a machine to send back to get a new board, but that was not the overall question.

What I would say is this: Replacement boards are NOT guaranteed to be new. They are guaranteed to work. I have have had warranty replacements on client machines that had a short life (less than 3 months) and needed yet another replacement. I have have replacement boards that worked great permanently.

So "new" boards are probably not new. ... JDH

For the price of $1000 or $500, why not just get another T42 off ebay?

ibmthinkpad99 wrote:For the price of $1000 or $500, why not just get another T42 off ebay?

When it come to 1K, yes, another Thinkpad is good. But hers is T42p with 15", so motherboard replacement seems more reasonable.

Dimitri_P wrote: I don't necessary get the whole idea of this topic though.

I think the "idea" is just the simple scenario where Linda's not sure of something and decided to ask about them. If I was uncertain about an eBay member whose items I might be interested in purchasing, I'd use this forum as an avenue for people to ask for any experiences with the seller, etc. No harm done with that.

KristianJ wrote:

Dimitri_P wrote: I don't necessary get the whole idea of this topic though.

I think the "idea" is just the simple scenario where Linda's not sure of something and decided to ask about them. If I was uncertain about an eBay member whose items I might be interested in purchasing, I'd use this forum as an avenue for people to ask for any experiences with the seller, etc. No harm done with that.

She or anyone else should mention ebayid in question from the start.

Of course I agree totally, Dimitri - any eBay savvy consumer knows that there's more to an eBay seller than claims in a listing. But being new to the forum here that's something she'll have learned, and it's a great chance for you to reassure you of the trustworthiness that you're known for here

Anyway, I don't have any real comments to make to help Linda, but if there's a T42 available for around that $500 mark with some warranty left, it'd be worth considering and sell your damaged one for parts to make up some of your expenditure.

Yes, but she has T42p with 15" IPS screen, normal T42 motherboard won't cut it.

We'd need to start separate thread, what motherboard goes where etc. But I think Wiki-like environment can serve better for that purpose than forum.

Ah, I didn't pick up on her having a p model until I re-read the thread and found your other post about it. Apologies for my oversight - new mobo would definitely be my preferred option if I was in her position

Thank you all for responding with your comments. I will take this offline and talk directly with Dimitri. He sounds like he knows what he is talking about and his credibility with me has gone up a few notches based on his responses and some of you knowing him. I do understand Bill's comment that this forum in no way endorses his products.

Thanks again.

Linda

Usually found in the marketplace but I will add it here:

Dimitri is a trusted member of the forums and stand up guy. I would recommend him as a quality seller.