Thinkpad T40 refurb $499@Buy.com review

[Eric Giles]

This unit was originally mentioned in the Marketplace forum, and since the bank where I work needed an inexpensive Thinkpad replacement for an employee, I decided to snag one and give it a shot.

The unit arrived today (UPS overnight shipping was only $18 to MS) and I am in the middle of getting it setup for the employee. These are refurbed by IBM and come from the IBM Credit LLC division from what I can tell. I must say, I am very impressed-the unit looks basically brand new! The only place where there is any sign of use the the gloss black plastic piece on the keyboard that surrounds the volume, power, and Access IBM keys. The keyboard and palmrest look brand new, and it looks like the stuck brand new Intel and Microsoft Windows labels on the palmrest. The top cover on the one I received looks perfect-no scuffs, scratches, or marks of any kind. The screen itself is very bright with no defects.

The unit does come with 512MB of RAM installed. No wireless card (none were mentioned in the buy.com ad) but you can tell it is pre-wired for a miniPCI wireless card. The CPU is a 1.5 P-M Banias, ATI Radeon 7500 with 32MB RAM, 40GB 5400RPM Hitachi hard drive, Windows XP Pro, and a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive.

I purchased the 24 month warranty that was listed as an option on Buy.com's site for an extra $106. I am looking thru the sparse documentation that came with the unit, and I don't see anything that says there is any warranty at all supplied with the unit from IBM/Lenovo or Buy.com. If I can ever find a phone number for Buy.com I will call them and see what I can find out, but for now it looks like they come with no warranty. Luckily the warranty Buy.com offers is cheap!

Oh, as far as what is in the accessories box: One used battery, one AC adapter, and a copy of Lotus Smartsuite Millenium Edition. I just checked the battery health, and it is showing in the red with 113 cycles. Since this unit will never be used on battery power, it's not a big deal for me-but depending on what you get, a new battery might be in order.

Hopefully Buy.com has plenty of stock, because we will probably be buying more of these soon.

[Paul Pavlik]

Try this: Buy.com Phone # 1-877-780-2464

[Eric Giles]

Try this: Buy.com Phone # 1-877-780-2464

Yep, I found that yesterday and gave them a call. The guy on the phone said they have no information on the warranty and to contact the manufacturer. I ran the serial number on the Lenovo site, and the warranty had expired last September. So, even as a refurb it seems there is no warranty unless you buy the one on the Buy.com site.

[Pennstate]

If this was refurbished by IBM/Lenovo and you got an used battery then you got ripped off. They should've given you a new battery...unless of course someone else other than IBM/Lenovo refurbished it.

Second, I would be very careful about that 2-yr warranty. Most likely, it's not from IBM/Lenovo. You can buy extended warranty directly from Lenovo or IBM, it might even be cheaper.