T42 buying decision - please help.

[GregAZ]

Hello Friends,

I am brand new to this forum, although have been reading for about a week now. Thank you all for all the information I have learned thus far. I have finally decided to purchase a laptop, and ThinkPad is the one I am hoping to get.

In fact, today I placed an order for a T42 from IBM.com. As you all know they are running a special, and I got the T42 2373-H6U, with XP Professional, and Office 2003, and ThinkPad protection plan for a grand total of $1,844.51.

However, today I have found a new (not refurbished) T42 2373-4TU on Ebay from a reputable seller with great feedback for $1,217.00! Don't know if I am allowed to post a link to them, but the name is (triskel82). This also has the remainder of actual IBM warranty and Office XP. While I understand that this laptop is inferior to the one I got (slower, no bluetooth), it also comes at over $600 savings, or 30%! This is a lot of money, and getting a good deal is important to me.

And finally, I saw a Certified Used T40 on IBM.com for $985.50. Also a VERY nice computer.

Now I am confused .... my needs are really pretty simple. I need mobility, and fast internet access (I understand that this is a function of my connection). I would like wireless internet, for access away from the office. But otherwise, I use Office a lot, MS Money a lot, and need to store some files. I use a Mac for my personal computer, my music and photos, and this laptop would be a business machine (most of my work apps don't run on a Mac).

So, should I cancel my order with IBM, and go for the Ebay computer, or even the IBM used computer? Should I stick with my order and why?

I would appreciate your thoughts on this, and any guidance you can offer.

Many thanks in advance!

Greg

[mysbca]

A few things to think about:

The Ebay laptop (23734TU) has only the Radeon 7500 graphics and an XGA screen and a 40GB harddrive. The wireless card may or may not be built-in. They list a B/G card with 108Mbps which is not true. G is only 54Mbps max. Don't know if they include Office XP discs. They might have only installed it and you don't get the discs (one of the feedback suggested it is an unlicensed version). You get a little over 2 years left on the depot warranty.

On the H6U, you get the Radeon 9600 and SXGA+ screen. You've bought the Thinkpad Protection Plan and a full 3 year warranty. You will get the Office XP discs. You didn't specify which hard drive you bought, but if you bought the default config, you get the 7200rpm 60GB HD, plus bluetooth and fingerprint reader.

So depends if you really need/want the extra graphics power/high res screen, peace of mind with the Thinkpad Protection Plan, generally higher performance, you will have to decide if it is worth $600.

If that Ebay laptop truly includes Office XP, then the price is not bad. If it does not, then I don't think the price is that great.