IBM Certified used notebook questions

[Mobil1]

I just ordered a T42p for a chance to experience a Flex View lcd, was the 'motherboard flex' problem really that widespread with this model? Was there a motherboard revision or other solution that truly solved this problem? Would the 3 month warranty cover the repair and could this warranty be extended for an additional cost? If this model has to go back, what would you consider to be the most solid thinkpad model ever that had a flex view display?

[ajkula66]

First of all, welcome to the forum!

Some of the people here didn't have good experiences with certified T42p machines lately, hopefully your good luck will prevail...if not, make sure it's known here and you'll find guidance to resolve any issues.

I'd say that T42p machines are slightly less prone to MB flexing issues, but stay alert to any signs of unusual behaviour. If any such problem would occur within the three month warranty, they would have to replace the motherboard, since no other "foolproof" method has been proven to work 100%.

The warranty on refurbished notebooks can't be extended.

The most solid model with FlexView screen...that's a VERY tough question to answer, and I've just about had them all (bar T6x series)...the least number of complaints have come from owners of T60/T60p machines with FlexViews, but these are also the newest one around so it might be somewhat of an unfair comparison, but let's go down the list, very briefly...

A30/p & A31/p: old-time three-spindle, heavy machines with P3M and P4M processors, pretty well-built, prone to GPU issues. The first FlexViews. Not all of the A30 and A31 SXGAs are FlexViews, though, but all "p" models are.

T43/43p: Fastest of the T4 bunch, issues with heat, noise, and replacement HDDs. Pretty powerful choice. Anything above 2.0 processor tends to be very hot, and are generally louder than other T4 machines. "P" models are hotter than others.

R50p: Basically a T41p machine in R5 chasis, these have proven themselves to be pretty sturdy, although MB failures due to GPU issues have been reported. DVD multiburners often have a mind of their own on these laptops...there are other R5 series that sport FlexView LCDs, but with SXGA+ resolution and weaker GPUs. I'd tend to say that these are all a reasonably safe choice.

T60/T60p: The very last FlexViews. Stronger screens with better contrast ratio (500:1 opposed to 400:1 on all the other Flex models), Core Duo and C2D processors...I'm putting money aside for a T60p as I'm writing this...

Hope this helps.

[Johan]

First, I want to repeat George’s words: Welcome to the forum!

This spring I bought a ”remanufactured” T42p via the Marketplace in this forum. That T42p originally was sold on eBay by the company ThinkPadWorld. I guess it was an item returned from lease, which had then been ”inspected” by IBM, and then was sold as ”remanufactured”. To be fair, my T42p looked almost brand new, except from the battery condition (which I didn’t care much about, anyway). In other words, I don’t think it was very different from the e.g. laptops sold as IBM Certified Used PCs, Notebooks, Laptops, PCs by IBM. This, my-later-to-be, T42p (which was previously bought on eBay on April 1, 2007) happened to come with EZServ IBM warranty until 2008-02-03. As I am in Denmark, the forum member from whom I bought the T42p was very kind to help me with extending the warranty for further two years; this amounted to $220, but I have later learned that it can be done for only $160. After doing this, the T42p was shipped to me. And I have been very happy with it. Until earlier this week (!) – where it developed exactly the symptoms we have heard so much about here: Random shutdowns, freezing etc. etc. Monday this week I handed it in for a warranty-repair here (in Copenhagen), and yesterday I received the verdict from the service provider: The motherboard needs to be replaced. Bad news. And kindly beware that I have treated it like a baby, and that I am very well aware of the T40/T41/T42 etc. problems reported here – that e.g. flexing the motherboard over the ThinkPad’s life may lead to the motherboard-issue, also experience here. Oh well, seems as the prior owner(s) or user(s) either didn’t know or didn’t care about this. Dead it is, anyway...

So, what am I aiming at here? I guess you’ve already caught the saying between the lines: That I absolutely suggest you get your warranty extended to the maximum possible. You have simply ZERO idea of how the prior owner has treated ”your” T42p… so… get the warranty extended, I’d absolutely say. Whether if this is, or is not, possible for your T42p is for you to find out upon receipt – and remember that you have the 7 day money back warranty option, if buying one of the IBM Certified Used PCs, Notebooks, Laptops, PCs, sold directly by IBM.

I suggest you have a look at these threads, which I trust you will find interesting: IBM Factory Refurbished Units - Safe to buy? and Certified Used T42p - Very disappointed.

About extending the warranty: After searching in this (outstanding!!) forum for extending warranty (and while choosing to ”Search for all terms”) many, many hits comes up… and I’m not able to extract what you might want to know, so I rather suggest that you take a look a the first few, being these – and: Watch out, as there seems to exist quite some confusion and contradictions in many posts.

Extension of warranty for Certified Used Notebook

Will you take a risk and not buy an extended warranty

re-extending warranty

Extended warranties, buy now or later?

FS: T42p 15" Flexview (2373-KXU) (see the post of Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:05 pm)

Warranty extension

Extending ThinkPad warranty

What should I do before my warranty expires?

End of long post!

Best regards,

Johan

[ulrich.von.lich]

Johan, sorry to hear your beloved T42p is having the motherboard issue. I thought it only occurred on T42s with ATI 7500... But on the other hand, you should be glad it's still under warranty so you'll get a new MB soon.

Mobil1: T43p's seem much hotter than T43s due to the FireGL card. If your T42p ever had to be returned, you might want to consider a T43 with 15" SXGA+ Flexview. You can upgrade it to UXGA later. I also think T60/T60p's are better choice. I compared a T60p to my T43 and the former runs both cooler and quieter.

Thanks George, I was expecting someone could tell me if there's any difference among Flexviews of different generations.

[Mobil1]

Thanks for all the information everyone! I just recieved my t42p and I'm running it through a battery of tests right now. So far here's what I've noted:

1) there are just a few, faint light scratches on the lid
2) some keys have some shine to them but otherwise minimal keyboard wear
3) palm rest, trackpad and buttons look immaculate
4) screen appears very bright and clear, I haven't spotted any dead/stuck pixels so far
5) battery seems brand new, 0 cycles, build date 6/2007

As a refurb is supposedly comes with just a 3 mo warranty, however when I looked it up it says it's still covered through 6/2008! Will Lenovo still honor this warranty even though its been refurbished and would I be qualified to purchase a warranty extension in this case?

[ajkula66]

Since Lenovo has obviously forgotten to update the warranty info, I'd imagine you could try to extend the warranty past that date....

[Johan]

<snip>

As a refurb is supposedly comes with just a 3 mo warranty, however when I looked it up it says it's still covered through 6/2008! Will Lenovo still honor this warranty even though its been refurbished and would I be qualified to purchase a warranty extension in this case?

Congratulations with your new T42p - may it serve you well for ages to come! And, ooh, also welcome in the very exclusive club of happy T42p owners!

I agree with George that your warranty can (most likely) be extended. I believe (not know, but believe!) that many of the machines sold by IBM as "Certified Used PCs, Notebooks, Laptops, PCs" are items returned from lease, which are then checked and subsequently sold as "remanufactured" or "refurbished", perhaps after having had one or more parts replaced, e.g. for obvious cosmetic reasons. Because of this, some of these machines will still have some amount of the remaining, original 3-year warranty, which e.g. most T42's came with. As long as this warranty is still in effect, I trust that you can extend it further, but IBM will answer this when you request an extension. To extend the initial 3-year warranty for further 2-years, have a look in the thread FS Flexview heaven T60P and T42P's (see the post of Sun Nov 25, 2007 7:41 am) - you can get two more years for about $150,- and considering the cost of one, single repair, some may say this extra investment is worth the money (or the feeling of "security" which you also obtain) - but this is of course a very individual decision.

I think (again think, not know) that IBM sells these machines with 3-month limited warranty simply because some of the machines may already have run out of the original warranty, so IBM issues some short, limited warranty to attract customers. Hence, I guess that you may "risk" to take delivery of one of these machines which is out of the original IBM warranty, as per the IBM/Lenovo Warranty Lookup page, and which is therefore only covered by the 3-month "Certified Used Notebooks" warranty. Nw, you were lucky - in a double respect: First receiving an apparently nice T42p, and then discovering that it is still having some remaning warranty! Double happiness!!

Best regards,

Johan

[Mobil1]

Thanks again for all the information! I did have some reservations at first, especially with all the good deals floating around now on brand new, fully loaded R61's with a 3 yr. warranty, but once I finally got my hands on the T42p, I find myself unable to part with it In regards to the extended warranty, I do have a couple more questions:

on costcentral.com they have 2 different plans available it seems:

Lenovo ThinkPlus - Extended service agreement - parts and labor - 5 years - pick-up and return
Product Description 5yr Upg Warr Parts & Labor Depot Repair Thinkplus Tp
MFG Part #: 41C9180 $166.90

IBM Warr 5yr Depot Tp
Product Description Warr 5yr Depot Tp
MFG Part #: 69P9201 $175.14

Are Lenovo and IBM seperate entities and I have a choice of who will work on my machine for warranty repair? Both seem to be 5 year depot extended warranties applicable to my model.

[sktn77a]

Mobil1:

The warranties appear interchangeable. Note, however, that the "5 year Warranty Upgrades" are really 2 year warranty extensions which, with your existing 3 year warranty, gives a total warranty duration from new of 5 years.

[Johan]

... I just came across an important piece of information, which I would like to point to your attention (you, who are considering purchasing a "remanufactured" or "refurbished" ThinkPad):

As some forum members may have read elsewhere, I am presently having serious difficulties with obtaining an IWS repair on my T42p here in Denmark, although IBM Support has, even several times, confirmed in writing before handing in my (dead) T42p for repair that it was indeed covered here, in Denmark, for an IWS warranty repair. Interested readers may see the thread IBM/Denmark deny to honor warranty confirmed by IBM-Support.

What I however wanted to bring out here is what I read the other day, when studying the fine print in IBM's misc. warranty documents; turn to Lenovo International Warranty Service Terms And Conditions (English), and read halfways down:

Code: Select all

Note: Refurbished machines are not eligible for International Warranty Service. Refurbished machines can be identified by their model number (for example, refurbished machines have RRx, XXx, xRR, or xxx as the model number). In general, most refurbished machine warranties are shorter than the original machine warranty and are only valid within the country of purchase.

BEWARE!!

Best regards,

Johan