Refurbished T23

[M3]

I was thinking about purchasing a T23 from Tier1 Online (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tier-1-Online) on eBay. Although the seller looks scam free, the actual item is lacking a bit on the "evidence", especially as they are selling them individually from a large number.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 3&tc=photo

This is one of them. The pictures are not very descriptive (and are even T22), so there's no wondering what the condition will be like. Any tips on this?

Another point that was brought up by a friend of mine is about the hard drives failing. Is this common in T23s? Assuming the machine is refurbished, it would have been tested prior to refurbishment and perhaps a new drive installed.

[K. Eng]

My advice is to think through all the questions you have about the item, and then email the seller. If they respond, you'll know if you want to risk buying the machine. If they don't respond, you'll know that they aren't trustworthy.

Hard disk failure can happen to any notebook and I don't believe the T23 contains disks that are more prone to failure than other notebooks. I've had a HDD in my old Dell notebook die on me, and I've seen various desktop drives from all vendors go bad.

[M3]

I have sent them a question as of about 24 hours ago, so they should hopefully respond (they have been praised by others, so it shouldn't be much of a problem).

The flaw I was suggesting was specifically to IBM drives (what would be IBM, of the time), as I've heard they are rumoured to have the highest rate of failure.

I figured that if I chose a used, refurbished laptop with a reasonable spec, such as the T23, then it would leave enough money to purchase a sub-high spec desktop machine, at the total cost of a new high spec laptop. Best of both worlds there.

[K. Eng]

The reliability problems with IBM drives had to do with the GXP75 and GXP60 series disks (also known as "DeathStar" series). These were DeskStar line drives and never used in the mobile market. AFAIK IBM hadn't had any problems with mobile storage products.

[bmoses76]

I thought I'd chime in here.

I had been in the market for a used laptop for a few months and I had been doing my homework.

There are lots of refurbished Thinkpad T series laptops out there all over the Internet, and even at a few of the computer stores in my area (Dallas) that sell used parts. All of the laptops that I saw (and the one that I ordered) were in very good shape.

But like its been pointed out, it really comes down to the reputablitiy of the retailer you wind up dealing with. In my case, I went ahead and went with a website that I was familiar with and I'm glad that I did.

IMO, peace of mind is worth a few extra bucks (or pounds)

[Thinker]

I was thinking about purchasing a T23 from Tier1 Online (http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Tier-1-Online) on eBay. Although the seller looks scam free, the actual item is lacking a bit on the "evidence", especially as they are selling them individually from a large number.

Hi M3,

My advice (from personal experience) is to stay away from eBay, specially when the evidence (pictures, explicit description) is scarce. Spend a few more dollars and get a Certified Used T23 from IBM directly like I did. You can send it back within a week with no questions asked. Plus, their units (at least the one I got) do seem to have been professionally refurbished.

Ruben