Broken T420 need to replace keyboard and lcd

[racecar]

Hello everyone,

I'm not sure if this is the right category or the market, but I have the opportunity to purchase a used t420 for $200 locally. The seller says it has 2 years of warranty left but the screen is broken (looks like its cracked) and the keyboard need to be replaced.

If these are the only 2 issues, do you guys think its worth it?

[Cigarguy]

My only concern is how did the screen got to be cracked and the keyboard broken. Cracked screen are pretty common but broken keyboards are not. I my concern would be secondary damages that cannot be so easily seen. Such as a crack MB for example. Having said that $200 is relatively cheap and might make it worth your time.

[racecar]

Thats true. How could I check? I highly doubt he would let me sit there and take apart the laptop. He has connected it to an external monitor and shows it is working.

Is there anything else I can look at as well? I will ask him about it.

I was thinking maybe the laptop fell, screen cracked, and the keyboard ribbon connector became disconnected, can that even happen?

[jayton4]

If it works connected to external monitor, then the motherboard is not cracked. A cracked motherboard would not work at all. What are the symptoms of the broken keyboard? I have seen keyboards not work just because the cable was pinched. Is there any visible damage from impact?

Does it have a spinning hard drive or SSD? If it is a traditional HDD, install the 15 day trial of HD Tune Pro to read the SMART data from the hard drive.

The worst case scenario is that the bottom casing is cracked. It kind of sound like it may have been stomped on.

If you are in the market for a T420, then I would say yes it is worth it. If it were just a deal that came along and you weren't really looking for a T420, then I would probably pass.

[ajkula66]

I'd pass.

You can pick up a fully working T420 for not that much more one feebay...unless this one really has the rest of the specs to die for...

[jayton4]

I'd pass.

You can pick up a fully working T420 for not that much more one feebay...unless this one really has the rest of the specs to die for...

Very true. I saw one on ebay that was in pristine condition with more than two years warranty left go for $370 + $22 shipping. You could try low-balling the dude with an offer of $100, but he will likely find some sucker to give him $200 for it.