Thinkpads Forum

Hello everyone, I'm new here, recently I've gotten really into refurbished thinkpads. I have one T420 on the way, but I also want to try a T420s to see which one I prefer.

I was hoping someone could give me a link(s) to a site that sells A grade T420s refurbs, I'm not having much luck finding them myself. Thank you for any help with this.

Also if this is in the wrong section I apologize I wasn't sure where to put it.

Welcome to the forum!

The only places that I'd recommend are Lenovo's own Outlet - highly unlikely to have anything as old as T420s available but you never know - and IBM's refurb site.

http://outlet.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/co ... ls/Outlet/

http://www-304.ibm.com/shop/americas/we ... &langId=-1

"Refurbished" is a term that leaves a lot of gray areas, and most of so-called refurbs available on the web just had a fresh load of OS installed along with some basic cleaning. There's nothing wrong with buying a well-kept used system either. Check our own Marketplace on this forum.

Happy shopping.

Thanks for the reply aj, I have actually checked both the Lenovo and IBM sites with no luck. The T420s definitely seem to be harder to find than the regular T420.

There are some ebay refurbishers that often have grade A. A high spec T420s runs around 300-350 (shipping included). Some are quite reputable with great warranties. I bought my T420 on eBay and it came with a return policy. Took a gamble but it paid off. Great machine.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R4 ... s&_sacat=0

Is this not a site with experts who fix/repair and refurbish Thinkpads? Obviously Ebay is a good place to start.

Hans Gruber wrote:Is this not a site with experts who fix/repair and refurbish Thinkpads? Obviously Ebay is a good place to start.

Other than the suggestions user ajkula66 mentioned, there really isn't much "legit" sources. Even then, nothing is free from poor repair job.

I took my MacBook Pro to an Apple Store for display repair. They sent it to their official repair facility. It came back. Worked for 1 week, then broke again. It came back recently and it seems to be working fine *fingers crossed. I have no idea who's repairing it and if they are doing a good job, but I only get 90 day warranty. I don't really feel confident despite going to an official Apple Store for my repair needs, and you run the same risk when you purchase used goods from any vendor.

Most Thinkpad sellers on eBay do appear to be regular fix/repair/refurbishers. There are some who offer it with 1 year warranty, the same risk you take when you buy a new laptop. Hans, I agree with what you are saying, eBay can be a minefield but with some patience and calculated risks, you can get great deals. I bought my T420 on eBay recently and works great. My rule of thumb is, if it can last one year, whoever refurbished/repaired it did a fine job. So if your eBay auction comes with a warranty and everything looks good (e.g. BIOS unlocked, pictures showing actual item, legit COA, etc.), why not?

All in all, the T420 series is an aging machine albeit a great one to still buy today. My suggestion is don't count eBay out just because it's hard to find a quality refurb. If you look carefully and filter out the bad ones, there's good ones you can get at a fraction of the price those "reputable" dealers offer. Good luck on your search OP.

Thanks for the info everyone, I actually did end up going with a seller on ebay who seems to regularly sell refurbished laptops; hopefully it will be a worthwhile purchase.

Awesome!

The following link is probably not useful to you anymore since you made a purchase but here it is anyway for anyone out there considering T420.

http://www.neweggbusiness.com/product/p ... 000e-00261

Although it says newegg, the refurbisher is Tekmobility and is also on eBay. And yes they are Microsoft certified. I personally don't have experience in buying from them so still do your due diligence. But the fact that your purchase comes with a one year warranty is good.

http://stores.ebay.com/tekmobility7/

Happy shopping.

Sense wrote: And yes they are Microsoft certified.

I never understood why being "Microsoft Certified" would inspire anyone to have confidence in an outfit selling ThinkPads, but that's me...

ajkula66 wrote:

Sense wrote: And yes they are Microsoft certified.

I never understood why being "Microsoft Certified" would inspire anyone to have confidence in an outfit selling ThinkPads, but that's me...

It's just a fancy way of saying, "hey we use genuine microsoft software." So anything that comes preinstalled, i.e. OS, office software, etc. is all valid and not pirated. I see a lot of eBay sellers bundle their auctions with free office 2013 professional, windows 7 ultimate upgraded etc. and those raise a red flag for me. It's obvious they're trying to pump the auction up so visitors will hopefully bid more or entice them to click that buy-it-now button. But they mention nothing about genuine installation in their description. Now days, you can buy COA stickers from China and attach them as you please.

Other than that, I agree with you, it's just "resume" padding. It has nothing to do with hardware refurbishing, which is what most of us are concerned about.

Here's more info on Microsoft Certified Refurbisher membership:
http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensi ... grams.aspx

Sense wrote: It's just a fancy way of saying, "hey we use genuine microsoft software." So anything that comes preinstalled, i.e. OS, office software, etc. is all valid and not pirated.

I get that, but just about any ThinkPad from this era comes with a W7 COA of some kind anyway...yeah, you'll see Vista once in a *very* blue moon, but anything SB is W7 licensed for the most part.

But they mention nothing about genuine installation in their description.

My experience has been that most people couldn't care less about whether the software is legit or not as long as it works. That's why sellers bundle Office stuff that you can be certain comes from a volume license 90% of the time.

ajkula66 wrote:My experience has been that most people couldn't care less about whether the software is legit or not as long as it works. That's why sellers bundle Office stuff that you can be certain comes from a volume license 90% of the time.

For me, if they cut corners on software, there's a good chance the same is true for hardware, customer service, etc. It's a matter of integrity. Maybe I'm being over the top, but when I'm doing business with strangers, these first impressions matter quite a bit.

Sense wrote:
For me, if they cut corners on software, there's a good chance the same is true for hardware, customer service, etc. It's a matter of integrity.

An interesting approach...but if one is not into setting up their own system software-wise, it's a valid one nevertheless.

Maybe I'm being over the top, but when I'm doing business with strangers, these first impressions matter quite a bit.

Definitely. First impressions *always* matter. Personally, I place zero value on third-party warranties and customer service, but that's me.

From where I am, the T420s isnt uncommon but the thing is, it represents a safer buy than the T420.

I want a 420 non S but most are the putrid 1,366 x 768 screen.

The 420s is 1,600 x 900 standard but they are quite expensive. eg. a refurb 128gb SSD 420s is close to $300 usd.

They have a reasonably high demand being a very high quality "true" Thinkpad with the traditional KBD.

I personally do not care about legit Windows... there's ways around it that are obvious. I would install Win7 fresh and activiate my own way.

I actually can get 420s but they are bios locked so I'm not sure how to easily unlock them.