What should I buy?

[jcnj6]

I'm looking to upgrade to a newer thinkpad

I'm a contractor and my laptops dont last more than 2 years, I'm rough on them
I have been happy buying used thinkpads on ebay because I think it saves me $

My line of units have been T23, T30, T40, T41, T60.
I have purchased several of each and eventually use some or all of them for parts to keep 1 running.
I usually pay about $200-$300 at the start and down to $100 by the end of that models usefulness
Now I would like to step up to the next most logical unit but,
I dont have any idea which model will fall in the same type

Although I mostly just run word and excel I wouldnt mind if the next could output HDMI so I can watch videos on my big tv though its not an absolute requirement

I wouldn't mind a major jump in price if It meant a more durable unit
Thanks for all who respond

[RealBlackStuff]

Older machines and a lot of the newer ones have the VGA DB15 port.
More recent ones also have a Displayport, which easily converts to HDMI via a small adapter, such as this one.
Few business Thinkpads have HDMI, but SL410 and SL510 do.
There are quite a few Lenovo laptops, such as Ideapads and Essentials (that are NOT Thinkpad) with HDMI.
However, these machines are not always suited for someone looking for a 'workhorse'.

From your previous models, it looks like you're into smaller ~14" size machines.
If that's the case, currently your best bet would probably be a R400/T400 or T410.
The R400/T400 has VGA and runs with Core 2 Duo CPU.
The T410 has VGA as well as a Displayport, and runs with i5 CPU.
T420 and T430 are still rather pricey.
They all run with the currently cheap DDR3 RAM.

Maybe I'm wrong and you now prefer larger machines?
R500/T500 or T510 are the 15.4" larger 'sisters' of the above R4x0/T4x0 machines.

If interested, I have several machines for sale. To mention but a few:
- T400 with VGA. It's a 14.1" widescreen model 16:10
- T410 with VGA & Displayport. It's a 14.1" widescreen model 16:10. Under warranty until mid September 2013
- R500 with VGA & Displayport. It's a 15.4" widescreen model 16:9
-SL510 with VGA & HDMI. It's a 15.6" widescreen model 16:9

[underclocker]

The T510/T520 machines are really fast and durable, they are very solid machines. Add an SSD (or buy one with one included) and you should be quite satisfied.

Entry pricing for the T510 has dipped into the $300-$400 range.

[pianowizard]

I'm a contractor and my laptops dont last more than 2 years...My line of units have been T23, T30, T40, T41, T60.

The T30 and T60 are among the toughest Thinkpads ever made, and yet they lasted no more than 2 years in your hands. I think you should look into getting a fully-rugged Panasonic Toughbook (not "semi-rugged" or "business-rugged").