X31's & X32's - buying advice - spare parts question

[Woodsy]

Hi everyone,

I found this wonderful site after finally deciding that the EEE PC wasn't really worth the money to me and that I wanted a more powerful and better equipped laptop so I'm looking at X31\X32's

I've read on this forum that X32's are pretty rare but I've seen one with an IBM warranty (1.8Ghz, 512Mb) til March 2009 going for a fairly average price (for the UK that is - £314)
The thing that worries me is that if something goes wrong outside of the warranty (ie motherboard) then I'm going to have trouble sourcing parts for it. I plan on having the laptop for at least a few years.
I guess the question I'm asking is that in your opinion are parts much more readily available for the X31?
In the long term the X31 might be the better option for me but buying (off ebay) without some kind of warranty is quite scary as it could go kaput in 1 week bearing in mind they are already a few years old.
The secondhand prices in the UK seem to be more expensive than the US (no suprises there) so its not really a 'throwaway' purchase for me.

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

[ajkula66]

Welcome to the forum!

X32s are fine machines and I believe that you're getting quite a good deal if it's within warranty for 300 quid...now, what you should find out is whether the warranty can be extended through IBM/Lenovo UK. If the answer to this question is yes, go for it, it's worth spending the extra money if you're intent on keeping that ThinkPad for a few years.

Yes, board for an X32 would be more difficult to find, but not impossible. Then again, you could always throw a board from a X31 in there, if the original ones became that scarce .

Hope this helps.

[Woodsy]

Many thanks for your advice and friendly welcome!

After getting the details of the laptop from the buyer I trundled off to my not so local Lenovo Authorised Warranty Service Provider who told me that I could get one years Extended Warranty for £65+VAT. I was suprised how cheap this was!
So an 1.8 X32 with a just under two year warranty for around £389!! Is that a good price?!!

[ajkula66]

I'm not that well-versed in UK prices, but sounds good to me...

Good luck and may your new ThinkPad bring you many hours of joy!

[Woodsy]

Laptop ordered!

I don't usually go for extended warranties but in this case (a fairly rare laptop which is already a couple of years old) I think its a wise thing.

Thanks alot!