[1MachineElf]

In my case - and I've purchased 10 of these over the years - it's exclusively eBay. I check the description and photos carefully to see if there are any issues or defects. Only one time did I receive a laptop that was basically a dud - an X61 from many years ago.

I've also bought a couple old 32-bit models from e-waste recyclers who were open to me just grabbing them from out of a pile of to-be-disposed-of equipment.

Not sure where you're located, but if there is a MicroCenter nearby, the I recommend them as well. Sometimes they stock these in refurbished condition, and from my inspections of the laptops, they're in good shape. Only buy if you can look at first-hand at the store.

Sites like NewEgg, TigerDirect, and Amazon also have these, but the reviews generally don't seem favorable. One major difference is that with eBay, you can view multiple pictures of the exact laptop you will be buying. With those other sites, it's just a stock photo, and it seems like there's less quality control over what's grabbed from their warehouses.

Also it's worth mentioning that refurbished Dell Latitude and HP EliteBook laptops are comparable. There seems to be less demand for these than Lenovo ThinkPads, so often you can get better specs for the same price. In my experience, the Dell Latitude laptops have maintained greater backwards-compatibility with older docking stations. If you're into embedded development or ever want to connect to a headless server directly, then only Dell will give you that docking station with a serial port. The drawbacks is the TrackPoint on a ThinkPad is always guaranteed to be there, while it's an optional feature with Latitude and EliteBook, and even when it is there, it isn't as good as what IBM/Lenovo has engineered. Another drawback is refurbished Latitude laptops often have dedicated GPUs, which is great for Windows, but often a pain for Linux.

[LargoLasskhyfv]

Fully agree to alternatives like Lattitudes and EliteBooks. While the "ecosystems" aren't as large as those of ThinkPads, i.e. no Wikis and such, the hardware manuals are available and of the same quality/usefulness.

I think there is a certain inertness in perception of available choices, quality-wise. While ThinkPads were great for a time, that Nimbus should have faded by now, but it mostly didn't, although it makes no sense.

The really good ones are so old by now, that they are almost useless, except for terminal use.

The newer ones are only so, so, and the really good ones make no sense economically imo.

Then there are the mentioned alternatives. But it depends on geographic availability, time, i.e. when a large batch of refurbs enters the market, and so on. It has something of looking for flotsam on the beach :-)

Anyways, if you know hardware/what to do, then you can get great value with better options for periphery like docking stations, displays (ratio/resolution), simply more bang for the buck with about the same build quality as the ThinkPads of yore once had.

Prime expamples are small adaptors from the µSata for the 1.8" HDD to something more modern, for under 10USD a piece. Oh, and compressed air for really cleaning, new thermal grease or pads.

If you do this more often you can save insane amounts of money by getting a small compressor instead buying canned air.

Just saying...

[massysett]

I've had all three of these brands and Thinkpad is the best.

I've had Dell Latitude machines where the hinges break after about three years and will no longer hold the screen up. I've had HP EliteBook machines where the soft rubber touchpad buttons wear through (I had one with a three-year warranty and they did fix it while it was in the warranty period.)

Meanwhile the Thinkpad machines have had no issues even after more than three years. They just look beat up (for instance there's a rubber-like coating on the lid that wears off.)

But the one that beats all of them is Apple. My MacBook Pro is now over five years old and it feels almost like new. I've never gotten this lifespan out of any Windows laptop.

[Tijdreiziger]

> The drawbacks is the TrackPoint on a ThinkPad is always guaranteed to be there, while it's an optional feature with Latitude and EliteBook, and even when it is there, it isn't as good as what IBM/Lenovo has engineered.

My 5-year-old HP ZBook's trackpoint is abysmal. I stopped trying to use it about 2 months in, and after 2 years its top surface fell off and got lost. I didn't bother ordering a replacement.