refurb lenovo laptops???

rjacobs · Jul 16, 2021

I am a Mac guy...

I need a Windows laptop to use for tuning and other vehicle related stuff. Will probably also use it in the garage for streaming music, reading PDF's, etc...

I dont want to run parallels/bootcamp on my Macbook.

I have been perusing the Lenovo refurb site and think one of the Thinkpad L13's with an I3 processor and 4gig of ram is probably good enough for what I need. I dont think any of the programs I will be using are very resource intensive. Will be using HP Tuners VCM, Forscan, and probably another tuning program.

This is the specific one I have been thinking on:

New & Refurbished Laptops and 2-in-1s | Outlet

Check out our range of new and refurbished laptops now in stock at the Lenovo Outlet Store. Grab yourself a bargain, but hurry as stock is limited.

www.lenovo.com

I have also been thinking on this one that has 8gig of ram, better processor(i5 vs. i3) and is touchscreen(I dont know if its actually a Yoga model that turns into a faux tablet or not, but it seems like MAYBE it is). I dont think I need any of the features, except it might be nice if it IS a Yoga model for reading PDF's while working on the car(tablet mode vs. laptop).

New & Refurbished Laptops and 2-in-1s | Outlet

Check out our range of new and refurbished laptops now in stock at the Lenovo Outlet Store. Grab yourself a bargain, but hurry as stock is limited.

www.lenovo.com

Anybody got any thoughts on these refurbs direct from Lenovo? Im not interested in buying a refurb from a 3rd party only direct...

Dell also sells refurbs, but they seem to be more expensive than an equivalent Lenovo.

Anything else I should think about?

Millron · Jul 16, 2021

I have bought Refurbs before from Dell. Never a minutes problem. Sometimes I think they get a more thorough going over as they came back from warranty once already.

Waorani · Jul 16, 2021

Switched to Lenovos about 12yrs ago and never have had any problems. The couple of refurbs I've had looked brand new and I suspect they were simply returns rather than ever used.

W54/XM-388 · Jul 16, 2021

Get at least the 8gb of memory option.

Jefe's Dope · Jul 16, 2021

Why not Parallels? Just out of curiosity.

rjacobs · Jul 16, 2021

Jefe's Dope said:
Why not Parallels? Just out of curiosity.

Supposedly Parallels doesnt work at all or not well(something about the VM), but people report good results with Bootcamp, which isnt really an issue.

My macbook pro was like $2700... I dont really like taking it out to the garage.

I have HEARD there are issues with the various OBD tuning adapter talking with the mac usb ports. They are basically old school serial devices that are emulated into USB or something like that and can get flaky. And yes I know USB stands for "universal SERIAL bus"...

Windows 10 Home is $139... that puts me 1/3 of the price to the cheaper of the two laptops I have listed above, then I have a second laptop I can just leave in the garage and not worry about because it didnt cost much.

rjacobs · Jul 16, 2021

W54/XM-388 said:
Get at least the 8gb of memory option.

So your vote would be for the slightly more expensive one. It also has a better processor(which I dont think I need for what I am doing).

W54/XM-388 · Jul 16, 2021

rjacobs said:
So your vote would be for the slightly more expensive one. It also has a better processor(which I dont think I need for what I am doing).

4gb and an i3 trying to use windows 10 is going to suck balls and you will hate it.
8gb and the better processor is worth the money just so you don't start beating on your computer.
If it doesn't already have an SSD, go ahead and swap one in and you'll be thankful next time windows 10 decides it's updating regardless of your wishes.

sirhrmechanic · Jul 16, 2021

Chinese company... Oh boy. Another one.

Sirhr

rjacobs · Jul 16, 2021

sirhrmechanic said:
Chinese company... Oh boy. Another one.

Sirhr

Is the computer or phone you typed that snarky reply on made in USA?

sirhrmechanic · Jul 16, 2021

Chicom Chink all the way... sadly.

LG. I think stands for "Long Grain". Well, they have to eat something.

Lenovo used to be made by IBM in Raleigh, North Carolina. Not made by slaves.

Hey, I can't buy everything American... yet. But working on it.

Is Dell still American? They may be fueled by Cocaine, but at least once were made in USA.

So who makes a phone and a computer in USA... and next time I need one or the other... I'll gladly buy USA.

Sirhr

sirhrmechanic · Jul 16, 2021

PS... I got nothing against chinks. Just hate communists.

Sirhr

rjacobs · Jul 16, 2021

W54/XM-388 said:
4gb and an i3 trying to use windows 10 is going to suck balls and you will hate it.
8gb and the better processor is worth the money just so you don't start beating on your computer.
If it doesn't already have an SSD, go ahead and swap one in and you'll be thankful next time windows 10 decides it's updating regardless of your wishes.

I ordered the more expensive one as it is obviously the better spec'd laptop. It has an SSD, 128gig, which will be PLENTY for me.

I "built" both of them like they were "new" and the one I ordered would be $290 more, so paying an extra $125 I think its worth it to get better processor, more ram, touch screen, tablet mode, etc... The basic L13 with the I3 and 4gig of ram "new" was $640. The 2 in 1 L13(touch screen), I5, 8 gig ram would be 930 "new"... So $290 difference.

rjacobs · Jul 16, 2021

sirhrmechanic said:
Is Dell still American? They may be fueled by Cocaine, but at least once were made in USA.

So who makes a phone and a computer in USA... and next time I need one or the other... I'll gladly buy USA.

Sirhr

Dell I believe is still "American" but not sure their computers really are or every have been. I "think" they are still like Apple where they are "assembled" in the USA from "global" components... i.e. shit from China or Taiwan.

Yea Lenovo used to be IBM. I read one thing that said Lenovo has ALWAYS made the "thinkpad" line, even when they were sold as IBM. And those were ALWAYS made in China, even under IBM's branding. This website(https://usamadeproducts.biz/electronics-computers.html) claims the "thinkpad" line is assembled in Whitsett, NC of global components... So not sure what to believe. Dell actually isnt listed on that website so not sure. I have no clue as to that websites legitimacy.

ETA: this website also claims Lenovo Thinkpads are "assembled" in USA. https://www.brandnewusa.com/?kw=Computers

I dont like it any more than you to be honest, but with electronics these days you are basically fucked no matter what when it comes to that.

As far as phones go, nobody as far as I know makes a "made in USA" phone. I THINK a few places "assemble" phones in the USA, but I am sure all the parts are foreign. I THOUGHT Google Pixels were "assembled" here and possibly the Iphones were going to be.

I think there were more things moving at LEAST assembly here under Trump. Im also pretty sure that shit will be going away under Biden unless they have invested far to much to reverse course now.

MarshallDodge · Jul 16, 2021

My experience with Dell and Lenovo has been good.

kenny1773 · Jul 16, 2021

sirhrmechanic said:
So who makes a phone and a computer in USA... and next time I need one or the other... I'll gladly buy USA.

Sirhr

I am sure they are using non-US components, but if you meant it this is about the only one I know of

About Falcon Northwest Computer Systems | Falcon Northwest

About Falcon Northwest Computer Systems, our company, our history, and how we build & support our custom PCs right here in Southern Oregon, USA

www.falcon-nw.com

rjacobs · Jul 25, 2021

So just to "circle back"...

Got the laptop. No way I would have known it was a refurb except that I know it is a refurb.

No scratches, screen is great, etc...

The screen folds back over and goes into "tablet" mode so to speak and it has a pen that slides out that you can use.

Pretty dang nice laptop for $500...

Now to get used to this piece of fucking garbage that is Windows 10...

DOA · Jul 25, 2021

If you can, turn off or severely limit its updating. Win 10 used to be fine, until they started forcing updates that would wreak havoc on other programs.

MarshallDodge · Jul 25, 2021

rjacobs said:
So just to "circle back"...

Got the laptop. No way I would have known it was a refurb except that I know it is a refurb.

No scratches, screen is great, etc...

The screen folds back over and goes into "tablet" mode so to speak and it has a pen that slides out that you can use.

Pretty dang nice laptop for $500...

Now to get used to this piece of fucking garbage that is Windows 10...

Win 10 isn't that bad. What kind of issues are you seeing?

I use a W10 laptop for work and a Mint Linux laptop at home.

kenny1773 · Jul 25, 2021

Lenovo in the top 3, you should be fine.
Refurbs are most times A-OK as well, a few bad ones slip through, but less than when buying new

As for Windows 10, so far it is the best version of windows yet
As for the comment that updates break other programs, yes there are a lot of programmers out there that take shortcuts and do things they shouldn't so when an update closes up a problem, some other code will stop working. They should fix it quickly enough.

rjacobs · Jul 26, 2021

MarshallDodge said:
Win 10 isn't that bad. What kind of issues are you seeing?

I use a W10 laptop for work and a Mint Linux laptop at home.

No real issues, just used to OSX. Windows 10 interface is a turd compared to OSX. OSX may just be Unix on crack, but its good crack.

34SF · Jul 26, 2021

I have a Lenovo from them for the same purpose; I just use it for FORSCAN. After a week, the bat wouldn't hold a charge. It's not a user replaceable part and so the replacement battery I got will only charge to 50%. No way to fix this as it's in the firmware. So, I would check the battery life cycle on anything from the refurbished line. My issue only pertains to the internal bats, if your's is an ext batt, no issue BUT!!! Costco currently has a sale on Lenovo idea pads for $540 if I remember correctly.

rjacobs · Jul 26, 2021

34SF said:
I have a Lenovo from them for the same purpose; I just use it for FORSCAN. After a week, the bat wouldn't hold a charge. It's not a user replaceable part and so the replacement battery I got will only charge to 50%. No way to fix this as it's in the firmware. So, I would check the battery life cycle on anything from the refurbished line.

I hope I can figure out how to actually USE Forscan LOL... Ive gotten it connected to my Explorer and downloaded all the stuff, but then im lost on how to actually change anything... NONE of the programs for working with vehicles are very intuitive. And im sure thats because the guys that make them are way to smart for their own good and its a case of "that makes perfect sense to me that built it" when the rest of us are like WTF...

I just did a battery health report and this battery only has 4 cycles on it so I assume its a "new" battery.

34SF · Jul 27, 2021

there's a video tutorial on the forscan forum and a ton on youtube for different function. always do a back up!

JimTN · Jul 27, 2021

Don't know about the Explorer models, but the F150 owners website have a couple threads or more dedicated to Forscan discussion. I would "assume" the Explorer owners forums would have something similar to help you thru whatever you're attempting to do. I used Forscan to do a few minor things to my F150, and did not "brick" my truck.

I used a cheapo Acer laptop to do the Forscan changes, but it has since died. LOL

rjacobs · Jul 27, 2021

JimTN said:
Don't know about the Explorer models, but the F150 owners website have a couple threads or more dedicated to Forscan discussion. I would "assume" the Explorer owners forums would have something similar to help you thru whatever you're attempting to do. I used Forscan to do a few minor things to my F150, and did not "brick" my truck. I used a cheapo Acer laptop to do the Forscan changes, but it has since died. LOL

There is a thread but its like "change x86kf0 where the 0 is to a 5"... and im like

JimTN · Jul 28, 2021

rjacobs said:
There is a thread but its like "change x86kf0 where the 0 is to a 5"... and im like

I agree, but I was lucky as all I wanted to do was add a small aftermarket sub and I found the "exact" steps and changes to make since it was a popular mod to do. GL. LOL

rjacobs · Jul 28, 2021

JimTN said:
I agree, but I was lucky as all I wanted to do was add a small aftermarket sub and I found the "exact" steps and changes to make since it was a popular mod to do. GL. LOL

Supposedly the "popular" stuff is in like check box things now in the program... but fuck me if I can find these either. Hell I cant even figure out how to find all of these XX56g94ls address bull shit where you change the g to a q or some shit...

I am allowed to fly 100 million dollar airplanes, but I cant figure out a free program for modifying my Exploder...

JimTN · Jul 28, 2021

rjacobs said:
Supposedly the "popular" stuff is in like check box things now in the program... but fuck me if I can find these either. Hell I cant even figure out how to find all of these XX56g94ls address bull shit where you change the g to a q or some shit...

I am allowed to fly 100 million dollar airplanes, but I cant figure out a free program for modifying my Exploder...

Could always just post the issue on the forum as to what you are trying to do if not already done

, and it's possible someone has already done the x & o things and will provide some step by step instructions for us " Forscan dummies".

Having trouble using the site?

refurb lenovo laptops???

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