based from lenovo site here will be 1366x768 or 1600x900 (guessing 1366x768)
2nd generation i5
vga external output

always have frustration at the lack of details like this on ebay or other box shifting sites, spend ages finding out stuff like this.

based from lenovo site here will be 1366x768 or 1600x900 (guessing 1366x768)
2nd generation i5
vga external output

always have frustration at the lack of details like this on ebay or other box shifting sites, spend ages finding out stuff like this.

These run very hot, not good for a lap.

Also worth checking http://stores.ebay.co.uk/itanddomesticgoodsforeveryone/ as they have refurb thinkpads at good prices.

Yup interesting feedback

You can buy a 1080p screen from eBay for about £40 and only takes about 10 mins to replace and makes a world of difference

Well, for any laptop NBC (notebookcheck.net) will get you reviews of just about any model.
However, for Thinkpads, there are two ThinkWiki's
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Category:T420
http://thinkwiki.de/T420
So easy to get info.

Nothing reasonably priced there at the moment. In fact on the face if it quite ridiculous for the thinkpads

bookmarked, you have eased my woes. thank you.

​i assume the screens aren't matte?

a quick look for fhd and t420 throws up this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/3hjlbu/so_i_did_the_t420_fhd_ips_mod_and_its_glorious/
and a party number: B140HAN01
which can be had on eBay for around £30.
But (didn't read any of the guides) it costs a lot more than that mentions using a Dremel so I'd guess the job involves modding the bezel?
looks like that part is also used on a HP ZBook so it might be matte

Had one of these and it was nothing but trouble. It broke within 4 weeks. Mine wasn't from this seller but these Thinkpads aren't the most reliable imho.

you can't impute unreliability in general to the fact that your particular Thinkpad was crappy (from a different seller, as well)

1. Thinkpads are extremely reliable & seen as corporate workhorses: powerful, long-lived & reliable
2. Eflex have an excellent reputation, hard-earned & well-deserved - & would surely put right any problems arising

extremely well screwed together , if dull. also consider dell e6220 series , the market is flooded with them

dull, cheap & reliable, should have put it in the header :smiley:

Well, dull or 'boring and black' have long been used to describe ThinkPads.
Can't say I ever complained as robust and long lasting is more important to me and metallic finished don't tend to last (except for Panasonic ToughBooks).
However, it seems Lenovo has been listening and now offer silver in the next ThinkPad X1 Carbon after trailing the look with the ThinkPad 13L

The HP Probook laptops finished in stainless steel are also very robust & attractive

i`d rather use these guys and get a 12 month guarantee

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lenovo-Thinkpad-T420-Windows-10-Laptop-i5-2520M-2-50GHz-4GB-Ram-250GB-Warranty-/232194704148?var=&hash=item360fe20314:m:mOORWmh1faIlbN5aE-Ton-A

Under IBM I totally agree with you, Lenovo have to some extent cost engineered some thinkpad models, and so not always seen as as reliable as they were under IBM. That said HP's Elitebook and Dells Lattitude (The business versions) are also really reliable mainly as the corporate models tend to use metal where its needed, rather than plastic to save a few pence.

Hope these are better than the T400 I bought my Son from a deal off here (another reseller) that lasted all of about 3 months before developing an issue where the screen intermittently works on boot up.

Wouldn't buy another refurb now without a decent warranty which shows confidence in what they are selling.

I have a T420 with with the 1600 x 900 display. Very nice laptop.

Got this laptop from one of those used laptop websites for £200 almost 2 years ago it must be. Lovely laptop but the logo has fallen off and rubber started to peel. Not as sturdy as the older ones.

I got a Lenovo ThinkPad T430s (1" thick, sub-2kg and has the 1600x900 display) with 256GB SSD for £159 last year. From memory it was from IT-Zoo but a lot of these types of machines are coming off lease at their 3-year cycle and are usually up for grabs at bargain prices. I would probably say £199 for a T420 with 128GB storage (even if an SSD) is fractionally on the high side but still 'solid' value.

You also have HP Elite and Probook options if you want something other than Dells and Lenovos.

I've said it many times on this forum but i'll say it again. More often than not, eBay doesn't want to know. Paypal, don't want to know. You might get small fees back but the item worked on delivery. As soon as Paypal realise that, your case is gone. In fact, your case is gone if you recieved something. I've lost plenty of paypal cases where the sender has simply sent a proof of postage, Paypal have assessed it and ruled in their favor.

I've only ever won one paypal case for a couple of quid. Paypal's "protection" is a huge waste of time. If you disagree, check out eBay's own forums. There are so many scams I can't even tell you. Once upon a time, a seller from china was listing golf balls - sold thousands of packs - made a lot of money. The seller then started selling packs of 5,000 golf balls internationally. You guessed it - all fakes. People lost hundreds if not thousands to that scam. When you contacted eBay, their response was: "Well you've recieved something, we can't test to see if the item is real" (or words to that effect). So trust me, i've had a lot of experience and read a very significant amount on this subject unfortunately!

On the flip side, I am a seller and eBay almost always sides with the buyer if you file a 'item not as described' (e.g. not working) case and tells the buyer to send it back. It may differ for the private sellers but for businesses (such as the one that probably sold the laptop), it will have to adhere to eBay's rules. I'm sure there are outliers but eBay and PayPal generally do side with the buyer, only the seller in extreme cases.

I think everyone has a bad story with paypal. If they haven't, they will get one! It's not a perfect system unfortunately. I don't know of a better way to resolve these things.

But like I said in my original message, mine was a different thinkpad from a different seller. You could buy this and be totally fine. Not every thinkpad is trash, I just got unlucky with seller and item which can happen.

"Battery: Tested and Holds a charge"

ie Battery is shot and won't last more than 30 mins.

These T series come from another era. This laptop is thicker than a paving slab and weighs an elephant like 2.2kg (for a 14" laptop!). Screen is very mediocre as well.

Reasonable spec but unless you specifically want a mostly desk bound business laptop for staff, I'd give this a swerve.

I got a refurb Thinkpad a while back, an X301. It certainly feels solid but the screen is the most mediocre laptop screen I've ever come across. You can't mod them either.

I still have it here and tried booting it up for the last few days and every time now the screen is failing to come on, can hear Windows successfully boot with the sound played at logon screen. As you say i'll have to find the manual for it and try taking it apart to see if it's fixable.

Nothing to lose (which is what I always say when something is broken I want to fix it myself).
While the manuals are obviously the 'proper' way to go, don't forget the 21st century's #1 DAY (Do-Anything-Yourself) tool: youtube videos.
If you've never done something like this before, I'd watch those first even if you can't find someone taking your exact model apart. They're good for getting a feel of what's involved. Then use the PDF manual to look up any specifics.

I've just opened the lid and the row of lights on the bottom of the screen were lit up meaning it was working so wondering if just a loose connection to the screen.

credit to Old Turkey for pointing me in the right direction :smiley: