Buying a used laptop

[Autoeng]

Becuase of some travel requirements over the next year I need to purchase a used laptop. As I will only be using it for a year I don't want to make the $1,000+ investment in a new one. Does anyone have any advice about:

1) Where to buy a good quality, 400-700mhz laptop. I've found several websites but don't know which to trust. Checking www.resellerratings.com but if anyone has personal experience I would be interested in hearing from you

2) What brands/models are better. Which ones to stay away from.

3) What to look for in options (screen type, ect..)

4) Would you recommend dealing with a local shop (that is, if I can find one that has some used laptops) or with an internet source.

Thanks for any advice,
Autoeng

[Steve]

Hi Autoeng,

I was in the market for a used laptop last summer. You might want to check out THIS (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15597&perpage=20&pagenumber=1) thread. I got a lot of good advise.

My favorite for a used laptop is a Dell with P3, 500mhz or higher. As much RAM as you can get but 128MB minimum. A lot of them have 20-30GB HDDs. You can put W98 or w2k on them. You should be able to find one in the $500-$800 range.

Hope that helps...:)

[Autoeng]

Thanks Steve,

A lot of good info there.

Autoeng