[geeks] reputable used Mac (PB G4) dealers?

[velociraptor]

On 3/31/07, Greg Nesbitt <gnesbitt at sapphyre.org> wrote:
> I bought my first Mac (a PowerBook G4) about 6 months ago.  Life was
> good.  My wife discovered the PowerBook and now it's "hers".
>
> I need to buy another one.  A new MacBook Pro falls outside my budget.
>
> Any recommendations on used Mac dealers?  I'd rather not deal with the
> uncertainties of eBay.  PowerMax appears to have some decent deals, but
> I don't know what their reputation looks like.
>
> Reputation is more important than price.  Basically, I'm looking for the
> AnySystem of Mac dealers.

Take a look at SmallDog.  Personally, I'd feel pretty safe buying any
used Mac that is still under extended Apple warranty, which covers the
last models of Powerbooks and G5s.  Just make sure you can lay hands
on it and power it up before you buy, and look up the Apple Care
numbers (yes, it's transferrable).

There's been a number of bargain-basement Macs on my local Craigslist
that are not under Apple Care that I've been seriously considering.
YMMV.  I've refurb'd and resold fruit iBooks (disassembly hell) and
iBook dual-USB's, so I'm not your average laptop buyer.

IMO, in general, Mac laptops are pretty bullet-proof caveat the
well-known flaws of recalls (white marks on LCD, power input boards,
batteries).  If it appears to be in good shape, likely it is.  With
the G4 desktops you have to be a little more careful, as it's not
always easy to ID the different versions, and there were a wider
variety of issues with them (G4 digital audio in particular).

If buying private party used is not comfortable for you, I will third
(fourth, or whatever #) the vote that you go with direct Apple refurb.
 As far as I have seen none of the other vendors offer anything better
than Apple's prices.

=Nadine=