Buying an Eco-Friendly Refurbished Laptop: What to Look For

A professionally refurbished laptop costs a fraction of the equivalent new machine and keeps a perfectly good device out of landfill. Here is what we check before any laptop goes on sale, and what you should look for wherever you buy.

Why buy refurbished?

The obvious reason is cost. The better reason is waste. Building a new laptop uses far more energy and raw material than refurbishing an existing one, so giving a machine a second life is the easiest way to cut the environmental cost of your IT.

How we refurbish a laptop

Every machine is stripped down, cleaned and tested in our workshop in Stockport. We check battery health, the screen, the keyboard and trackpad, all the ports, wireless, and the health of the drive. Anything that does not pass is repaired or replaced, and the laptop is finished with a clean installation of Windows.

What to check before you buy

Ask who actually does the refurbishment and whether you can speak to them afterwards. Ask what warranty is included and what it covers. Check the battery, because a tired battery is the most common weak point in a cheap refurbished laptop. Then match the specification to the work: for office, school and general use, an Intel Core i5 with 8GB or 16GB of RAM and an SSD is plenty.

Buying from a local workshop

Buying locally means you can see the machine before you pay for it, bring it back if something is not right, and talk to the person who repaired it rather than a returns queue. Our refurbished laptops come with a one year warranty.

Recycling the machine you are replacing

When you upgrade we can take the old equipment away for secure data destruction and responsible recycling, whether that is a single laptop or a full office clear-out.

Come and see us

Computer Club, Unit 26A Vernon Mill, Mersey Street, Stockport, SK1 2HX. Open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 5:00pm. Call 0161 429 8877 or email sales@computer-club.co.uk. We supply and repair for customers across Stockport, Cheadle, Bramhall, Hazel Grove, Didsbury, Sale and Altrincham.