A pre-owned laptop can be a great buy, but only if you know what you’re getting. Whether you’re buying from us or from someone else, these are the checks worth doing before you pay. Most of them take a minute or two.
1. Look at the body first
Close the lid and look at the laptop from the side. The lid should sit flat, with no gap at one corner. Open and close it a few times: the hinges should feel firm and hold the screen at any angle. Loose or creaking hinges are one of the most common problems on older machines and they only get worse.
Light scratches on the lid are normal for a business laptop that spent a few years in an office. Cracks near the hinges, a bent chassis or missing screws on the bottom are not.
2. Check the screen
- Open a plain white page at full brightness and look for dead pixels, yellow patches or bright spots near the edges.
- Switch to a black background to spot backlight bleed.
- Gently move the lid while watching the screen. Flickering usually means a worn display cable.
3. Type on every key
Open Notepad and run your finger across every row, including the function keys and the arrows. Each key should register once, with no sticking. Try the touchpad with one and two fingers, and the TrackPoint if it’s a ThinkPad. Check the keyboard backlight if the model has one.
4. Ask about the battery
Batteries wear with age, so a used laptop won’t match its original battery life. What matters is how much capacity is left. On Windows you can check it yourself: open Command Prompt, type powercfg /batteryreport, and open the report it saves. Compare Full charge capacity with Design capacity. Above 80% is healthy. Below 60% means the battery will need replacing soon.
Also look at the laptop from the side on a flat table. A swollen battery can push the touchpad up or lift the base. Don’t buy a laptop with a swollen battery.
5. Test the ports and connections
Plug a USB stick into each port, connect the charger and make sure the charging light comes on, and try the headphone jack. Connect to Wi-Fi, pair a Bluetooth device, and open the camera app to check the webcam and microphone. If you’ll use an external monitor, test the HDMI or USB-C video output too.
6. Confirm the specs
Don’t rely on the sticker. On Windows, go to Settings > System > About to see the processor and installed RAM, and open Task Manager to check the storage type and size. Make sure what you see matches what you’re paying for. If you’re not sure what the numbers mean, our guide on laptop processors explains how to read them.
7. Run it for a few minutes
Open a browser with several tabs and play a video. The fan should stay reasonably quiet and the bottom shouldn’t get too hot to touch. Loud grinding from the fan or random shutdowns are signs of a cooling problem.
8. Get the warranty in writing
Even a laptop that passes every test can develop a fault later. Buy from a seller who gives you a written warranty and a clear return policy. Every Renvy laptop comes with a 12-month warranty, 14 days to return it and 30 days to exchange it, so you have time to use it properly before you decide.
Want help picking one? Browse our laptops or message us on WhatsApp with your budget and what you’ll use it for.
