If you need parts for a broken laptop repair, an important choice to make is, should you get new or used/refurbished parts?  Here’s my thoughts and policy that I use in my repair business.

I’m talking about major components here, like motherboards and LCD screens.  Other minor parts are no big deal, as they’re not expensive.  For these major parts, the difference in cost between new and used/refurbished can be as high as $100 for LCD’s and $150 for motherboards.

If your laptop is over 3 years old, you’re better off with used or refurbished parts, unless it’s a high-end model (e.g. if it was over $1000 new).  If your laptop was a basic model with only a year or two of life left in it, you want to keep your repair cost low.

If your baby is a high-end beauty that still runs fast and is pretty up to date, you want to stick with new parts, as they are more reliable and will give your laptop longer life.  You want a good machine to last a while, since you spent a lot to buy it in the first place.

For newer laptops (less than 2 years old), you want to stick with new parts.  You want your machine to last 4 or 5 years, so you want the longer life and reliability of a new part.  Of course, if your laptop was a budget unit you bought for $299, it’s probably not worth doing a major repair.

What other considerations are there in choosing new versus used, or even in doing the repair it at all?  This is a cost/benefit decision.  If the cost of the repair (including labor) is half the cost or less of buying a new unit, you should definitely repair it.  If you can do this with new parts, go for it!

Most of these major repairs cost $300-$500 using new parts, or $200-$350 with used parts.  A good, solid mid-range laptop these days goes for $600-$800.  So you can see it’s a close decision.  If you bring your laptop to us, we’ll advise you on what’s best to do.

If you need help with this type of issue, or any other computer repair issue, our contact information is on our website at Saguaro PC Tech – Tucson Computer & Laptop Repair.