Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Before I start I wanted to share that I am a Director of Information Technologies and I only purchase Lenovo Think Pads for Windows laptops - so I have a lot of experience with these. I have given this a two start rating only because the description says that they are "This Certified Refurbished product is tested & certified to look and work like new by a Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher." - but they do not "look" new, one first run and short testing they do operate as new. I have ordered two T420 from this seller - perhaps the issue comes down in part to what is consider refurbished? On the first machine the right front corner where the top and bottom come together overlap each other at the headphone jack. This is because either the top or bottom case is not the correct part to match up to the other, the mold lines don't match. Last for this machine - it has thin sticker 'skin" on the top deck of the keyboard area of the case. It gives the case the classic stipple texture that the Lenovo's have and I imagine covers any imperfections from previous use. This skin is on the top deck, although not very noticeable to the eye but the skin is very noticeable to the touch. This skin is not going to last long as the edges are already lifting. On the first T420 the right corner again, top deck, the skin is not sticking so it was already raised, so it will not be long before it starts to peel off. I was hoping that on the second T420 it would be in better condition. The first notable issue is the screen and visible light distorted vertical lines which look like scratches but are not noticeable to the touch. Lenovo screens are made up of layers so this is some kind of scratch or imperfection in the layer. Notice in the picture that you can see the screen pixel grid but the vertical distortions appear as scratches to the eye. Back to the top deck - the right rear corner the top deck and bottom are not together - this time the problem is not the wrong part its just not assembled correctly. This machine also as a skin that gives the case the classic stipple texture that the Lenovo's have. This skin is on the top deck and although not very noticeable as a skin to the eye, edges of the skin are very noticeable to the touch. As example if you are using the touch pad and slide your fingers to the mouse buttons your fingers hang on the edges of the skin that have been placed on the mouse buttons. The skin actually makes the button taller than the mouse touch pad. This skin is not going to last long as the edges are already lifting. The lid or back of the screen also has the same skin which has a couple of air bubbles and the edge at the hinge side is lifted. I checked the hard drive Date of Manufacture which shows a DOM of 2011. I would expect that the Hard Drive being the most commonly failed part and one of the most critical to be a with a newer DOM. So both machines run good, fast and have the Lenovo solid feel one would expect. Keyboards on both look new, The hinges are tight and function like new and all other features function as expected. For whatever it is worth I have Lenovo laptops that are 10 years old. Dropped? No problem! Cracked case, yep still running! Sure I replaced the hard drive and upgrade RAM but these machine are great. So - if you are ok with a good used laptop these are worth the money.