iBook G4 from Craigslist

[Eanair]

Hello,

I once again humbly request the sagely advice of fellow MR members regarding a potential purchase.

I've found an iBook G4 on Craigslist with the following specs:

Excellent condition (screen, function, cosmetics)
1.33 Ghz
1.5 GB RAM
60 GB HD
CD R/W and DVD-R drive
Original box, manuals, and disks
Charger and cord
Leopard upgrade disk (with Leopard already installed)
$300.00

For what I need, it's great, and because the install disks are included as well as the box and manuals, I feel very confident this isn't a stolen machine (unlike the last Craigslist iffy posting I found). I checked it out on Mac2Sell, and they say it's worth about $220 with those specs, so I believe $300 is a reasonable asking price.

I've exchanged a few emails with the seller, and he offered to meet me to let me see the computer in person and try it out and have a look at it before purchase.

I don't have any alarm bells ringing in my head. Anyone else think otherwise?

Any sagely tips from people for what I should look out for or be aware of when doing this?

As always, thanks in advance!

 

[Surely]

Looks good to me, especially since the seller is willing to meet and allow you to test the machine.

Make sure that you look at the System Profiler to ensure that his listed specs match the actual specs.

Does it have an Airport card installed?

Check the battery status- maybe ask him to download iStat Pro or Coconut Battery prior to your meeting so that you can check the system stats.

 

[Eanair]

Looks good to me, especially since the seller is willing to meet and allow you to test the machine.

Make sure that you look at the System Profiler to ensure that his listed specs match the actual specs.

Does it have an Airport card installed?

Check the battery status- maybe ask him to download iStat Pro or Coconut Battery prior to your meeting so that you can check the system stats.

If I recall (and I fully admit to having scattered memory here), the 1.33 GHz iBook models began having built in Airport cards? So I thought it was already included?

I plan on checking out the Profile to double check the RAM and HD stats - good point about the battery though - thanks!

 

[michael.lauden]

If I recall (and I fully admit to having scattered memory here), the 1.33 GHz iBook models began having built in Airport cards? So I thought it was already included?

I plan on checking out the Profile to double check the RAM and HD stats - good point about the battery though - thanks!

just have him use coconut battery/iStat and use geektool and send you the results before meeting

open the profiler and make sure you're somewhere where you can test the wi-fi.

if the battery is good, it's in good condition, and wifi works i don't see the problem. make sure you tell him you plan on spending at least 20 minutes looking through it though. if he says that's fine there is probably nothing wrong with it.

 

[Eanair]

I'm getting about 30 minutes to look at it, so that seems to tell me that everything is working fine.

I'll check the wireless and battery - good suggestions, thanks guys!

 

[Eanair]

Just want to give an update:

I got it.

The wireless was fine, the battery was fine, the specs were just as listed, got iStat Pro, and I played around with it for about a half hour before buying.

Took it home, gave it a nice clean and polish, and it's fantastic. Just what I wanted.

Hooray for Craigslist transactions that go well and aren't scams/fraud/sketchy.