My Boss Is Offering The Work Laptops to Employees: Are Any of These Worth It

Lbigballerbrand on 27/09/2017 - 10:13
Last edited 27/09/2017 - 16:41

Hi guys,

First time posting.

My employer is replacing all of our work laptops and is offering employees a chance to purchase their laptops for personal use if they would like.

There are two different laptop models that we have been offered.

The first laptop is a Dell i7 Windows 10 32GB Ram for $1,100

These are the specs
15.6 inch screen
i7-4810MQ CPU @ 2.80GHz
32GB (1600Mhz) ram
NVIDIA Quadro K2100M (2048MB)
476GB mSATA SSD

The second laptop is a Dell for $230
This is an i5 Processor with a 250GB Hard Disk.

3 of the staff have already purchased the Dell Precision.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Also, will my employer give me a tax invoice?

Thanks so much guys

Computing

Comments

  • ThithLord on 27/09/2017 - 10:28
    +35

    Also, will my employer give me a tax invoice?

    Hey mate - just pass me the details of your employment.I'll figure out which branch you're in, what department, who your actual manager is, and give them a quick call. How does that sound? Is there anything else I can do for you?

    Oh, wait. Maybe you could ask them if they'll give you the fricken' invoice.

    • [Deactivated] on 27/09/2017 - 13:32
      +6

      The question probably should’ve been framed as “should the employer give me a tax invoice” and the answer is a definite yes

  • Seraphin7 on 27/09/2017 - 10:29
    +5

    Also, will my employer give me a tax invoice?

    Have you asked your employer?

    In terms of the machines themselves, is it correct to assume these are items that were purchased new by the business and are now being sold as second hand items?

    • bigballerbrand on 27/09/2017 - 10:36
      +1

      That's correct. They are the laptops that the staff have been using for the past 2 years.

      They're in great condition though as staff don't take them home they just sit on the desk.

      • Mikinoz on 27/09/2017 - 10:44

        Great condition with the slight smell of coffee ;). That may have been spilt on them

        • onetwothreefour on 27/09/2017 - 11:29

          Don't forget 2 years worth of sandwich crumbs in the keyboard from those hard workers who eat at their desk.

        • cameldownunder on 27/09/2017 - 12:22

          @onetwothree: Curry, you mean curry drops. That is what I can smell at lunch time at my desk.

      • Seraphin7 on 27/09/2017 - 13:11

        Hmmm … two year old laptops that have been used everyday, regardless of how well cared for they are, can be a bit iffy. Obviously there will be no warranty attached to these. You might get another couple of years out of it, you might find it starts to die in the next few months. You take your chances.

        For my money I'd be looking a one of the deals that has been going through here recently. I picked up a Lenovo device a few months back and feel a lot more comfortable with that than what you're putting forward here.

  • Xetrok on 27/09/2017 - 10:43
    +2

    The graphics card is dated and you inherit any issues with no warranty.
    If you're thinking of buying something decent go and look at Metabox (Metabox online or Kong Computers)

  • ausdday on 27/09/2017 - 10:55
    +2

    I am interested to know how much your company paid for those laptops when they were brand new.

    Laptops costs can be claimed as depreciation item during tax submission. Depending on how much depreciation they declared, your company might make a profit by selling them to you as used :)

    • bigballerbrand on 27/09/2017 - 10:57
      +1

      I wouldn't know to be honest. But i did see the laptops were worth $3,000 when brand new about 2.5 years ago.

      • noyesmaybeok on 27/09/2017 - 12:18
        +2

        I think $1000 is a fair price, not a good price.

        Computers are valued at pretty much 0 after a few years, bar Apple stuff

        • idonotknowwhy on 27/09/2017 - 14:49
          +1

          Depends how good your listings are.
          I managed to sell a 2 year old Lenovo E450 for $500 last week. Paid $800-$900ish for it + cashrewards thanks to TA a couple of years ago.

  • scrimshaw on 27/09/2017 - 11:19
    +5

    The Dell Precision is a powerful laptop, but also rather dated and it also won't last very long on battery power. It's also heavy so it's really a desktop replacement / workstation.

    e6420 is very old, this is a second generation laptop. For $230 it sounds like the right price but I would only buy if you can confirm the screens are full HD and not 720p.

    If not you may as well spend the extra money and buy a Lenovo Thinkpad E-series during one of their big sales that TightArse posts that have warranty coverage, and then claim it on tax yourself. I'm currently using a Lenovo E570P, a 15.6" half-gaming-half-business machine for Ozbargain :)

  • Ryanek on 27/09/2017 - 11:39
    +1

    Just get yourself a Metabox Alpha-N850HJ laptop starting from $1299.

  • hell0 on 27/09/2017 - 11:46
    +5

    I think you have to remember this for your deal and every other deal on OZbargain…

    If you weren't in the market for an item then you don't really need it… unless its too low to resist.

    And these M4800's are an OK price, but not great… I would say they would get 1.1k on ebay - fees, so it's an OK buy if you were in the market for one anyway

  • TrevBargn on 27/09/2017 - 12:16
    +1

    Look on eBay for similar items to see what they are worth.

    They don't sound particularly cheap, much like the ol' Canon staff discounts.

  • hashtagbargain on 27/09/2017 - 12:56
    +2

    Nah dont buy, esp for $1000 bucks. I'd rather get something with warranty, like the Dell sales.

  • dogboy on 27/09/2017 - 13:28
    +2

    $1100 for that Precision just plain sucks. You can get a lot of better laptops around the same price brand new. RAM and SSD are very cheap and replaceable so don't value that in the price much. Look at the pieces that are not replaceable like the CPU and video card. I would think ~$600 second hand would be closer to a fair price.

  • [Deactivated] on 27/09/2017 - 13:34
    +3

    Not if the office is A Current Affair.

  • Toons on 27/09/2017 - 13:55

    Depending on who you work for you could run into a pile of issues,

    Our machines have a dedicated company built / modified SOE operating environment. I've found faults in the builds to the point a lap top had a desktop build so it was useless as a laptop.

    As far as cost 2 yr old heavy use. bit pricy considering what you could buy new.

    I guess it depends on your budget

    Put a couple on gum tree for a profit before committing at work if you start getting takers buy to meet demand.

    see if you can raise the funds for a new machine you want.

  • SwampCrack on 27/09/2017 - 14:04

    Both of those laptops are far older than 2 years.

    The M4800 was released in 2013 and discontinued the following year. These units are also huge, heavy and not all that reliable.

    The E6420 is approximately 1 year older. Very reliable system.

    I think your boss is asking way too much for them. I recently sold a perfect condition E6420 for $140.

  • idonotknowwhy on 27/09/2017 - 14:55
    +1

    I've got an M3800 at work. I really like it, but it's not without issues. I'm guessing the M4800 is similar. Here are my notes:

    Issues:
    -> If you don't use the original charger (or a Dell repalcement), you'll get stability issues and poor performance.
    -> The SSD is an obsolete (msata), and it may not come with a standard 2.5 inch sata port.
    -> The USB dock which dell recommended, can't charge the battery, and gives you the stability issues I mentioned above.
    -> Replacement parts are expensive and difficult to source.

    Positives:
    -> The screen. It's beautiful.
    -> The keyboard.
    -> The CPU/performance.
    -> Aesthetically pleasing (to me)

    Overall, it's a fantastic engineers' laptop.
    If you're not doing anything CPU intensive, just wait for the next TA lenovo deal and grab that instead.
    You could always offer $500 cold hard cash, no tax invoice needed.

    • bigballerbrand on 27/09/2017 - 15:48
      +1

      Thanks for the great information. Much appreciated.

  • DirtyMunchy on 27/09/2017 - 23:30

    This deal may be of use to you https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/332338

  • [Deactivated] on 28/09/2017 - 02:25

    Offer him $750 for the first one, see if he takes it. You got 32gb ram, 500gb ssd and an independent graphics card with your i7 there, nice rig. If you work there, you know if they are overworked or glorified typewriters. choose wisely.

  • Mister LoLPants on 28/09/2017 - 09:26
    +1

    Your company should be passing them on for a nominal ($5) fee just to cover accounting. They've been used for 2 years and written off by your firm, to charge > $1000 is robbery.

    They'd get much more good-will out of staff by passing them on then any monetary return they might receive by charging higher than market rates

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