I've already written extensively in this blog about my adventures in purchasing a refurbished Sony VAIO laptop.  Unfortunately, the laptop in question has crashed and died.  Since I purchased it in April 2005, and it spent some time in transit, and then I had to do without while waiting for a replacement, I calculate that I netted about seven months of use from a laptop that cost me a total of $366.55 USD, which included shipping and extended warranty...   more »