Purchasing SP2/3 Pre-Owned: Battery and Other Risks Worth It?

[anon(9637269)]

Hello everyone! I have been looking for a sleek device that strikes a good balance between portability (particularly in tablet form) and performance. Thus far, the one that really caught my eyes is the Surface Pro line. I am planning to get either Surface Pro 2 or 3 most likely right after the Surface Pro 5 gets announced in March, as rumored. Even with an official store here in our country, Microsoft does not sell the Surface line in the stores thus I am stuck with either getting them from the grey market or from my brother as he is abroad (either in Singapore - high probability; or in the US - lower probability). My options based on my budget are:

• Surface Pro 2 / Grey Market / Brand New, personal warranty;
• Surface Pro 2 / Grey Market / Pre-owned, personal warranty;
• Surface Pro 3 / Grey Market / Pre-owned, personal warranty; and
• Surface Pro 3 / Grey Market / Refurbished, without accessories.

As you see, I will most likely get the Surface Pro from grey market, with an extremely slim chance of getting it from Microsoft in the US, which would probably be very troublesome anyway if in any bad luck I'd have to utilize the warranty. I am particularly very concerned with the battery issues, especially in the Surface Pro 3. I have extensively read about it and now I am a bit skeptical about my plan purchase. So my questions are:

• In general, do you think I should go for the purchase? I know I intend to do it in March or May, but I am putting it on my calendar (fiscal) if I ever happen to decide on it; and
• Did the 2016 firmware update fix the battery issue? Of course, I will check the device battery itself upon purchase (particularly that of the pre-owned ones, to check the battery history), but in general I haven't really read a considerable number of users affirming that the update did fix the issue. I actually read that some SP3s were bricked.

I'm really excited about this upcoming purchase as I intend to use it for law school next year but for that to happen the pre-owned (most likely) device should at least be able to hold itself for a considerable number of years, particularly its battery which will cost alot for repair if needs be. Please let me know what you guys think as it will really help me in making this decision.
Thank you very much for reading my post and hope to get some replies from you guys.

 

[xandros9]

I don't recall much about the Pro 3's battery issues off the top of my head but I think a device that is easier to repair may be a better option.
When the battery goes, whether by old age a couple/few years down the road or by a defect that reared its head, replacement is nigh impossible. I'd be careful and look at other devices too.

 

[rdubmu]

How much are you willing to pay. The Pro 4 has some great deals lately, and is very affordable with a good specs for under $1k. On Black Friday, I bought a pro 4 for $999, 256 gigs, i5 core processor and 8 gigs of ram. They have had this deal a few times since then. They also had the m3 on sale with a keyboard for $699 at Best Buy

 

[anon(96159)]

How much are you willing to pay. The Pro 4 has some great deals lately, and is very affordable with a good specs for under $1k. On Black Friday, I bought a pro 4 for $999, 256 gigs, i5 core processor and 8 gigs of ram. They have had this deal a few times since then. They also had the m3 on sale with a keyboard for $699 at Best Buy

I have a used Surface Pro 3 with i5, 128GB, 4GB with keyboard in excellent condition for sale if you're interested.

 

[anon(9637269)]

Thanks guys. I have my SP3 i5 4gb 128gb. So far, it's been great aside from fan noise.