I tend not to see thinkpads for resale value, but I think they do fit with the "lasting the test of time" test.

The parts are easily available, cheap, and virtually everything is user replaceable. It's great.

Yeah they are pretty much the only non apple laptops I'll buy now.

I had one once. I honestly thought it was awful.I respect that your experiences may have been different but I found it painfully slow and bulky. The detachable battery broke as well and had to be held in place by tape. I opened it once and it looked like a bunch of bits arranged to look like a laptop. Anyone who has seen the elegant neatness of the inside of a Mac will understand what I mean.

The modularity and keyboards of the older Thinkpads (e.g., X220) were worth the extra bulk. But the new laptops sure are pretty, thin and light.

Replying on my X220, which is my go-to device for writing, non-graphic intensive gaming, and general web use. It's light enough for my needs, and is built like a tank. Plus, I cannot stand more modern laptop keyboards, and I'm hooked on pointing sticks. I've got my desktop for anything that really needs processing power.

I enjoy how my X220 really is a laptop of Theseus; over the years I've replaced everything except the LCD rear cover, bezel, hinges, and base. The biggest problem is getting decent batteries.

FWIW, this battery was recommended somewhere. I bought a couple, and they work:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R7FKDGQ

>elegant neatness of the inside of a Mac

I get your point but this is pretty irrelevant to many people who want the machine to work. Function over form or some such. I'd rather have a durable, repairable machine than a "pretty" machine that allows me virtually 0 upgrades or I have to eat the cost of hundreds of dollars every time I have to send it to Apple care.

The thonkpads I have are fairly repairable, durable, and fast. Yes, they're bulky but weight is generally not an issue for me.

OTOH my current Thinkpad T14 is the most beautiful laptop I’ve ever used. It’s sleek and definitely has “elegant neatness”.

I think most people who write these comments are just comparing a 2002 thinkpad to 2023 mac.

My high-end thinkpad X1 carbon died after 2 years... Not repairable, and they don't sell any motherboard that could allow me to repair it myself.

Also the CPU and RAM were soldered on it, which makes it even less repairable.

The X1 is an ultrabook (or at least the continuation of ultrabooks) and not so repairable. The T series though sacrificed a little weight and thickness for more durability, expandability and servicability. The sacrifice was pretty small though - I thought it was worth it when choosing a work T490 over the X1 a few of years ago.

The bonus was that for the same budget as standard Macbook Pros at work, I got 32GB RAM and the top i7 plus a thunderbolt dock.

Yeah sadly that's what they've started doing with the X1 Carbon series. But T(xxx) series is still pretty solid. Not to mention older x(xxx) units are still great.

I use computers until they are ready to go into laptop graveyard, no need for resale value.