Do you mean "T480-s" as in plural of T480, or T480s, as in the smaller version of T480?

The reason I'm asking is - "T480" is the last nicely modular ThinkPad with removable external battery. Which means if you get a used one and need to replace the battery, it's literally a 2 second job - you push a button, slide it out, and slide the new one in :)

The "T480s" though is a slightly smaller version with only an internal battery, like all newer ThinkPads, which not everybody will be comfortable with.

And yeah, I have 2 T420s-s and 3 T480's around me today and love them :-)

For people eyeing a T480s, make sure both batteries inside don't have too much degradation. At some point, the switch from one battery to the other doesn't work properly and the laptop will most times suddenly switch off when battery #1 reaches 0%, even if the 2nd one is at 100%, no matter how many recalibrations you do.

Yep, with companies doing laptop replacements on a 3 year basis or 5 year basis depending, there are so many on ebay.

And looking at my own work provided ThinkPad, I keep it closed and docked 99% of the time, so the keyboard looks brand new despite being a 4-year-old laptop now.

But that just depends on the user/site it goes to.

I've done what you described multiple times. One other tip is buy one with a lower resolution screen, and then replace the screen with a higher resolution one. Be sure to research this, though, some of the highest resolution screens need a different mobo with a higher pin connector.