I know Thinkpads have been made in china for a while but I’ve been using them since way before that. I buy them from ebay after they come from a lease situation. When a huge corporation upgrades, all of the sudden many thousands off lease units become available on ebay and you can get them pretty cheap. They have a windows COA sticker on them so reinstalling win is no problem. Huge corporations don’t lease junk either. I like that all thinkpads come with a HMM — Hardware Maintenance Manual aka service manual that outlines complete removal of any component.
Yep. That’s how I bought mine and others for clients. They’re usually in great shape. The need to have the latest and greatest is an addiction I don’t share with some folks. I’m still on a Galaxy Note 9 don’t feel compelled to upgrade anytime soon.