I'm looking to buy a used Xbox 360 with the red rings of death. I already bought one of them, and it worked out great. Got it for absolutely dirt cheap, transfered the warranty, sent it into Microsoft, and got back a working 360 in a short period of time. I don't mind waiting for the repair process, if it can get me a 360 for dirt cheap.

The thing is, the guy that I got the last 3 red rings of death 360 from, was a guy that I knew was legit. I asked him a number of times if the 360 had ever been modded or tampered with, and he assured me that it hadn't. The warranty for Xbox 360's are null and void if the 360 has ever been opened up.

I know that there is a certain way of determining if the 360 has ever been modded or opened up, by looking for something, but I don't remember what the exact process is, or what I should be looking for. I'm hoping to buy a used red ringed 360 off Craigslist, and there are lots of scammers on CL. A guy could easily lie, and claim it had never been opened or tampered with, when it really has. I'm wondering if anybody knows exactly what to look for?

Warranty sticker should be there under the faceplate

If at all possible. Especially using craigslist. Use it locally and go to that persons house and check it out. That way you will know for sure. The biggest thing to look for is the warranty sticker. Make there are no scratches or show signs of it trying to be peeled off.

Unfortunately, there is a technique for removing warranty stickers that I won't discuss here, but needless to say a warranty sticker could be removed and replaced without any sign of peeling. I'm not sure if anyone could tell the difference, not even Microsoft. However, it's always a risk buying from an unknown buyer.

-Brad

There's probably a more secretive way that isn't disclosed by M$ for good reason. Otherwise hackers and modders would just try and find a way to circumvent it when trying to return a broken 360.

I say stay away from it. The sticker idea is too easy to get around, and there are tools and ways to open the case and leave no marks on it.

You would be taking a chance. There are people out there that really don't care about screwing you over.

Unfortunately, there is a technique for removing warranty stickers that I won't discuss here, but needless to say a warranty sticker could be removed and replaced without any sign of peeling. I'm not sure if anyone could tell the difference, not even Microsoft. However, it's always a risk buying from an unknown buyer.

-Brad

True. I bought a 360 on ebay, opened it up, i'm a cosmetic modder. And he had replaced the x clamps. And used the "method" to remove the sticker. The 360 broke a couple weeks later.

Buy it new from the store.

I am not trying to be a smart ass. With these days with 360s dropping like flies and with MS letting loose of the Ban Hammer for modding and such. You are better off paying the few dollars more to have the piece of mind knowing that you will not have to worry if something goes wrong. You really don't know what a previous own did to it.

You are better off paying the few dollars more to have the piece of mind knowing that you will not have to worry if something goes wrong. You really don't know what a previous own did to it.


I wouldn't exactly say it's a "few dollars more". The last 3RROD 360 that I bought cost me $185. It included the 20 gig hard drive, power supply, headset, wireless controller, component cable, everything. The guy sold it to me, because he just didn't want to be without a 360 for 6 weeks, and also didn't want to get a refurb back. He just wanted to get as much money as he could for it, and then go buy a new one from Costco or something, so he wouldn't ever have to deal with sending it to MS.


A brand new 360 from a retail store is $349.99 plus tax. If we figure 8 percent sales tax, then that's $377.11

Compare $377.11 to $185.00

$185 is less than half.

" $185 is less than half."

Not when you have to buy two of them because the first one was bogus. :)

A Heat Gun / Hair dryer is no big secret.

" $185 is less than half."

Not when you have to buy two of them because the first one was bogus. :)

Well, I've already bought 1 under this scenario, and it worked out perfectly. So I'm 1 for 1 right now. I think that if you have a pretty good sense of the person you are dealing with, and can look for the obvious signs, you'll be ok. Also, if you got a modded 360 with the three red rings that can't be repaired by Microsoft, you could still try to get it repaired by somebody locally, that can just do the X-clamp replacement thing.

There are a number of people locally where I live that will repair a 3RROD 360, and they only charge you if the fix is successful, so it's no loss to let them try to fix it. And if that doesn't work, you can at least part everything out. Power Supplies sell for $45, wireless controllers for $25, component cables for $10, 20 gig hard drives for $50, that's $130 right there. You can easily sell the remaining console for $55 in spare parts. That would all total back up to the $185 you paid, so you wouldn't be out any money at all, but no question it would be a big hassle, and alot of drama to go through. But only if the guy was lying and you weren't able to see any signs of tampering. I'm willing to take that risk to get a pro 360 with everything for $185.

On Sunday I just bought another red ringed 360. Here is what I got in the package:


1. 360 console

2. 20 gig HDD

3. Wireless controller

4. power brick

5. component cable

6. retail box and all instructions and documents

7. Ratatouille game

8. King Kong game


I paid $175 for it. Now, I will admit that I didn't actually check the 360 thoroughly to make sure it had never been tampered with or opened, but the guy I bought it from assured me that this was the case. He simply didn't want to wait the 5 to 6 weeks to get the 360 repaired and sent back. When I got home, I immediately called Microsoft and transfered the 360 warranty into my name, and then I started the repair process. Should receive the coffin later this week. Hopefully, the dude was legit, and the 360 was never opened or tampered with. We shall see.