Buying a used PS3 on eBay. Wise, or stoopid?

[Smallend]

Finally convinced the other half that our 'kids' need a PS3 slim for Christmas...
Also liking the fact that we can use our current Lovefilm subscription to watch films on-demand!

Looking at eBay, there are dozens of used systems on there with games and controllers etc.

Kids (2 boys, 6 & 9) love flying games, driving games etc., as do I, plus I'll be looking for something like CoD / Assassins Creed - something where I can shoot / chop people up!

Am I mad to consider buying from eBay? Would like to get something with a couple of wireless controllers & steering wheel!

Should I consider buying new to be 'safe', and if so, where's the best place for a deal?
Thanks in advance

[dreamz]

places like gamestation offer 12 months warranty on all used stuff so its well worth considering that

then u can buy extra warranty ontop of that in case of any errors

if you go at a quiet enough time you can ask them to plug it in so u can see it working before you commit to buy.

[Smallend]

Thanks. I'll take a look at them.

Out of interest, if we're not going nuts with dozens of games, is there any advantage of getting a 320GB over a 160GB?

[matc]

There's a good deal on at Amazon at the moment where you get the limited edition GT5 for only £5 when you buy a 320gb system.

Also I think you can claim the VAT back on Sony stuff till the end of the year; does anyone know if this includes PS3s'?

[Silent1]

You don't need masses of storage, if it's not much more then buy it but otherwise go for the smaller one.
Have you gott a CEX near you? They're pretty good at supplying working consoles.

[dreamz]

the hard drive comes into play if your going to be doin alot of downloading. eg movies online store games (not regular disc games) etc

performance wise it will not make the slightest bit of difference

i have a 120 gb 360 and i am a heavy user but at most have 50gb used so far (two years of ownership)

[P-Jay]

Well, I've had one of the orginal 60GB HD versions, and have I've had since they were new (not even sure how many years that is) and it's nowhere near full. I've got a couple of HD films I've downloaded on it, loads of game data and that's it.

P.S. The lovefilm things works really well! Because of a poor tel line and no cable option we've only got 2.5Mbps on a good day and it streams in good quality flawlessly - much better than the iPlayer actually.

[Mr AJ]

To be honest if i was bidding for a used console on eBay from a personal seller i'd probably only bid as if it was significantly cheaper than at Gamestation/CEX etc and only bid an amount i would be willing to waste. Otherwise i'd rather pay the little bit extra and know i can take it back to a shop with any problems.. As opposed to getting told to Fack off if it stops working a few weeks later.

[Smallend]

Great replies so far - thanks, all.

Definitely going to go for the 160 version then, as there's no way we'll be faffing around with downloading movies etc.

Looks like Playstations are not included in the VAT back offer...

I'm starting to think that I should just go for a new one from Amazon / Game etc.
Totting up the bits and bobs, extra controller, wheel, joystick = c£330, then CoD, GT5, HAWX2 = c£100 - does this total of £430 sound reasonable?

[dreamz]

dont go for new copies of the old cod games etc

ps3 disc are scratch proof and have a long life so you can buy second with comfort. buy them off gamin forums rather than ebay i would advise.