Is age just a number for thinkpads?

I’ve got an old HP that I enjoy and have had for 3 years, and she has been good but occasionally acts up. Fits my needs aside from being a little slow at times, and recently has had keys stop working and charging issues. I’m starting college online in the fall so I cannot afford to be stranded without a laptop, so I’ve been looking to get a “new” one.

After going down the new-laptop rabbit hole I kept being suggested a used thinkpad instead. I’ve started to really like them as I’ve been researching them recently. There are some I find with some good specs for the same price as worse-spec new laptops, and seem to meet what I’m looking for. But the one thing that keeps me from messaging the seller to buy it is the age factor.

In my mind laptops only last 3-5 years past their release, so buying a $500 USD laptop from 2021 (been looking at t14 gen 2’s) feels like I’m spending a 5 year budget on a computer that’ll last one year.

Does age matter for thinkpads as much as they do for other laptops? Is this fear reasonable? If not can you explain why? I’m not well versed in computers beyond the basics that I’ve just learned from lurking here the past few days lol.

My current laptop’s details are:

- 16 gb ram
- AMD Ryzen 3 3250U with Radeon Graphics 2.60 GHz
- 238gb storage
- 2GB graphics card

From 2022

I like the specs of these two T14 G2’s I found, but I can’t shake the thought of spending this much on a laptop from 2021, something older than my current one. How many years would a thinkpad with these specs get me with school use + spreadsheets + lots of tabs? Especially since I’m not trained in fixing laptops.

Both are T14 g2

Option 1: $540 USD

- Ryzen 5 Pro 5650
- 32gb RAM
- 1 TB SSD
- open-box condition, 99% battery health
- 1 year warranty
- 30 day free returns
- FHD touch screen
- Radeon graphics

Option 2: $435 USD

- Ryzen 5 5650 pro
- 24gb RAM
- 256 gb SSD
- very good refurbished, unknown battery health
- 1 year warranty
- 30 day free returns
- FHD touch screen
- Radeon graphics

If neither of these are good, what might be better? I’m looking for something preferably in the $300-550 range that is in very good or better condition, and can be returned. Preferably with a touch screen, but most importantly, the whole reason of this post, will last me at-least 3+ years