Hurm.. sounds good. 2 years ago I had gen1 at 1.4k too.

Make sure the screen resolution is at least 1600 x 900. I can't do 1368 x  768 anymore. Too small

I disagree (but just my opinion). Thinkpad laptops last long, with only the battery that may need replacing if you want longer hours

Other than that, plenty of people on /r/thinkpads are rocking older laptops including the X220, X230, T4xx series, etc.

I was on the used X1 Carbon 1st gen for a few years, before I made enough money to buy a new X1 Carbon 6th gen. The 1st gen helped me make so much money, I gave it to my sister because it is a good, sleek-looking laptop. Love her, love the laptop.

I was never in the market for the 3rd gen. I recommend you post this question quickly on Reddit /r/thinkpad, they may know a few things. The earlier you post, the faster you will get the response.

They are more geeky than us here

TN panel is fine on the budget, my 1st gen was on TN too, and my complainy was on the resolution (lame-sass 1368 x 768 haha), not on the panel

As for new laptop, the RM1,400 will not get you far. Are you a student? What are you studying?

All of my X and T series lasted until I had to let them go. Never regretted buying them. Especially since the X240 and X1C1st, when they started shipping them with SSDs, I didn't have to do anything, just reformatted them to my own liking using MSDN keys (I am on Bizsparks program)
Bro, I was on the USED: X220 (gave to elder bro), X220 (gave to 1st staff), X240 (gave to 2nd staff), T420 (sold it off for RM800 2 years ago?),  T430 (gave to younger bro), X1C1st (gave to sis), with some of these people repeatedly getting laptops from me, before I made enough dough and can now afford my NEW X1C6th.

Even then I menyesal because I wish I had bought a new X395 (unreleased at the time) instead hahaha.

Best of luck, in due time you will make it out and get something newer. For now, even someone like me who runs around meeting clients were on used Thinkpads until recently. The current X1C6th can probably last me 3 years before I find an "excuse" to give it to my beloved ones so I can get a newer laptop (hopefully with touch since I may need it)

Bro, run the keyboard tests when you COD ya. You may or may not like it. Thinkpad changed their keyboards a few times across the generations, and some models are released with two different keyboard manufacturers, one of which is better than the other. I don't know, because I was/am not in the market for 3rd gen