Need advice on buying used iBook/PowerBook/MacBook

Hi! I need to buy an inexpensive laptop to use for word processing & email a few hours a week when I'm out of my office. It has to have Airport (that's an absolute MUST!) and any serviceable version of Microsoft Word, an email program and a browser - no other bells and whistles. I'm not going to be playing CDs, downloading or listening to music, or doing anything else interesting. Just downloading text files, editing them, and sending them back. (Yes, my life IS that boring sometimes.)

By inexpensive, I mean $100 to $400. This is not intended to replace my desktop mac. I just need something serviceable - and preferably old enough that if I leave my car unlocked and someone sees it, they'll just laugh and walk away without touching it.

There are plenty available on eBay and craigslist (and perhaps somewhere else I don't know about?) - I just don't want to make any stupid mistakes. I know batteries are expensive to replace, so I'm guessing I want to stick with models that have a recently replaced battery. But I don't know if there's anything else I should look out for or stay away from.

From what I've seen, the options are ibook, powerbook, and ibook clamshell. Any suggestions?

Thanks!!!

Sounds about right. You'll be VERY unlikely to get a Macbook at that price.

You could get a Clamshell for under $400 but I wouldn't recommend it by any means. You could pick up a G3 iBook 500MHz to 900MHz cheap on eBay, maybe $150- $250ish. You could probably pick up a G4 iBook up to 1GHz for $400.
I would recommend a G4 iBook for what you need to do. A PowerBook would be nice but they're still expensive for what they can do these days.
Any laptop that someone sees in a unlocked car would probably be stolen, especially an Apple, so just keep it under the car seat.
Just look for one that's clean and comes with some sort of warranty so you can return it if you're not satisfied.

bryphotoguy -

Okay, so to clarify:

Clamshell is cute, but too much of a dinosaur to be worth bothering with.

Powerbook is better than an ibook, but not enough to justify the higher price.

So either a G3 or G4 ibook would work - it just gets down to how much I'm willing to spend.

Have I got it right? Are there any particular features/problems/issues that I should be looking for or looking out for? I'm not likely to get much of a warranty on either eBay or craigslist - so I want to know what questions to ask before I buy!

I forgot about an issue the G3 iBooks have when they get older, so I would just stick with a G4. My cousin has a 800MHz G4 and it still works real well. I think it's his main computer right now.

Make sure the screen has no burns, dead pixels, a new battery (some iBooks will have newer batteries to due a recall a year or so ago). I don't know what to really ask. I've had decent luck buying iBooks on eBay. Just go with your gut. If you feel the deal is too good to be true or someone says it works but there is absolutely no warranty, I would run away. You're going to get what you pay for. That's all the advice I have for you.
Good luck!