Buying Used Macbook Pro; Need Security Advice

Howdy--
While on vacation last week, my sister in law accidentally spilled water on the table that ran into the back of my early 2011 13" i7 MBP. My wife and I have the same machines, so I was able to remove the SSD and RAM to the her machine, which tested fine. I then took the machine down to my local Apple dealer (TD Curran) and they confirmed that the machine is basically a brick. They suggested that I start with the logic board replacement ($530 + $150 = $680), but that other components may have failed, too--so this number could grow higher.
So I looked at my local Craigslist postings to see if there was a similar machine, and I found a couple. Here is where I need your help:
1. I plan on wiping whatever drive they have and using it in the DVD bay as a secondary storage device and using my SSD as the primary hard drive. If the laptop ends up being stolen and the original owner locks the machine down somehow, are they only able to do that if the original hard drive is in place? I'm only buying the machine for the non-hard drive/RAM components, but would these components somehow allow the original owner to lock the machine down? This is already a giant S&*T burger for everyone to eat, and I'm certainly not interested in paying $500-1000 for a used machine that is effectively bricked because it was stolen. What are my options? What should I be on the look out for? Is remote lock out only possible if the original hard drive is still in place?
2. I have the original installation DVDs that came with my early 2011 machine. Will these work on any early 2011 machine or will they only work on my machine?
3. If the used machine is a late 2011 machine without the installation disks, are there any options for either getting these are burning new ones?
I understand that this might be a time to upgrade from my i7 chipset, but I am not willing to give into the glued RAM in the newer MBP machines. Therefore, I want to stick an older machine where I can still get at the RAM--and the SSD--with relative ease.
Thanks for your help, and please let me know if I can answer any questions.

I tend to agree with you. However I'm in a pinch and I need a solution, which given my circumstances is a used machine off Craigslist. I'm trying to figure out what that might mean if the machine gets locked somehow. I spoke with my local Apple dealer, and they indicated that I might want to make sure that the machine's password is reset via the Security and Privacy settings, make sure FileVault is turned off and that they are logged out of iCloud and that my iCloud login details are entered and accepted prior to leaving with the laptop.
Would you agree that these items should safeguard me against the machine getting locked out if it does end up being stolen?
Would you recommend any other preemptive steps.

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Message was edited by: eww

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https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3293948
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I purchased used macbook pro in online now i want to restore the laptop. i tried restoring it using OS X internet recovery but it is asking me for the apple id i provided my apple id. the prob is i need to provide registered id who purchased it earlier which i dont have pl help me.

pardhuandey wrote:
I purchased used macbook pro in online now i want to restore the laptop. i tried restoring it using OS X internet recovery but it is asking me for the apple id i provided my apple id. the prob is i need to provide registered id who purchased it earlier which i dont have pl help me.
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I had my MacBook Pro stolen a few days ago. I am looking to buy a used MBP from a trusted friend. He, however, has not purchased an AppleCare plan for his computer. He purchased his computer 8 months ago.
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