I used to have a 170 and it was a great machine. Never had a moments trouble, and the embroidery is beautiful. I would not pay a high price for one since it is older and the risk of the board or screen going out may be becoming a worry. But there are plenty of them still running fine, and could continue for more years. Just be careful on price, just in case.
Regarding Artlink, you can always get the latest version for free on the Bernina website. It is not a full embroidery package. It is mostly for opening designs and writing them to the machine or a USB stick. It will do a little light editing, but not a lot. Very basic, but all that some folks ever need. The 170 has a serial cable, so you would want to get a serial to USB cable to connect to your laptop. Easily purchased on Amazon or eBay or any computer business.
But perhaps she means she has version 3 of the actual full embroidery package instead of Artlink, as they do get mixed up easily. Perhaps she would throw in whatever laptop she has the software installed on. An outdated laptop has little market value, but would be useful just to run the outdated software.
Best wishes in finding a good little machine.