I got dell latitude d630 two years back, it is working nice. but in last month my network card was not working. so called up dell representative. I was very upset as I thought it will take days to get it fixed, as generally happens with PC hardware bought from local vendor. they sell product pretty cheap but when it comes to service they just can not get it right.
But it was nothing like that, dell guys came he checked laptop, he understood its hardware problem, he has another motherboard ready with him, he just replaced it. he cleaned laptop. that was really nice experience. Dell latitude hardware is also pretty nice as I use it every day for around 18 hr and I am doing this for two years now. plus I done even have AC at my place, so laptop generally get very hot still there is no problem. I know dell is not as cool brand as sony or IBM is but its definitely value for money with very good service.