i have bought 2 laptops and a tower pc from dell direct (Dell's refurbished outlet online). the first laptop worked well for about 2 years and then i decided to upgrade. bought the second laptop about a year ago and still use it daily 6-7 hours. also have a refurb desktop from them and it has worked like a champ since day 1 (about 2 years ago). i'd be cautious with ebay refurbs. buy directly from dell's refurbished store if you can.
http://www.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh~Andrew
