I got a refurbished Thinkpad on Ebay for $160, included shipping, it has been working great. There are a lot of good bargains on ebay, be sure you buy from someone who is in the business of selling re-furbished computers, not someone who is just selling their own personal one.
Some friends just had to replace their 3 year old HP laptop, it just died. Apparently they have a flaw that overheats the board. So brand new does not guarantee that you will have no problems.