Dell have notoriously poor battery technology (which is why I bought a Thinkpad after I bought a Dell: IBM have the best battery technology); so be sure to factor in a new battery after 12 months.
Mine lasted 12 months almost to the day, then became capable of about eight minutes' total capacity.
They also have a nasty cheap look, with all that plastic: and any laptop with enough gear stuffed in it won't be fun to port around. (Again, I bought a Thinkpad "T" model, which is the thin executive model, meaning not the largest screen and total weight < 4kg; my Dell is three years' older ande weighs > 6kg because it has more stuff, e.g. a floppy drive.)
Still, the Dell is still going, poor battery notwithstanding, and I use it for a Linux router / firewall / server / stuff.