I've always had bad experiences with lenovos. They're very poorly made.
On the other hand, my $300 eMachines laptop is still going strong after around five years and it's my primary computer. Very sturdy, well-built machine. eMachines was acquired by Pavilion, which was then acquired by Acer. I recommend Acer laptops - their Acer Aspire line is based on the old eMachines.