I can't speak to your overall budget, but have you looked at the other choices of new laptops available for 20% more?
For example, if can stomach $1549 initial price, you can get a new eMachines m6805 (Mobile Athlon 3000+, 60 GB HD, 512 MB ram, 802.11g wireless, dvd-rom/cd-rw, etc) with either $200 to $250 in rebates and ~$60 in certificates. This brings the price down to about $1240 to $1300 plus tax. If you buy it from Best Buy, they have no money down and 12 months of 0% interest. If you pay in equal monthly payments, it comes out to about $120/month.
Also, the Gateway 505x can be had for around $1399 plus tax (I don't know if that price is still valid). If you are a member of AAA (the auto club) or join, then you can get 10% off. This makes the price around $1250 plus tax. Gateway also has some good financing terms.
Both of these are excellent machines; and I know that I am leaving out some good alternatives, but I have not had any direct experience with the others outside of work.
If you go BB credit card you can get 0 interest for one year. I would also recommend the service plan for $299.00 It will warranty the machine for 3 years just like Dell. I think Dell charges $299.00 for there warranty as well.