They used to have some issues with customer service. I haven't heard anything recently but i remember several computer magazines rating them as "terrible" for customer service. I'm not sure if they cleaned up their act or not. You have to look at what they do, sell huge volumes of cheap computers. There's bound to be trouble but the chances are probably slim that it'll be your computer...

As far as buying refurb... tossup. Laptops can have problems brand new out of the box. I personally wouldn't buy a refurb laptop. Desktop, anytime though.