We've had a few chromebooks over the years, and they all seem to get slow after a few years. My iPad seems to be bogging down now, it seems to choke on a number of websites, what with all the stupid ads. Which isn't a fault of the computer I know. Regardless, I'm starting to get used to wider screens, this computer is 1440 wide and about as narrow as I'd care for now, for even just casual websurfing.
I am thinking of shelling out money for a Dell, had good luck with Lattitude at work but currently have a Precision which I like, nice and small--but new probably costs what I think a used car should. Not sure I'd want to spend more than $300 on a used laptop and I'd only assume maybe 2-3 years before moving onto the next one. 14" or 15" is about the right size I think for portability, but then again, I'm using a BT full sized keyboard right now, the laptop is too small for comfortable typing (and it's broken anyhow).