Plus 1 for a refurb or gently used Dell Latitude series. My daily beater for the last 5 or 6 years has been a pre-2020 Dell Latitude 7390 13". Works really well with the *bian distros I’ve run on it, decent battery life, OK mic and speakers.
I’ve had to replace the battery once, and the keyboard once (which I damaged myself by applying a small amount of Coca Cola).
Refurb ThinkPads are also great, but they have a high resale value.
Probably all of them, at one time or another.