Dell Laptop Microsoft Touchpad Unreliable

I am an electrical engineer and I design computer systems at work.  My work Dell laptops have worked fine for the last 20 years.

When I was shopping for a personal laptop 18 months ago, I bought a Dell Vostro 3430, hoping that it would be a higher-end unit than a cheaper model.  From the start, the Microsoft touchpad has consistently not performed reliably.  The symptoms are present about 20% of the time: it freezes for 5-40 seconds, jitters when not touched, won't reliably right click with the lower right button, performs spurious clicks when I hold the laptop away from the touchpad.   I have performed all the recommended fixes: drivers, settings, keeping the touchpad clean. 

When I repeatedly complained to Dell, they only repeated the recommendations above until the warranty expired.  After that, they only sought to monetize my problem ("Send it to us for $, or for $$$ for premium service"), rather than solve it or apologize for bad design.  An apology would have gone a long way:  "Yes, we have systemic problem reports with that touchpad.  We apologize and here is a coupon for $50 on your next purchase."

As it is, I will be looking elsewhere for the laptop I am buying as a Christmas present in the next couple of weeks.  Sad to break off the 20-year relationship, Dell.