Mac laptops at least have the legal option of dual booting. While it's also possible on a non-apple laptop, it's of questionable legality. If that matters to you, you get more flexibility with a mac than a non-mac. But modern mac laptops are very comparably priced to comparable, name brand non-macs with similar specs and size.
macbook topcases (the part with the keyboard and track pad) are very easy to replace, should you be so inclined. They cost between $30 and $50 on ebay.