quality question on road bikes

hi,
im new to bikes and i am thinking about purchasing a road bike and it
as been a while since i had one when i was a kid(about 10 years). that
is the only bikes i had were kmart brand, which isnt bad for a kid.
anyways, i looked around and searche on www and the one that really
interest me is the one w/ the arm rests that specialized offers for
$1500. now i rrally wanted the trek 2.1s.p.a but after finding a shop
that has specialized i found that trek is way overpriced. i mean i
really dont care about the carbon frames and all. yeah the weight
matters but not for someone like me. anyways the Equinox 11 from trek
and the Transition Elite from specialized are the same to me. yeah the
carbon and the top quality cassete and so forth does appeal to me but i
just dont have that kind a money and that is why i need help. i have a
$1600 and i rerally want a road bike and the ones i like ar ethe ones
w/ arm rests. now the trek 2.1spa is nice and it doesent have an arm
rest but it has the suspenison that specialized does not. what do u
think. i know tha u cant compare trek to specialized or giant but i
feel that trek is way overpirced and that is why i am looking into
specialized. any coments please ? i really dont know anything about
specialized. can u help