The other thing, aside from the cost, is how do they perform? I need to get new shocks/struts for mine, and everyone told me to stick with Bilsteins. I looked around at other brands, and for the $50- $100 or so I might save on a set of all 4, it's just not worth the savings.

My next question was, how would the ride be? I asked one mechanic, and he said some might be ok "until you really need them". You get into a bad driving situation, and the cheap ones might not allow your car to handle as it's supposed to.

When I sell my car, I can point out that it has OEM shocks on it, not cheap ones, so I can justify a higher price for a car well taken care of, not one that 'just got by' with the cheaper parts.

Aside from that, people have said the Bilsteins provide a nice ride, so, it's just not worth it for me to experiment.