Originally Posted by DCCommuter
My observation is that buying the components needed to build something in quantity one is usually more expensive than buying the thing already made. Do it because you enjoy it, or because they don't make one exactly the way you want it, not to save money.
Not at all the case for HID lights though. You can put together a perfectly good and not even ugly system for $200. Heck, $150 if you're willing to use a SLA battery, but what's the cheapest commercial HID system? $350?
It doesn't even take that much time. I don't think I put more than about 3 hours into it. I spend more time than that mowing the lawn every week in the summer.