Man, 800 is alot. I think I had about 500 in mine plus dozens of hours in labor. Got 400 out of it when I sold it. Went to a good home. Won't be doing another retrofit ever probably, haha.
Haha different strokes for different folks, right there. Unless they also made my coffee in the morning and wiped by ass after a dump, no way in hell would I drop 8 Benjamins on a set of headlights. Hell, my fog light sockets have been empty for years because I'm too cheap to put new fogs in after one shattered when hit by a rock. Got no problem spending money on speed parts, though.
I'll give you props though, projectors are definitely nice to have at night and look good, too. Just too salty for my taste, I guess.
I over paid a lil... I think I paid 550 for the entire E46 projectors/ballasts/ignitors, made some shrouds, bought new headlights... anyway... they are much more reasonable, and if you plan on keeping the car, a worthwhile investment (IMHO)..