has anyone found a TRUE hid kit for cheap?? or is that one of them thangs that you pay for what you get? i found an ebay kit for $150, and it looked good, but i got a buddy who got one for $400, and it looks just as good. i gotta 02 lancer, 9007 bulbs.

 

This is one of those "you get what you pay for" things. You can always get some from a junked HID equiped car at the junkyard and retro fit them into your housing though, that will help keep the price down.
Although, I did see my buddy's HID kit like you stated and it did look brighter than my Silverstars with a deceent cutoff in stock headlight housings!
If you're not pressed for cash, I say get them and try them out. $150 is not an uncommon amount to pay for things for a car anymore. That's what my buddy paid and he likes his and they are truely brighter than stock headlights (mine anyways). We parked next to each other with our headlights on btw.