expensive exhausts

That sounds way too high. I have done alot of research and found a shop near me that does really ggod work, they have tons of pics up on facebook of their work, I talked to the owner about the type and quality I wanted, he said if the bend isn't fit right he will throw the tube away and start fresh. THey don't do mandral but their pipes will not have those crush wrinkles. $600 flat with Flowmaster 40's. So this is less than a prebent system I will have to modify and weld to get to fit right. Look around and see if you can find a quality shop around you.