This is the common sentiment on that other tool-oriented site. For low hour home users, cheap impacts are good enough, even for big jobs. Once you are hammering on them daily, time to move up.I can tell you my limited suspension work went very easy with a $25 set of Stanley impact sockets and a cordless 1/2" impact wrench. Places where it was impossible to get a breaker bar and cheater to loosen tight nuts came off no problem.
If it was me and on a certain budget, I'd spend the money on a good impact wrench first and get budget sockets or shop around for some higher quality used ones.
I have a real mish-mash of brands for 1/2", but for 3/8" the costs are not so steep, so I have complete Master SAE and Metric sets of Sunex, which are made of the proper Cr-Mo steel for the job. Supposedly they are the OEM for some of the biggest truck brands. So, that is my recommendation.
This thread has made me think. I finally picked up an Aircat 1150 on an Amazon price dip. Do I really want to put a cheap Cr-V socket on that beast when I need it the most? Time to start pricing the Sunex Master 1/2" sets...