Yes, I understand what you are saying and you are quite right regarding the pricing if you are talking standard aftermarket control arms and bushings. However, someone may not have the $30+ for the complete aftermarket control arm, but they may have the $11+ for the aftermarket bushing itself. Trust me, I would have just replaced the control arms had they been in stock where I could have left the store with them. I only use Moog suspension parts though and the bushing(s) themselves were in stock and cost $17 each.
In my circumstance yesterday, one of the front bushings was torn so I had to fix it. It wasn't worth risking any further damage to any of the other suspension parts. This car is my daughter's daily driver so I didn't have the luxury of placing an order and waiting for the control arm(s) to arrive. That's not to say that I won't order them just to have them sitting in my shop for when a ball joint goes out, which I'm positive will happen sooner than later.
