My front driver wheel wore down much faster than the other tires, and the tire place told me today it was due to worn inner/outer tie rods. Their quote for parts and labor was outrageous at $400+. Their service was awesome though; they gave me a used tire to drive on so that I wouldn't have to drive on my old tire, which was down to the wire.

FCP Groton has OEM for $70 for inner/outer and non OEM (Karlyn) for $30. IPD also sells OEM and non OEM. Are tie rods something where OEM makes a difference? Also, should I replace these in pairs. The shop said the right side was fine ...

 

Karlyn recently changed their supplier, and their quality seems to have gone down the toilet. I'd go with OEM, or check at Advance auto parts to see what they have as far as price goes- their lifetime warranty chassis parts are always either Moog or TRW, and both brands are top notch. In fact, TRW is the OEM supplier of some of the racks on these cars, though maybe not the tie rod ends.