I don't consider $200 for a high-end chassis all that expensive. It's an investment -- a good case will last well beyond the individual components installed in it. I've got an aluminum CoolerMaster on my desk at home that I've been using since 2006. I paid $150 for it back then, and it has seen at least 4 different motherboard/CPU combos since then. Definitely worth it. Plus many of the Lian Li models can be had for around $100.
Though I can understand it might be a hard sell for a budget system.
Though I can understand it might be a hard sell for a budget system.