I bought my 2013 Xterra with 42,000 miles so I don't know how good factory shocks are when new. At 42,000 it hopped around more than I liked. At 70,000 miles it was obvious the shocks were weak and needed replacement. So I bought front (including recommended strut mounts) and rear Bilstein shocks and fixed the problem. Are they better than buying factory shocks? I don't know. But my vehicle absorbs bumps much better than it did at 42,000 miles.