Cabal05

Hi everybody ! Six months ago, I purchased a 99 Ex coupe with about 55k miles on it. I noticed yesterday that my (rear) left wheel was about 1.5 inches lower than its opposite. At first, I thought that a coil was broken. Since I'm pretty much a noob, I took it to a friend who lifted it to take a closer look (I couldn't have jacked it myself, there's a foot of snow everywhere on the ground up here in Canada). He told me that the coil was not broken, and that it could be either a defective shock or a "softened" (sorry doesnt know if that apply, direct translation from french) coil and can't tell which it is. So he told what were my options.

First - change the left shock-coil assembly for a used one ... about 75$ pieces + 45 minutes.
Second - Change both shock-coil assembly for used ones - 150$ pieces + 90 minutes.
Third - Change both shock-coil assembly for brand new ones - 400$+taxes (13%) pieces + 90 minutes [Brand new Honda coils and (unknown) aftermarket shocks]

I'm a daily driver and I don't have/want a dropped suspension (wouldn't be a good idea with all the salt & snow)

I looked over some Ebay shocks [KYB GR2] for about 200$ (consider shipping plus exchange rate) would that be a good option too ?

I don't know what to do and since I'm a little cash-strapped right now I'm hesitant to take the third options. What would you guys do ? I thank you all for your time reading / answering !