Here is my final report on this project: had the front/rear struts/shocks and all associated hardware installed last weekend. A reputable independent shop did the work, Autotech in Nashville... they did a great job... only charged me $450 for labor. Immediately had to have an alignment done. The ride is amazing now... like I remember when I first got it. It eats up bumps, the harshness is comletely gone. Does not sway any more in turns or undulating roads. They returned the old shocks to me so I could look inspect them. The fronts were completely gone, I could compress them with one hand, the rears may have been OK but I wanted to just replace all four at the same time. Just looking at the car from the side, it seems to sit slightly higher. I would definitely recommend getting shocks/struts replaced to anyone approaching 100k.

Peter