The car literally sits like a 800 lb person is sitting behind the steering wheel. This car has 204,000 mi on it and the struts need replacing. Is it the struts?
Holy cow! That many miles I would venture to say you need a new car or a good used one, but if you know the struts are shot then yes, but there are probably a lot of other issues too like the entire suspension system. You probably have a lot of rubber bushings shot too and they aren't that expensive by themselves, but the labor I would think dumping it would be your best bet, but if you have to keep it fix what you can afford, but make sure that's the problem before you dump a ton of money into it. I've fixed a lot of things that had nothing wrong with them in the past. most mechanics do too.
i dont imagine its the struts. struts (shocks) are really just a cushion that puts tension on your springs so when you hit a pothole drivin down the road your car doesn't bounce up and down for the next mile. they dampen the spring. this being said its most likely the springs, you probably broke one. you might also hear a twang noise every time you turn? and with 204K if you haven't replaced the springs ever its definitely time. you should have them replace the shocks at the same time because it doesn't take hardly any extra labor since they have to remove them to get the springs out anyway, just have them put new ones in. and you will definitely love your car a lot more afterwards. it will ride and turn 20 times better.
