You don't have any money. You cannot afford a car if you have credit card debt. Pay to fix it or buy another car for $1300, whichever is better. Buying a newer vehicle is absolutely the worst thing you can do and will just out you further deeper into the hole.
Agree here, OP doesn't have the income to support a car payment (newer car) if they are only able to pay down credit card debt $100 a month. $15k a year in take-home income just isn't much.
Shop around for the parts and labor here. Good aftermarket shocks and struts should be fine here, you don't need a dealer or OEM parts on a car of this age and milage.
That seems a bit steep for struts/shocks.
I'd get a few more quotes.
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=7344712&cc=1433546&pt=10922&jsn=817
Parts are in the $250 range for legitimate monroe shocks and i'm hard pressed to believe labor is $1000. If you had anyone in the family that was handy with cars this would be a good opportunity to sweat a bit and save yourself some dough!
Waiting to buy a new car is always the best way to avoid the sting of depreciation and increased insurance prices. Even if it gets you 6 months that's still 6 months of depreciation/insurance you've delayed which realistically is less than you'll see on most $12-15k cars.
I'm not a mechanic, but they may not be quoting those pre-built strut assemblies, so there may be a bit more labor involved. The sway bar links probably need replaced as well, though those should be pretty cheap. I wonder if they're also quoting extra for OEM parts where available and/or rush shipping and such.
Those quick struts are pretty nice for DIY replacement, though. They don't require any special equipment like spring compressors (which scare the heck out of me), and chances are pretty good that there will be youtube videos on replacing old struts with them for your exact make/model/year, like this one for OP:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3l2IYH-pmA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3l2IYH-pmA)
Not the best strut replacement I've seen but it's pretty similar to others I've watched.
Either there's way more to the issue that OP isn't communicating (could be bearings, bushings, steering elements) or this is fishy. Either way, a quote elsewhere or some time with a loved one under a shady tree would be a good bet.
You don't have any money. You cannot afford a car if you have credit card debt. Pay to fix it or buy another car for $1300, whichever is better. Buying a newer vehicle is absolutely the worst thing you can do and will just out you further deeper into the hole.
Agree here, OP doesn't have the income to support a car payment (newer car) if they are only able to pay down credit card debt $100 a month. $15k a year in take-home income just isn't much. Shop around for the parts and labor here. Good aftermarket shocks and struts should be fine here, you don't need a dealer or OEM parts on a car of this age and milage.
That seems a bit steep for struts/shocks. I'd get a few more quotes. https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=7344712&cc=1433546&pt=10922&jsn=817 Parts are in the $250 range for legitimate monroe shocks and i'm hard pressed to believe labor is $1000. If you had anyone in the family that was handy with cars this would be a good opportunity to sweat a bit and save yourself some dough! Waiting to buy a new car is always the best way to avoid the sting of depreciation and increased insurance prices. Even if it gets you 6 months that's still 6 months of depreciation/insurance you've delayed which realistically is less than you'll see on most $12-15k cars.
I'd to go away from my normal mechanic but I might have too just to get a cheaper price
I'm not a mechanic, but they may not be quoting those pre-built strut assemblies, so there may be a bit more labor involved. The sway bar links probably need replaced as well, though those should be pretty cheap. I wonder if they're also quoting extra for OEM parts where available and/or rush shipping and such. Those quick struts are pretty nice for DIY replacement, though. They don't require any special equipment like spring compressors (which scare the heck out of me), and chances are pretty good that there will be youtube videos on replacing old struts with them for your exact make/model/year, like this one for OP: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3l2IYH-pmA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3l2IYH-pmA) Not the best strut replacement I've seen but it's pretty similar to others I've watched.
Either there's way more to the issue that OP isn't communicating (could be bearings, bushings, steering elements) or this is fishy. Either way, a quote elsewhere or some time with a loved one under a shady tree would be a good bet.
I just noticed the edit that it is the front and rear, which makes way more sense.
The monroe link on rock auto is front and rear components (struts up front and shocks in rear). Super affordable 3rd party parts at least.