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The car has ~180k miles on it but I have relatively new tires (less than 10K miles on them) and they are pretty good on the highway (very silent). My tires are: 205/60/16. Width/height-wise they are pretty good for a comfortable ride. However, I still have a VERY rough ride quality. I literally feel every crack in the road no matter how small it is. It's not just annoying to me, I sometimes move upwards (lol).

I live up north, so we've got potholes and a little bit of road. It's too late for me to get an SUV or a Pick-up truck and I have to stick with my sedan (for a few years).

When I consulted Dr. Google about it everyone suggested the easiest: CHANGE TIRES. My tires are good (as I described above) which made me wonder, what is the next option? Should I change suspension?

I've read somewhere that I can test my suspension by pushing the car down and see how much it shakes. When I push the car down on the front side, it doesn't shake much. On the rear, however, it does. But, when I'm driving, the roughness feels like it's all coming from the front.

Based on how rough the ride is, I was about to order the whole set (front struts, coil-springs, mount assemblies, and rear shocks; the price is around $250 for all of them). However, I wanted to consult you guys here because you normally give the best advice.

Should I change my struts and shocks?

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  • What make and model of car is this? And how old/how many miles has it done? Also has it always been like this or is this a recent development?
    – motosubatsu
    Commented Apr 5, 2018 at 7:17
  • @motosubatsu it's a mercury milan and it's got a lot of miles (~180k). It wasn't always as rough but it didn't suddenly become rough. It developed with time and now it's unbearable.
    – Everyone
    Commented Apr 5, 2018 at 7:19
  • @motosubatsu I wanted to know if the ball joints are better candidates than struts and shocks.
    – Everyone
    Commented Apr 5, 2018 at 7:19

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With the mileage on the car I'd definitely be looking at worn-out suspension components as the cause. The "Push" test outcome you describe could suggest that the struts/shocks are failing but another are to look at would be the suspension bushes at the front - as these age the rubber gets harder and this can result in the sort of rough ride you are experiencing.

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  • Thank you. I've looked slightly on the front struts and they do seem rusted. I'll take a better look when it's daylight to determine how bad it is. If it's pretty bad then I've gotta spend a few hundred bucks on this thing.
    – Everyone
    Commented Apr 5, 2018 at 7:27
  • Yeah the front struts would be the most likely culprit - and yeah repair bills suck, so you have my sympathies with that!
    – motosubatsu
    Commented Apr 5, 2018 at 7:29
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    I'll do it myself lol. I already did a lot on my car and saved loads of repair costs. A shop asked me $165 for valve cover gasket replacement. I did it myself and replaced spark plugs with it for $50 bucks. Another shop asked me $250 to replace the right tie rod end, I also did it myself for $80 (yes most of it was the alignment). This car taught me a lot and it's always nice to have a project car as the first one.
    – Everyone
    Commented Apr 5, 2018 at 7:50

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