[oldskool73]

The ride in my car seems very harsh, I have to slow way down to go over speed humps without grinding the front and find myself avoiding any little bumps or holes in the road because when I hit them I feel (and hear) everything. I'm wondering what I should aim to replace first to improve the situation?

It's a 97 base, 105k, 17" wheels, owned for 2 years, very little previous service history. Road driving only, no track, and not lowered. I put in 2 new rear control arms about a year ago, to fix the well know loud banging over bumps issue. Everything else as far as I know is original and coming up to 20 years old now! I'd love to do a full refresh of all the suspension parts, but funds don't really stretch that far right now...

So it's a toss up between new shocks and various/all metal & rubber suspension bits. The shocks don't seem to be leaking visibly and rebound ok when rocked, but I can't help feeling like they've got no travel left in them over bumps. The arms are obviously on their way out too, bit of squeaking all around when rocked and the rear control's had already given up, but would changing the rest of these parts improve the ride much over new shocks?

I know this is kind of guesswork without sitting in it, but any suggestions appreciated as to what I should check or try first.

Cheers!