I own an 88 300CE and I think it has the original struts and shocks on it. 174k miles. There's all kinds of rattles, creaks and groans in the suspension; all suspension bushings have already been renewed.

My tech says the choice on struts is the stiffer Sachs units or the softer Bilsteins. Which would you choose? I don't know how much difference there is between the two.

I'm replacing the struts, mounts, bump stops, and bellows up front; shocks in the rear.

How much bang for the buck can I expect from these new parts vs. the old stuff?

Thanks for any replies!!