72K miles is nothing on these shocks and springs. As for suspension problems after 10 years due to age, I ain't buyin' it. My 300E is 17 years old with 286,000 miles and suspension is SOLID AS A ROCK and TIGHT AS A BANJO STRING. All that has been replaced is steering linkage pieces and the shocks.

That said, you can have loose suspension parts at 500 miles or 500,000 miles. There's no way of knowing without getting the car in the air and checking everything using the four P's: Push, Pull, Pry and Prod.

What I would suspect first, if the car feels squirrelly, would be loose links in the rear suspension, but you should not stop your inspection there. Use the four P's on every suspension joint in the whole car.

Good luck,