Got a great deal from Autohauz on Sach's fronts and rears. Car rides like new again but sits 3/4 inch higher. Its really possible the worn set up (300k) was tired and was sitting lower. Change the upper strut mounts at the same time.

A couple of years ago I rebuilt a '92 124 300E with the M103 engine and oodles of rust. The original dampers were perfectly functional at 110k miles, but were replaced anyway with new MB items. The first impression was that the car leaned less in bends, was sharper in a straight line, and oddly, was actually softer riding than it had been at 85k miles.
Our TE has the original dampers at 207k miles and they pass the rebound test with ease, although they are soft on sharp manouevers.