rebuilding a 1993 2.6 sportline (new to me in the last few months)....shop is recommending new shocks (and springs?)..one strut must be bent as they cannot align after replacing ball joints/tie rods and control arms/upper shock bushings.....what aftermarket parts have you used to update? 184K mies

A Sportsline is a desirable car.
Just replace the struts with OEM Sach's or Bilsteins. Anything else will compromise the ride.

Unless you have a lot of miles on the car then the springs should not have an issue. You wont buy a better quality spring than the ones already on the car. You can have the existing springs retensioned by a suspension specialist - if there is an issue.

The Sportsline featured a lower suspension than the standard models. So. Don't expect the replacements to be as cheap as the stock units. Don't put stock height struts on your Sportsline
Benz carefully matched the struts and springs to special models such as the Sportslines.

The 201 and 124 share suspension parts. The 124 Sportline package included stiffer bushings in some locations. Make sure you get the right parts if you go deeper into refurbishing the suspension.

Sixto
83 300SD
98 E320 wagon