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I bought cars that needed major work after "professional" mechanics were done with them. This includes cars that should have never been on the road for safety or reliability issues.
Replacing the struts isn't entirely difficult. You have to know someone who has some tools. You will need a spring compressor (that you can rent for free from Autozone/NAPA/Advanced Auto) to do the job. Since you will change the struts, you can replace the strut mounts at the same time.
I have a spring compressor but was too lazy to use it + I didn't want a face full of spring so I went the kit route. If I decide to keep my DOHC Neon it will get the coil over kits. Not the Ebay rejects, but the real things like from Modern Performance.