03 STS strut reliability?
 

Hello. I'm not new to forums but I am to this one. Just bought my first caddy last summer. (03 STS)

I had new tires put on at Belle tire. Between speeds of 60 and 80mph I get a little vibration. I took it back to belle and told them to rebalance the tires. Before rebalancing the tires, one of the mechanics said my front left strut was "blown out" due to leaking oil. Then quoted me for both front struts, parts and labor of 2 grand. I shook my head and said no way. They then said you have a slightly bent rim and put it on the rear. I still get the vibration. Bottom line, I don't trust belle tire and I'm taking it to someone I trust.

I pulled the front wheels off myself to check the struts and all I noticed was that they were a little dirty. On the right one(not the one he said was blown, there was a little bit of the greasy fluid with metal shavings on the strut.(very little though) No oil(magne ride, it has the jelly like fluid with metal shavings right? How would there be oil leaking?) How would I tell if it was blown out? It rides fine. Hasnt't tripped a single code, and when I press down on the car above the strut it dampens like it should. How reliable are these struts? (73,000 miles on the car) Off topic, but she also guzzles the oil. About a quart/thousand

I'm coming from modded wrx's and STi's so the STS is a whole new animal to me. Any info or advice would be much appreciated.