What kind of Struts do I need? ?

Go to ROCK AUTO! They have OPTIONS and GREAT SHOCKS like KYB and SACHS and even BILSTEINS from Germany!  SGRUT s are usually LESS than $100 each! GO SHOPPING! And REMBBER to use ONLY PENNZOIL ULTRA PLATINUM OIL in there to get a WERRANTY out to 500,000 MILESS! 50kmiels is NOT even broken in yet! I WOUDL GO ESLEWHERE fror ANOTHER EXAM! Perhaps they are ROBI+BING YOU! It is NOT normal for STRUTS to go bad in 50k MILES! SOMETHING does NOT add up here!>>>TEST them yoursl]elf! PUCH on the FRONT BUMPER a few times UP and DOWN! The STRUT that is BAD wil continue to BOUNCE! A GOOD STRUT cartridge wil go UP and DOWN once and then STOP! PERHPAS they are BLEEDING YOU! GO ELSEWHERE for ao nother TEST or EXAM! Youc an get struts from the DEALERSHIP for less $$ than ThAT and $388 EACH SIDE is RIDCULOOUS! The PAERT NUIMBERS are most likely CHRYSLER numbers! KEEP LOOKING AROUND do NOT trust these people!

For not knowing much, you got a lot to say.  Any good auto shop will inspect your car for nothing.  Brakes, struts, shocks, exhaust, cooling, belts, tires, battery, alternator, air filter, tie rods, drive shafts and fluids all checked for free.  Suggest you go do that and say nothing about needing any struts.  You will be told what you need and how much it cost.  Do you have a title to this thing?  If not, thing expect to get yanked from behind the wheel, put on the ground and cuffed  at the point of a cop's gun.

I would recommend to contact a trusted private mechanic or Dodge Dealer to see if you even need struts. Your car only weighs 3,000 lbs. so the compression and rebound of your struts isn't too severe. When and if you need them KYB struts are a good bet from Rockauto.com. Don't try to change the struts yourself without the proper tools.

Do the oil change on time and ignore the sell job you're going to get everywhere you go. If you notice any leaks or noises go to a local shop with good reviews and ask them to check it out.

My gut says they tell everybody who comes to a "special" that they need struts and the kitchen sink as well. I drove my '98 Corolla to hell and back and the struts are still fine today. The only car I ever heard of suffering shock failure was Pontiac GTO/ rebadged Holden that had bad struts when shipped to the states. Tons of them were recalled and no parts were available for a loooong time. Tell Firestone, "Thanks but no thanks". 

You went to Firestone for an check-up and they recommended an expensive repair 

Are you really surprised?? 

I have NEVER replaced a strut and I drive cars for 100-150k miles.  Fugetaboutit they are just trying to milk you for money.

You could bother getting another opinion. Strut replacement should only run you 500 bucks for both. 

Less than 50k?  I cannot imagine that you need struts too badly.  How does it ride?  When you push down on the front end & back end is it firm or does it bounce?  Anyway, if you are not a car guy, you don't want to try to change struts yourself.  Also, when you do by parts, if you go to roackauto dot com (I have to spell it out, because otherwise YA won't show the answer if it has a website in it), they are way cheaper than autozone or advance. 

Get a car guy friend to drive the car around and inspect the struts and ask him if the struts need to be replaced.  It probably does not need new ones.