Toyota Repair: Struts and Strut Mounts, strut mounts, problem questions

Question
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Followup To
Question -
Car Description: 1996 Camry, 4 cylinder, 105,000 miles.
Background: I hear a squeak or grinding noise on the driver's front side when I ride over a dip in the road. The colder the weather, the more you hear the noise. Above 40 degrees, you barely hear it. When in the 20's and below, you hear it with every dip in the road. A dealer told me that it's the strut mount. They want to replace both front struts, and not replace anything in the rear. They told me that there's still time, and that it's not urgent, since the mount is just starting to show a problem.
Questions:
(1) If the mount needs to be replaced, should the strut also be replaced? Is there much of a difference in also replacing the strut?
(2) Should both front struts be replaced?
(3) Should I leave the rear alone, and not do anything with it unless/until I have a problem?
Thank you.
Answer -
Hello Steve, welcome to my expert page.
At this point I don't think the struts need to be replaced unless they are leaking or weak but the mileage may be a concern, even though toyota struts last well over 100k miles it may be a good idea to replace both mounts and struts at the same time and I would wait until the noise gets to be a little more annoying and consistent, but that's up to you. By the way the labor is the same whether the struts are replaced or not.
My advice is to always replace struts in pairs.
Leave the rears alone for now if they are not presenting a problem.

Thank you for your reply. It is very helpful. May I follow up with a couple of questions I neglected to ask in my original inquiry?
(1) Can you give me a "ball park" of a fair market cost, or what I should expect to pay to have the front struts replaced?
(2) In your experience and opinion, is it better to have the dealer do this work, versus going to a place like Midas, Meineke, Sears? I should add that I have a good working relationship with the dealer. However, my thinking is that I should get other estimates, besides what the dealer quoted me ($750).
(3) Can you offer your experience with these types of businesses in terms of price/value with this type of work? As we all know, the same work/parts are usually available at a lower cost; but are not necessarily "cheaper".
Thanks again.
Steve

Answer
Hello Steve, welcome back.
The price for replacing the front struts with the mounts quoted at the dealer is not out of line, the struts are about $150 each, the mounts about$70 each and the labor time is normally 4 hours, multiplied by the labor rate, $70-80 an hour.