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@bq
Because mine's a 24 valve and they have bigger brakes it needed the whole lower suspension arm replacing rather than just the ball joint. The spring was broken at the top too. Funnily enough the right hand side is perfectly fine. That and the new anti-roll bar bushes have completely transformed the handling. (They also balanced the wheels and set all the steering geometry too).
I also had them pressure test the cooling system, and fix the two leaks they found. Then it was flushed and refilled with new coolant. That's the end of my overheating worries.
They also replaced the seals on the cam cover, and the timing chain cover, which has eliminated the oil leaks, and they replaced the serpentine belt tensioner which has eliminated the rattle. The parking brake cables and shoes were replaced too, so now that works too. Add a full maintenance service on top of that and it's in perfect mechanical condition now.
I don't think there is a new car (that I could afford the repayments on) which would generate the enormous grin that my W124 does.