Tammy,
Sorry I did not think to question your garage's bad strut diagnosis, as I figured after 200k they would need replacing. I have 103k on mine, and have never driven a car over 130k. My rr boot has also has splits in it, but since replacing the boots require removing the strut, I just got busy with some super glue and went after it. It is somewhat tedious, but has held up and much cheaper than having struts removed. I, like another poster, mostly stay on paved roads, so am not worried about much dust or dirt. Glad U got a second opinion.