hey ya’ll! im in need of a little car work and dont have a mechanic/shop that i trust. i know i need new shocks/struts for a 2009 toyota yaris - brakes plus quoted me $1350 
any and all info is GREATLY appreciated!
If you have access to a covered, level spot where you live (e.g. a garage or carport?) it may be worth investigating mobile mechanics, i.e. a “house call”. That way your car stays with you where you can keep an eye on it and you can check up on the work from convenience of your home. You can also then provide your own parts. For the parts you’ve mentioned OEM for your car appears to be Monroe, so replacing all four shocks/struts looks to run about $225 (plus tax and shipping).
Try a search on something like “Dallas mobile mechanics” and then seeing what comes back re: reviews and etc. Replacing shocks/struts is not considered a hard or involved task, but, still, not all of these guys will be interested in that particular job. You will likely need to call around a bit, if this is how you decide to proceed.
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I’m not recommending this, but I am saying it’s one option.
Parts Geek offers a kit fully assembled front strut and rear shocks. Buying fully assembled struts means you don’t have to compress/decompress springs to swap the shock in front. Just unbolt old, bolt in new, get an alignment.
And the rear shocks on this vehicle are EZPZ, at just 3 nuts, 1 bolt per side. The tires don’t even have to come off. Seriously the worst part of the rears is hoping the plastic cover over the tops doesn’t break.
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I second what @jast suggested.
Spring for the little extra for the strut assembly instead of going cheap with just the strut tubes alone.
The best way to think of it is like this: Pay a little more for the assembly and save quite a bit in installation, or save a little money by just getting the tubes and pay almost double for the installation.
Not to mention, the front factory coil over strut assembly are meant to have the springs replaced when the struts are replaced, so they will start sagging and riding lower over time if they aren’t. So unless you know without a doubt that they were replaced the last time the struts were done, I would definitely opt for the assembly.
Places to check for the assembly:
Amazon
Parts Geek
RockAuto
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Acute Auto Care in Lewisville. Ask for Chris Rebecek.
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Join the makerspace, asked for a little hands on help, dress to break a nail, and do most of it yourself. Learning and saving a bit of money.
You could meet me at 6am on a sunday(not this sunday) morning for assistance - keyword is
“assistance” because this is a learning environment.
Brakes are dirt cheap and very easy to do(unless it is the front of a Subaru Brat, or the rear rotors and pads of an inboard brake Jaguar E type).
Brakes are lion’s share of profits at Garages and dealers.
Solved.
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This is incorrect - I’d like to see where this is noted in a service manual for an everyday car.
“pre-assembled” atruts are good for many folks - yes, and for a Yaris, yes.
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