Do you do any car work yourself?
Do the fronts first but do not buy cheap struts or any pre-assembled "quick strut".
My experience with Bilsteins in other vehicles is why I'd recommend them.
I chose Sachs SuperTouring shocks and struts -said to be OEM and matches to originals- when I did this job on my 2002; same as your car.
In that case, the rears, which I also installed first, were so gone, the handling improvement was tremendous.
However, the Sachs front struts didn't read. I thought that odd as both fronts were weak and leaking stinking, viscous fluid.
Also, upon disassembly, the bearing plates looked shiny and almost new. I shot some grease into the bearing raceway and reused them.
Similarly, the mounts -essentially a one piece rubber part- looked brand new without a trace of crazing or cracking. I reused them with complete confidence.
Changing these things is not that difficult a task. Order replacement bearings and mounts from a quality source which will let you return them if not needed.
Install replacement sway bar links. They can legitimately go anytime around 70K and you'll likely butcher them during disassembly.
Every time I've done this job -that'd be 6 times, so I'm an expert, Ha-ha- I've carefully eyeballed and marked the location of the struts' base. I installed the replacements in the same location (no trick to that) and I've never needed an alignment. Believe me....never did a tire wear unevenly after a strut job.
Going to a garage might require a post job realignment. While not a bad idea, it isn't always a needed service.
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