One of things about my car that has been bugging me is the shocks. Every time I hit a bump my car shakes a lot Supposedly there is nothing wrong with my shocks or struts so I figure it must be just the way my car is (I looked up my car, 1997 Pontiac Sunfire GT, in Consumer Reports and one of the bad things about it is the suspension.) However, are there struts or shocks that I can get that can make my car a much smoother ride?

Im sure there is... I'd go to a bookstore and look for a magazine called "sport compact car". You'll see parts advertised mostly for Honda and Mitsubishi, but there will be some American-made in there as well. Browse around the ads until you see some that look like they cater to the Sunfire or have pictures in the ads. Either memorize the addresses or buy the magazine and start shopping online. If NOPI has your parts, they are trustworthy for delivery.

"Smoother" may be hard to come by. Actually, stiffer shocks might help more - they'd control the springs better and causes less bouncing. However the initial impact may be a bit more rough. It's a trade-off...

Look for something adjustable, that's the key. Set them stiff, soft, or anywhere in between and see what you like.

Also, I don't know any right off, but I promise that there are owners forums for the car. Perhaps do a google search for "sunfire owners group" or something similar. You'll probably find a good bulletin board where the subject has been discussed.

Assuming that your car has struts and since you've been told that they're ok, have the lower control arm bushings checked out. Also the steering ball joints.

Every time I hit a bump my car shakes a lot

It's pretty hard to diagnose the problem without actually seeing/driving the car, but I can relate a personal experience that might be helpful.

Over a period of just a couple of days, my ShoWagon went from decent handling, comfortable ride to almost undriveable. The onset was so smooth and linear that it was probably much more than a couple of days total -- but from the time I first noticed that "...hey, something's different" to "...Omigod, this thing is so scary it is unsafe to drive!") was a pretty short time.

The symptoms? Even driving in a straight line, the smallest bump (even running over a tar strip) would make the car shimmy enough that I would have to make steering corrections. Scary? You better believe it!

The solution? I took the car to the best suspension shop in town where after a complete examination (shocks, struts, ball joints, tie rod ends, upper strut bushings, steering rack, sway bars and bushings, steering column u-joints, etc.) the only thing wrong was bad rear shocks. They replaced them, and the car was fully restored to normal handling.

tanstaafl.