I took my new (to me) '08 40th Anniv in for its first oil change/inspection since I got it

 

How much should rear strut replacement cost by a mechanic?

 

That depends on the mechanic and where you live but each job has a set time set to it in the system (dealer, alldata, etc) so the cost should be close in your area unless they are just making up their own charges and job time. But I would say and hour at most for both rear in a shop with a lift and the proper tools.

 

Alldata calls for 1.9 hrs for one, 2.6 hrs labor for both rear, but like 9k states above, it all depends on who you go to and where you live. If you live up north (rust belt) you may get charge for more hours because of the rust.
Interesting enough, alldata calls for 1.2 for the front or 1.6 for both. I'm pretty sure Mitchell calls for about the same. P/N's included in case you want to purchase them yourself. If you know your way around tools and have a basic mechanical understanding, you should be able to do this on your driveway, but expect to take you about 3 to 4 hrs or so without a lift or power tools. As an example, took me 5 1/2 hrs to install my coilovers, with my friend helping at the garage.

 

Yeah I didn't think about rust, that definitely adds to it. We don't deal with much rust down here.

 

Yup, the only tool than you may need to buy if you don't have it already is a spring compressor, but you could get one fairly cheap, or even borrow one.