sloppy shifter/rear struts

Hey all, I just baught a 97 Accent for a decent price ($1700 Cdn.) with 102 Kms (60 k miles), I love the car, it runs great, but I am finding the shifter to be a bit sloppy (5 speed), it's generally sloppy in all gears, but worst trying to get it in reverse. Is this common for these cars, or is it wear and tear on the shifter bushings or something?
The other thing I've noticed is that it's a bit bouncy in the back (over bumps). Are rear stuts an expensive proposition? How hard are they to do?
Thanks in advance
Vince

Hey all, I just baught a 97 Accent for a decent price ($1700 Cdn.) with 102 Kms (60 k miles), I love the car, it runs great, but I am finding the shifter to be a bit sloppy (5 speed), it's generally sloppy in all gears, but worst trying to get it in reverse. Is this common for these cars, or is it wear and tear on the shifter bushings or something?
The other thing I've noticed is that it's a bit bouncy in the back (over bumps). Are rear stuts an expensive proposition? How hard are they to do?
Thanks in advance
Vince

You could try simply chaging manual transmisison fluid (MTF) i've heard of people having excellant results doing that. Struts usually aren't too expensive. Figure 40-70 a piece, They're pretty simple to do if you have a spring compressor. I can change all four struts on my car in a few hours.