97 Dodge Stratus Lower Control Bar Bushings

[a-vision]

So, I waa noticing my grandmas 1997 Dodge Stratus, 4 door, 2.0L, 4cyl, was making "squnch" noises from the front end when making sharp turns, or going over a sharp bump or sharp ditch. The front end of the car was also hitting the concrete when going down are steep driveway. So she took it to our mechanic, we have a good one, thank god, and he said the bushings on the lower control arm were quite worn.
He checked and said he could get the left & right bushings separate, but the center bushing only came with the whole control arm assembly, and buying the whole control arm would be quite expensive.
According to him, the bushings only last about 100K miles, our car has 158K miles.
Anyway, my grandma isnt very mechanically inclined, and neither am I, so I was hoping you guys could explain what exactly the control arm does, and what happens when the bushing wear out completely. The mechanic said that leaving it the way it is now would affect the alignment on the car, but my grandma cant afford a big repair right now unless its absoutly necessary, so some info here would be helpful. Would it be OK to drive it until it really needs new bushings? Is it dangerous? And what happend when they finally go completely bad?
Thanks! :)

[corzolek]

You should only need to replace the outer bushings. I had to replace mine as the dealer caught them at inspection time. And upon replacing the outer ones the racket it made going over bumps went away. Unfortunitely I can not tell exactly what the car will do when they finally give out. But your mechanic should be able to replace the outer ones for a reasonable price, I don't think I paid more than 20 or 30 for the parts and about a half hour to change each one.

[biaxadent]

Normally I find the rear most bushings are the ones that come apart . When they come out of the arm , the arm will now drop and sit on the cradle causing a banging ( metal to metal ) on bumps . Arms need to be replaced but will not affect anything else , just a hard ride and alot of noise .