my 2 cents ,
First you need to stay away from the garage dude you went even to replace the shocks ,
even if you take new shocks he might do His modifications to satisfy you better saying all sorts of his experiences . these are the guys who ruin cars.
AE110 standard suspension is very good, comfotable and it handles really well for it's class, get the shocks tested and replace then with KYB if it is needed , it will be good as new ,
i used a AE110 for 5 yrs and sold it when the clock was 229K never had a problem of ground clearance,
unless your mechanic is tying to go see elephants in yala in a corolla .