jc-place

I have owned w210s and a w208 (still own) and put many miles in them without steering issues. I recenty purchased a 97 c230 with 148,000 miles for $1,000. The main issue I noticed is that the car is hard to control at high speeds if you turn the wheel a little to right and left or if you drive over uneven pavement at high speed. With this low mileage, is it just the steering damper or do the tie rods wear out early as well?

My w210s didn't need sway bar bushings until over 200k when they started to knock.

shadenfroh

Depends on the type of roads - I had to replace tie rod & steering damper at little more than 50 000 miles. Your problem might not be the steering at all. My suspension is the same as yours, I have the same problem as you - with brand new tie rod & shock.

At 16 years, I'm just going to give mine a thorough suspension overhaul since I'm going to keep it for a while. This suspension has a lot of rubber and provides a fantastic ride even if it's not brand new, so you might not feel the gradual deterioration. Update the suspension and you get a brand new car for at least a few years.

So I'll give you my 0.02$:

By the way, sway bar bushings don't wear out as fast as other components. And worn out suspension components will cause play and faster deterioration in other parts.