Hi all,
Can you share how long the front or rear shocks last, especially for W210 wagon? The car has 115k miles and mechanic said ok, but it feels a bit soft...though it could be due to my comparing it to my Clk55.
Thx.
Patrick

 

If the car is level - side to side - and no evidence of leakage I'd leave it alone. You should have self-leveling on the back and the shocks are quite expensive.

 

I replace shocks every 50K mi no matter what. It is my understanding that they do not have to leak to become ineffective. They become ineffective over a long time and the ride become more bumpy and wavey gradually, hence you can hardlytell the difference until you get new ones, and you figure out how you got this far without new shocks.

 

replace wagon shocks every 50k though
they last longer and if failing it is usually the accumulators that go not the self leveling shock itself.

 

I have 117k on mine and ride is still excellent. If I push the front or rear down, the car returns to position with any additional bounce. They're fine

 

Wagons DO NOT have "rear shocks."

The struts are load levelers and the shock absorber function is performed by accumulators.

50K is a nice "chebbie" replacement interval, but Mercedes are better cars than that and shock absorbers typically work fine for >100K miles.

You won't replace load levelers in pairs anyway, as they are ~$700 each.