I am looking to overhaul my entire front and rear suspension on my 2017 E300 4Matic (not airmatic, regular suspension). Looking at control arms, sway bars, tie rods, struts etc on FCP Euro there are a couple of brands that show up. There is Mayle, Febi Bilstein, Lemforder, Vaico, and Genuine Mercedes (which I assume is either Mayle, or Lemforder).

Does anyone have any experience buying suspension parts off of FCP Euro or with any of the brands mentioned above? I currently have 140,000 miles with original suspension and it's still going strong. Absolutely nothing wrong with it but wanted to change everything because I plan on sending the car to Europe and keeping it over there, so before I send it I wanted to do the work my self here in the states as parts in Europe are iffy and I don't trust any mechanics doing the work over there.

It seems like the Lemforder parts are made in Turkey, the Febi Bilstein's are mostly made in Poland and French Polynesia (didn't know they had a factory near Bora Bora in the middle of the Pacific Ocean), and the Mayle, well.... hit or miss with China, Turkey and "Germany". Turkish made parts are a no go for me as I don't think they have good quality built products there, and obviously China is out of the question. Which is why i'm asking for advice as to what everyone on here has experience with and what to buy. Any info would be appreciated.

 

I'm not sure about all the suspension related components but I do know the genuine inner and outer tie rods are supplied by Lemforder, it's possible they supply parts for many of the other steering/suspension components. They make OE parts for many European makes like Porsche and Mercedes and are known for quality products. I would be wary of Febi Bilstein, the company is not associated whatsoever with the commonly known brand, Bilstein. There is also not much information on the company itself and if they have good quality products or not.

 

Yeah I wasn't going to purchase Febi Bilstein seeing how their products are made in French Polynesia... I didn't even know they had factories in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, let alone made suspension parts lol. I believe I am going to just go with OEM Mercedes parts because they sell German made Lemforder & Mayle parts rather than Turkish made. Although i just found out my OEM Bosch fuel injectors have a "Made in Turkey" stamp and the OE replacement Bosch injectors also have "Made in Turkey" stamp on them, so I guess they do sell Turkish made parts as well.