dwnash

I am purchasing a 2007 R500 and wanted to add a wood & leather steering wheel as well as Keyless Go. The dealer said it would have had to been done at the factory, but I am discovering MB service departments aren't real keen on adding certain accessories to a car while there are plenty of folks outside the MB network that are willing and able to help. Any thoughts and/or suggestions?

termite

the steering wheels show up on ebay all of the time and the installation is pretty straight forward. i recently replaced all of the buttons on my wheel w/ new bits because the PO of my car got what looks like makeup on them. took about 15 minutes to change them. you can do the entire wheel in about 15 additional minutes. can't help you on retrofitting keyless GO but i suspect that it is likely to be expensive. the option was pricey when ordered new. i am so used to it now that i sort of resent having to actually use a key on my wife's jeep...

dwnash

Thanks termite. I have since discovered that it is a MAJOR undertaking and quite expensive to add Keyless Go. The MB dealership said the steering wheel can't be replaced on the vehicle I am buying because the paddles are attached? Makes no sense to me. If the car is in a minor accident and the air bad deploys, does that mean you have to junk the car because you can't get a new steering wheel? Now, I'm no MB technician, but I do have a healthy dose of common sense and I'm thinking someone doesn't know what they are talking about...

termite

the parts guy at your dealership need to have a bit of a refresher on his own parts...here is a wheel on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCE...#ht_766wt_1167

as far as i can see, all that you need to do is take your wheel off and swap all of the bits to the new wheel and reinstall. to say that the wheel is not replaceable is absurd...

dwnash

Thanks again Termite. Looks like it might be an easy DIY project for myself. Again, I appreciate the help!

termite

if you are going to do it, shoot me a pmail and i will give you some small tips to get the wheel apart...