W211e63

Bahnstormer

Buy Arnott replacements from Autohaus Arizona and get them installed by an independent shop and save yourself a ton of money.

Strigoi

You could also go with a coil overs and get rid of the Airmatic if you're worried about future problems.

There's been lots of discussion on this. You can find tons of info if you do a search.

hachiroku

where did you buy the car...depending on where you bought the car, user car dealers offer a 1 week or 1 month guarantee.

most don't...carmax has a 1 year unlimited mile warranty or so they say.

W211e63

hachiroku

replacement Arnott's come with a lifetime warranty...from what i've seen more E55's seem to have airmatic failures/issues than E63's, but that could be just that E55 owners are more active on the forums. I've yet to have a strut fail on my car. I personally use airmatic to raise my car practically every other day. i've scraped my header a few times over speed bumps when I got lazy and didn't raise my car.

Yuille36

I had mine replaced under warranty. My advice like others have already stated, buy them from AutohausAZ, and have them installed at the independent Mercedes Shop. Their labor rates are definitely cheaper then the dealership.

CharlyE500

You can just convert to Coil-over. Cost less than $2K, parts, labor, alignment... peace of mind ! the front one usually break before the rear one so you might need to change the whole set soon.

6172crew

If I was ever to do coil overs, I'd call Ohlins USA. They know what they are doing, if you dont want a buckboard then you need to have the shocks valved for the correct weight and spring rate. I have used them on all my motorcycles and they offer Mercedes parts. I went through some of this stuff on my older RS6, the KWs ride like a lowered kids car, the spring rate was stiffer than stock. We probably have a 400lbs rate spring (dont quote me on this because I dont have springs on my w211 but it rides nice, even in sport2. My 4runner is a little stiffer and has 500lb springs, stick to the same spring rate, but I am going to guess that KW uses closer to 600-700lbs springs. If you start clamping down on them to lower your car then they get stiffer assuming they are progressive springs. The other higher end socks need rebuilding so even swapping out to regular shocks/springs you can still need to rebuild them one day if you keep the car.

Its worth a call or email to Ohlins, ask them if they can get your car to ride as nice as stock, or even better. They know what they are doing but could be expensive.

hachiroku

too bad KW doesn't make a Variant 3 for the W211. my Variant 3's on my Audi A4 ride better than any car i've been in. factory or aftermarket suspension included. double adjustable will give you that flexibility.