if you want brand new keys the only place to go and get working programmed keys is a dealership.

 

you can buy a new key on ebay replace your key blades and program the key... I have not done this, but it should work...

 

You don't say whether the key blades, holders or both are bad. The holders have some sort of internal sensor that must be within several inches of the associated proper key to allow it to work. The proper key blade by itself won't start the car. My dealership had to send my keys back to Germany for programming when I had a new ignition put in. They said that there is no way to get this done locally: apparently this is a MB security feature.
If you buy a spare key and holder on ebay, you will have a programming headache! Notice that none of the sellers ever guarantees that these keys will work in your car.

 

That's only if you don't have another key already, for example if you lost both keys... if you have one I think you can use it to program the one you just recently purchased via ebay... providing that you have the key blade cut... or replaced from an older key... again I could be wrong, but up until now I thought that is exactly how it works...

I just had a spare key made for a porsche cayenne turbo, and they did the programming here in the states at a local dealership it took about half hour... I wanted to do it myself, but did not find much information and just paid $60 at their rate for them to do it... it did not come preprogrammed nor was it shipped anywhere for programming... I would think that a key configuration on an older benz would be much less complicated than a new porsche... and if the local dealer can do it... in 30 minutes it must not be too hard to do yourself...

 

If you get a new fob off of ebay you will not be able to program it to your car!! I tried everything I did every step in the service manual but these steps in the serv. man. are steps for a key that has been programmed to work with your car and has just lost the connection. I went to 6 different 5 star Chrysler dealers and all of them were dumbfounded they had no clue if it could or couldn't work but they all knew that they could not do it. What I ended up doing is ripping the fobs apart and putting the new plastics on the old guts. My whole dilemma, what happened and pics of the fobs in the link below:

Good Luck!!

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ad.php?t=15221

 

hm... I thought otherwise... thanks for clearing it up for me... I love learning something new about my car... or key for that matter...