To each his own. For a small investment of about an hour and $47/pair for complete tie rods for both sides, you can have some assurance before sending your car to the alignment rack. When shopping for my repair, they wanted $35 just for the one tie rod end I needed, so the extra $12 was a no-brainer.

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280