What symptoms is your car exhibiting?

Unless you have been a regular participant in the Paris-Dakar rally it would be hard for me to believe that your car needed such an extensive list of front end parts after 82K miles. I recently went over the front end of a 98 CLK320 with over 215K miles and the only components that showed significant wear were the outer tie rods - which were replaced for $25 per side IIRC.

While I have not had any problems with my ball joints I have heard that ball joints are a problem on the W202 chassis car.

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98 Dodge-Cummins pickup (137K)
13 GLK250 (157k)
06 E320CDI (341K)
16 C300 (89K)
82 300GD Gelaendewagen (54K)

At 70-80 mph, it feels like tires are out of balance. Now -- my tires currently need replacing and, I'm sure, are out of balance. But...when they were newer and confirmed in balance, I still had that "vibration" that I'm describing but to a lesser extent.

I'm going to get new tires, get them balanced, change the steering damper and see where we are. I am going to visually inspect the boots and bushings while I change the damper.

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1994 C280, dark green metallic
105k miles

1991 190E 2.6, Black
191,500 miles
(sold to another forum member)

2003 Chevy Tahoe LT, Redfire Metallic
105k miles

1989 Mustang GT Cobra Convertible
43k miles

I think you have a good plan, I'll offer a couple of additions.

1) When the tires are installed have the wheels checked for lateral and radial run out - Over the years I've found quite a few bent rims and while you can balance a wheel/tire combo on a bent rim it won't produce a smooth vibration free ride. I can't remember the exact specification but IIRC anything more that .015-020 run out is not acceptable.

2) Ask the person that is going to install your tires what kind of balancer he is planning on using - and how he is going to mount the wheel to the balancer. The best solution is dynamic (two-plane) balance that uses a "pin-plate" mount to attach the wheel to the balancer using the lug nuts to apply the mounting force. High-end tire shops will have this equipment and know how to use it. Insist that after the wheel is reported to be "in-balance" by the balancing machine that the operator removes the wheel from the balancer and remounts it 90 degrees from the first location - then re-check the balance. The wheel should stay in-balance when mounted at any position on the balancer - if it doesnt something is wrong.

3) At the risk of staring a flame war about tire brands I've got to say that over the years I've found high-end Michelin tires to require the least amount of weight to balance out - and they seem to stay in balance for a longer period of time compared to other brands. I know they are absurdly expensive but they are all I use on my cars.

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98 Dodge-Cummins pickup (137K)
13 GLK250 (157k)
06 E320CDI (341K)
16 C300 (89K)
82 300GD Gelaendewagen (54K)