Dial indicator options?
 

Getting ready to change out the brake pads and rotors on my 2000 C230. Also have a groaning sound from the front right on decelerating L turns and with some play and clunking from the same wheel. So I figure I'll take apart the bearings and replace them if they are bad.

Any recommendations on a decent dial gauge to measure bearing play? Seems like there are a lot of no-name options in the 10-30 dollar range, with some of the cheapest reputable ones starting at $50 and climbing rapidly from there. Plus $20 for the cheapest of the mag bases, seems like a lot for a tool I will probably only ever use once or twice. Should I just get a cheap one or are those to be avoided for this kind of work?

See if you can rent one.Then just get your money back when you're done.

I have a Harbor Freight cheapie. I don't think I'd trust it in aerospace flight-critical maintenance, but it's worked well enough for setting bearing preload on my 123.