Since mine is in storage I can not see the routing but one thing I can offer, is that when I drove it in the winter the 1st season, I noticed that from the factory the cord was tucked into the bottom lefthand side of the grill if you face the car. It was a very tight pull/squeeze to get it out, so you can have it sticking out for easy access.

Since mine is black, it was/is easy to see how anything effects the paint.

Here in Canada, most of us like to have the cords exposed to the elements for easy access, but in the factory routing, I would suggest a small piece of rubber cut to fit around the plug part, and or maybe a small piece of 3m on the top of the bumper where the cord contacts the paint.

The was I remember enough cord to dangle it outside like we do on other vehicles, but this would not look right on the benz....

I know this does not help you with the routing, but maybe it can help you with the end of the cord.

The 98 and 97 I believe to be similiar but not certain.