Like rrodz indicated, there is a federal law which states that the manufacturer of an automobile make available for 10 years all replacement parts. I do not understand how Mercedes can get around this law either by making the old fuel filter available or offering to update the old fuel filter at no cost to the owner, no matter if you are the original owner or not.

If Mercedes does not make this part available, you would think the original manufacturer of the part would still crank out enough of these to satisfy the replacement market and market them through aftermarket parts suppliers.