I heard a rumor there was a guy who could make keys from the vin#
Mine is the one button flip key.
Anyone know of this?

The metal key can be duplicated, early 210s came with a couple of spares in addition to the "switchblade" IR remote. The dealer can get a metal key for you for about the same price a locksmith will charge to get the proper blank and cut the key but may not be able to work with the VIN only, may have to have key in hand.

The IR remote is a separate matter; my car's first owner had to replace one and it was a couple hundred dollars 15 years ago. There's also the question of the encoder ring around the ignition switch, which later 1996 210s have but early ones (like mine) lack. If your car has the encoder ring, the key must have a matching transponder or it won't be recognized. (I may not be using quite the right words since my car lacks this "feature" and I never learned much about it.) The encoder has to be programmed by the dealer, or so I have heard.

Jeremy

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

When I checked last fall it was $225 for a new one.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

My car's first owner paid $156 in 2001 so I suppose $225 in 2013 isn't bad at all. The real cost is likely to be the dealer's work on the magic decoder ring.

__________________

"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970