In my 94 e420, the hinged cover for the arm rest is broken. I cannot open the armrest without the top coming off. I can "close" it, but as soon as it gets a lateral bump from me or a passenger, it pops off (insolent arm rest..) and i have to sort of push it down again. I cannot put the armrest up either, as the top comes off. There's 2 little strap things (great tech description, eh?) inside..hinges? and one is broken.

When I bought the car, the dealer informed me that the part was $700! say what? interestingly (?) I was looking at another e420 at the time and it had the same problem..that dealer told me the repair was $1200. He did have a bad suit on; I suppose he needed the money.

What do i need to do to fix this? a new top for the arm rest? a whole new arm rest? an E 500? (hope so...well you see dear, I had to get the 500 as no one could fix the arm rest..)

also..I need a book on this car..is the Haynes the best one? i know about the cd, but I'd like a good simple book to start with, as to not clutter forum bandwidth with questions about broken armrests and repair manuals.
jp

Don't know if there is one for your car but, they are all on CD Rom now. Call 1-800 number for Mercedes Benz from your manual. 1-800-For-Merc. I don't remember the number.

Regarding your hinge problem. What the dealer is trying to convey to you is that they only sell the whole assembly not, just the hinge. Go to local hardware store and try to get something that will fit that. You might have to fabricate something but, it is better than $700. Did you try some MB parts stores? Try clicking above at PartsOnline and see if they have it first or can suggest something.