Unless something has changed recently, Varta (a Johnson Controls brand) makes batteries for MB.

Anyone in the NY - Westchester - Putnam area.

Interstate has a outlet center, just bought a "blemished" battery for $50 for a 1990 300E.

Here is the skinny on batteries.

Yes, the Quandt family did own Varta. Unfortunately, the sold and divided the company into three. The hearing aid and high tech batteries went to some Swiss company, Johnson Controls bought the Automotive division (and immediately stopped selling German Vartas), and Ray-O-Vac ended up with the consumer batteries.

If you look where replacement Mercedes batteries are made, it usually says USA. This probably means that they are now Interstates.

My 500 SEL's Varta lasted 10 years. Every replacement has had a maximum life of 2 years. I do not think you can get real Vartas in the US anymore.

I did find one other possibility--NorthStar. It is a US made battery that is not cost optimized. No recycled materials and a superior case with brass terminals. I've put one in my Prism, and will try one in the Benz once the latest try to find a battery that the car does not destroy. May finally be a good solution for power-hungry German cars.

In my area, Home Depot carries a Group 49 battery for $119. I don't remember what brand label it has, only bought it a few months ago.

I've heard good reports on the Wal-Mart batteries several years ago, and their prices are also decent but usually they are not in stock at the stores local to me.

Same here- In my area the HD brand is Exide.

At the moment I am running WalMart's MaxxStart or whatever they call it.
It isn't that I believe in WM. It's simply that they have a good warranty and don't give you crap if it fails like Auto Zone does.
For me - in terms of longevity - Deka has been the best.

My recollection is that the one I bought last November was made in Mexico. I'd have to take out my back seat cushion to confirm that.

CarQuest/Autozone carries a Group 49 / H8 battery of AGM type, that has a small "Made in Germany" sticker on the top. Not sure who the corporate owner or real manufacturer is, but the country of origin surprised me.

Well I see nobody has reported they opted for the Die Hard. I have replaced the battery in the wagon this year and I did some DD and decided I'd give it (DieHard Gold) a shot. So far, so good!

I'm going on 6 years on the Mercedes battery in the 240D and its still working great.

That was the knock on them back in the 80s. They never made it up to their warranty and were prorated and replaced with a new one.
The saying we used was you don't buy Die Hards you just rent them for around a dollar per month.