SLK 55 AMG Steering wheel buttons

[Mr M]

Bought the car a month ago - it's great. However, it would appear to have sold to me without the manual buttons working on the steering wheel. It's been in for its E service today at a very reputable independant MB dealership. There's also a cracked but not well repaired alloy. I'm one month into the warranty (for what it's worth). The indie has suggested, and I've no reason to believe otherwise, that it needs a new steering wheel - £1383. Does anyone know if this is something that can be fixed without needing a new steering wheel ? I will of course be speaking to the dealer I bought it from.

Colin.

[RussJ]

Can't imagine why you'd need a new wheel and even if you did there are plenty on eBay/eBay.de for a fraction of new price. The buttons are only contact switches, so nothing too complicated there. Perhaps its a configuration issue within the car and you'll need access to STAR diagnostic kit to identify/rectify the problem.
Assuming that the non-operation is a wiring or mechanical problem, I'd consider fitting AMG paddles in place of the buttons.
I did this on my old SLK350 and it was a great success. Paddles are about £130 and you'll need to be handy with a Dremel to open up the mounting holes.
Get yourself over to SLKWorld.com and do a search for "AMG Paddles retrofit". Loads of info and DIY guides (including one by me!.
Russ

[Mr M]

Thanks very much for your help Russell. Yes I did wonder why a whole new wheel and agree that paddles would be better than buttons. As it really should have been sold to me working, hopefully the dealer will sort something out for me along those lines :-). A new wheel at £1330 is ridiculous.