The brief
The E200 had a bouncy, unstable ride over bumps and uneven surfaces, the car feeling less responsive and predictable in turns and quick manoeuvres, with knocking and clunking from the suspension. Those are the signs of worn shock absorbers, and on this one both ends were past it. A shock absorber controls how the spring moves so the body settles after a bump instead of bouncing, working by pushing oil through small valves inside it. When the seals wear and the valving tires, it loses that control, so the body floats and crashes over bumps and the car feels loose through corners because it isn't being kept planted. When all four are tired, the whole car feels unsettled, and worn shocks only get worse, taking the ride, the handling and the braking stability down with them.
The diagnosis
On the lift the shocks were checked, and bouncing each corner by hand confirmed all four had lost their rebound damping past spec, the fronts and the rears, with one no better than another. When they're all tired together you do the lot, shocks work as a pair across each axle and a mix of fresh and worn leaves the car behaving unevenly, so it was the full set, front and rear.
The work
All four shock absorbers came off, and a full set of genuine Mercedes-spec shocks went on, the mounts torqued to the manual figures, fresh top mounts where the originals were worn. A road test confirmed the bouncing was gone, the ride had settled, and the car stayed planted through corners and under braking.
The outcome
No bounce over bumps, a settled, composed ride, and the car planted through corners and braking. The E200 went home with the suspension back to how it should ride. Shocks wear together and they take the car's composure, handling and braking stability down with them, so a fresh full set brought the whole car back to spec.