The open/close spring mech on mine had gone so it didn't do anything and was essentially propped up with foam inserts underneath the lid.
I'm no defeatist, having previously stripped and rebuilt a couple of Renaults and done extensive engine work on my Volvo on my drive, but in terms of cost/benefit I'd have to say that unless you are hell bent on perfection and a concours level car, bugger doing this................
Even once all consoles are removed(don't even ask about the lid on the armrest storage area), there are two torx screws which are entirely inaccessible unless a particular piece of trim is removed. A piece not listed or detailed in any guide or manual. As far as I can tell MB never intended for this to be removed once installed, so I have no idea how the breaker removed my replacement console without wrecking something, believe me I spent hours trying various approaches.
In the end I broke the existing unit to access the screws, then drilled out and rethreaded the mounts (plastic) so I could tighten them from below rather than above, without further damage when installing the new unit.
It is a complex job, happy to post links to guides I used but they don't cover everything. Could try to advise on the aspects that aren't mentioned if you're hell bent on it....... but having done it, I'd rather talk it through than type it out!
Taking out the head unit, centre and rear console is a pig of a job for a 30 quid item. I don't doubt that buying a complete console, as MB supply them and having it fitted would be 1k and I'd happily have paid it in hindsight.
