Kimmy, I remain in your position too!
Despite Germany getting stock in late August only some (earlier I guess) back orders were fulfilled before these went out of stock again. Mat got his - ordered in July I think...you and I weren't so lucky.
We had a ferry booked for a trip to France early Sept so I had to find some form of viable solution (by viable I mean 'official', safe and drivable).
Doing some digging I found there were alternative spring rates fitted to V Class (well, W447.813 chassis at least) and opted to order 2 part no. A4473241204 springs- which are identified by 3 white bands.
For your information, and anyone else who may find themselves in the situation where they have broken springs and need to use the camper....here is my experience. I am not an engineer and can make no technical recommendation.
These 3 white band springs work but aren't ideal. The cost of replacing the springs (around £165 at my local MB specialist - more I guess at a main dealer) may mean its cheap enough to fit these as a temporary solution, though, which is what I did. The springs were around £130 for the pair - but hopefully can be sold used to part recover this.
The result is a slight lowering of the rear. This is because the initial spring rate seems softer than original springs and seems to result in them initially compressing further under the normal load of the MP. The vehicle sits close to engaging the secondary PU assister springs, which worried me a good deal and I was very AC/DC about setting off at all.
We did a test drive fully loaded and this seemed fine so we decided to give it a go. It didn't feel like it was hitting the 'bump stops' or whatever - just harder than I recall previously and perhaps slightly nose up compared to before, but I doubt I would have been aware of this if I wasn't already hyper sensitive to changes.
Overall the result is a harder suspension at the rear...but still very drivable, especially in France where the roads by and large are better than here. We had a great holiday covering 2000+ miles without incident or any real concerns...but I did take it easy and the reduced ground clearance -especially below the spare wheel (not all MP's have these I think) and that slightly nose up attitude was never out of my mind.
What is really frustrating - beyond simply not being able to get the correct part from Mercedes, which is close to ridiculous anyway - is the lack of information on the springs that are fitted by the factory to V Class variants. As I found, some of these springs are in stock and thus alternative options for those of us desperate to get a vehicle back on the road.
Despite running the part nos past my local dealer's parts department (who were trying hard to be helpful) they were only able to confirm that they fitted the V Class but had no info on spring rates which is the critical info that would have helped inform my decision / choice. Because these springs have variable rates - they stiffen as the load increases - its normal to get Nm loadings at specific spring lengths; if this information was published for all springs that fit, then at least an informed assessment of 'best alternative' in the circumstances MB have left us could be made rather than opting blind which, other than an assurance on these being a like for like swap on a used pair I found in Spain (honestly, I was that desperate to find a solution!) is what I effectively had to do.
So to sum up - A4473241204 3 (3 white bars) do indeed fit and work. The MP is lower and slightly nose up with them on, but drivable providing care is taken. I have found that there are different depth top spring 'shims' available that probably fix the ride height. I believe standard is 2mm, but there are 8mm and 20mm variants available I think...again it would be good to know which shim depths were 'officially' paired with which springs.
If there is anyone out there will access to MB parts info that can get hold of the variable spring rates and matching shim depth that might help those of us who find ourselves with broken springs and MB unable to supply the correct replacement. Perhaps the situation with no parts available will sort itself out soon and all this will be a pointless and a distant memory - let hope so!
That said, while looking into all this I did discover that its not just springs that are on back order either, but, worryingly, quite a lot of 'everyday' parts too...and not just for MPs but Mercedes across the board....and its not limited to Mercedes either! Apparently all down to Just In Time supply chains and the knock-on effects of Covid and war in Ukraine.
I hope the above is useful to anyone currently with broken springs and no replacements available.
Kimmy - my fingers are crossed for us both that the springs we have on order arrive soon and we can both get on with enjoying our MPs without all this silly business and problems!
.. Needless to say YouTube videos with a V250 on a lift are not representative of a home mechanic struggling on the driveway with axle stands and a trolley jack..!!