Tailgate won’t open Mercedes e220 2008

[Marzipans]

The tailgate won’t open can I open it manually?

[Stegel]

There’s a little plastic cover centrally placed on the inside of the tailgate - flip the cover off and you can open the tailgate from there (can’t remember the operation, whether it’s pulled, pushed or whatever).

It’s likely your latch mechanism has failed - common problem. New one is about £250 from MB, although there are refurbed ones on eBay.

[Marzipans]

Thanks, have removed the black cover and accessed the latch. I’ve had these cars since 1987 and the older models had a handle which was much more practical.
Very grateful for your advice.