When the theory test was introduced in July 96 the pass mark was 26. This was only ever meant to be a temporary mark until the DSA had monitered the success rate. After three months it was raised to 30, where it remains today.

Thanks Trancer, it did the trick.

I was originally going for a C220CDi that was £24,999, but, as I mentioned previously, had sold. I asked the salesman how much it had sold for & he told me £23,000 then asked me how much more I would be prepared to pay for the C270 (which was £26,999). I told him I wanted to pay less (than £23,000) as the insurance, servicing & fuel would be more expensive (in practise, they?re not).
He knocked £2500 off the price over the phone, just to get me to come in ? I gave the deposit at that point, both he & I being clear this was simply to hold the car for me to get there. I got a further £1000 off while I was there.
The things that make me uncertain I got the best possible deal where that he included a phone bracket that costs £130 without whimpering and the price I paid included Mercedes StarShield paint treatment at £299. He told me they all included that ie, I had to have it and couldn?t reduce the price by refusing it. However when I picked the car up he told me 60% of the cars they sell have it.
I think they?d had both cars in stock for a few wks, which may well make a difference. They were both Red, which looks fine, but wouldn?t have been my choice if new. They stood out as almost every other car on the lot was silver.
I also printed out, and took with me, the details of another suitable car that was at a nearby Merc main dealer and suggested that maybe I should go and look at that.

Although I've bought my wife a new car every few years, I found the whole car buying process at this level a real pain, to be honest. I opted out of a company car so was trying to make sensible financial judgements with two problems ? I didn?t have a strong desire for any particular car, and you can never really get a clear idea of how much cars are really going to cost. If I?d realised the level of discount available from MB Direct then I might have bought an E Class.

Re your Q on the Sport Edition ? I?ve really no idea. I do 30,000 miles/yr and wanted comfort - my very personal opinion is that if I?d wanted Sporty, then I?d have looked at BMW. The Sport pack as an option does seem good value ? how much is the Sport Edition model? How its residual will hold up possibly depends on whether it becomes a main stream model (like the ES versions of BMW?s). Even if it doesn?t then it may have some rarity value. Who knows?

Just about any Mondeo problem can be found at www.fordmondeo.org

...The best Mondeo resource on the web.

The major risk with the W210 is corrosion. Make sure that the paintwork is immaculate, either because it is one of the (?)minority that haven't suffered or because it has been redone, in which case insist on evidence of its having been done properly to MB standards. This was a major and extensive problem; no-one was spared, not even the chairman of the MB Club.

The engine has a chain (probably a duplex). There are those who say that any timing chain should be replaced at 100k or so. There are also those who have more faith, and I recently drove a W126 with 370k on the clock and on its original timing chain; the engine was a sweet as a nut. If it's been properly serviced, there shouldn't be a problem, but keep listening, get it checked regularly, and bathe it in fresh oil more frequently than the service schedule suggests.

Thw W210 is a big car, so I'd go for the most powerful engine that your budget allows.

Have you checked out HJ's Car-by-Car Breakdown?