J.R.

Its Bangers & Cash not Bangers & Pants 😀 Mind you one of that name sounds like it would be entertaining!

Keep it, it sounds like nothing else will fit the bill and an unknown vehicle will likely incur as much if not more cost then the water pump replacement, they are getting more complicated, less reliable and more expensive to repair, you probably have the sweet spot with your current vehicle especially as it is petrol.

I moved from a MK2 to a Yeti, with the exception of the obviously reduced boot capacity I have no regrets, its very familiar being the same platform but surprisingly to me its a much better drive, better handling despite the height and an equal if not better ride. The towing performance and dynamics are streets ahead. I like the driving position and rear seat passengers like being sat a little higher than the front seat occupants. If you can work around the restricted volume I would say give it a thought, my way is to have made a variofloor and remove the rear seats only refitting them when I have passengers, I also made under seat storage boxes that clip very simply to the seat frame and move back and forewards with the seats, there is a surprising wasted volume there and they are hidden from view so quite secure.

"Problem is water as always".............. After having seen how the battery case integrity is tested (internal low pressure test) and how the "umbrella" vent seals work - letting air in from outside (or water if submerged) when internal pressure less than outside. Also the cack in them from a vehicle that has never been submerged, cack from the mud and moisture built up; does anyone still maintain their view that these vehicles should be capable of wading and if water gets in then there was a fault with that vehicle? Thanks for posting the video. @Rooted Removal and inspection of the "umbrella" vents on the failed battery costing £17K to replace will show instantly and definitively that the casing had been submerged, I suspect you wont hear any more from the hapless self publicist.

Start with the simple and obvious first. You have the function switched off on the rotary controller for the mirror positions?

I don't need to, I understand the first law of thermodynamics.

Yeah right! Manufacturers fitting tyres that can not be used all year round 🙄 Show me one manufacturer that refers to any of their tyres as "Summer Tyres", there is no such animal, it's just a phrase coined by people with an interest in selling winter or all season tyres and taken up by so many on the internet that it is accepted by many as fact.

The older ac clutching on and off to maintain the desired temperature only uses as much energy as is needed albeit not so efficiently. The first ever car I had with AC was a Sierra, eventually it stopped cooling so I had it topped up by a Fred in a Shed, when he had done his stuff the AC compressor was cycling 'clutching) in and out and I said "thats not right, it has never done that before" to which he replied it is supposed to but when the refrigerant is low it has to work all the time to not even achieve the desired cooling. The cooling and MPG improved significantly after the recharge. A lot of fuel gets wasted before you realise the AC needs the refrigerant topping up, I now have my own equipment and gas cylinder so have been checking and topping up as required as routine maintenance.

I have not watched the video but know that cannot be true, when you use AC for heating it first chills the incoming ambient air to close to zero°c to dehumidify it then uses the engine heat through the heater matrix to heat it up again to the desired temperature. It will be using at a minimum twice the energy (hence fuel) than heating alone without AC.

Clamp off the flexible pipe to the rear crossmember.

It could be a leak from the clutch, have a look around the the master and slave cylinders if the latter is the external one, or at the weep hole under the bellhousing if the concentric one. If its the clutch and not brakes then you can probably live with it for the journey home with topping up when necessary, if its a motorway journey then the level will not fall.

You would like me then 😄 Thanks for the explanation, I believe that I get your man maths now so retract my hope that it has a lot of depreciation, if I've understood it correctly you are paying £350 a month (bargain!) and if the residual hold up you would get £10.3k back (or more, or less) making the effective payments £125 per month. Either way its a bargain and a great motoring swansong, you had written the £3K off years ago so wont feel hard done by at the end if you come away with nothing as I'm guessing you will not lease the next car, if you get £10K or more then well done you for your shrewdness how ever long ago you started the journey. I have no doubt the Jaguar will become a future classic but usually, sadly, they first have to go through a worthless and unwanted phase to thin the numbers out making them doubly sought after when they do become recognised. Maybe this is the one to buy at the end of the period and lock away for a future pension?

Re the photograph of the stunning interior looking across the centre console. Why is there not a huge plastic tea tray LED screen sticking up? Surely they are not allowed to build cars without one! 😄 If Jaguar can achieve it why cant all the other muppets?

Can you explain that in terms a simpleton like me can understand, I think that I am missing something. I think you are saying that when you hand over the M3 it will have cost you £350 a month overall, where does the £125 a month come from or was that the overall cost of the Peugeot? You did say 2 versions of the M3 payments.

I realised it was an inner tube and that you had even gone to the trouble of finding the thinnest, I did not have time to look at the photos in detail this morning as it was just before I left to meet the running group and I was in a hurry, unlike the internet connection downloading the photos. Your description was very good though and painted its own picture! Nice work, very satisfying 👍 I am treading a similar path on my actual house roof using similar lateral thinking, I have managed after a few failures that made things worse to resolve some chimney leaks (4 chimneys) that have been present for 60 years, now I am replacing roof timbers (rafters and purlins) from inside which was a similarl creative challenge. Necessity is the mother of invention!

Me too! @Breezy_Pete

Spot on, my father bought one of the very first 900cc Polos new in 1978 for his retirement and I always maintained it for him, after my Bimbo stepmother convinced (nagged) him to PX it for a Metro 😒 (I know, I know!) he soon realised the error and got the later Polo but the boot backed version which they held onto till his death. When I fell from high to skid row I bought a real Schnorrer of a 78 Polo like my fathers for £75, it had been abused and neglected every day of its life, been to the moon and back yet the engine was still like a sewing machine.

Would the inner tube flashing get sucked out while driving with the roof open? Not insurmountable for a man with your fault finding logic and ingenuity but something to consider.

A man after my own heart 👍

She would probably appreciate the simplicity, reliability and relative finesse of a first generation Felicia.

Yeah but you wont get black lips and a foul aftertaste with the new one!

I dont think we should rule out that it hadn't been converted to diesel, nitrous oxide and simian semen with the DVLA not being notified.

My choice would be too leave her where she is happy. I don't see much that is desirable in all the features that you quote.

Not true on anything VAG for the last 15 years or so, when the AC is turned off (using the ECON setting on Climatronic) the pump still runs and circulates some refrigerant. At this time of year the power consumed by the AC is negligible but when it was 40°c here for weeks on end it really knocked my fuel economy.

As Mike says, gentle fore and aft pressure with penetrating oil. You could try tapping judiciously around it with a hammer and drift or an air hammer to shake the rust loose, once you get some movement no matter how small the you have reached the turning point where the war is won but a lot more battling remains.