Cold as Ice

Mrs C’s car is over ten years old, but the bodywork and interior are in excellent condition. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about it’s mechanics! In the past 18 months we have had to replace two drive shafts (cripplingly expensive), a brake caliper (mildly expensive) and an idler pulley and water pump (started out quite cheap - just the idler pulley - ended up annoyingly expensive when it was found a new water pump was also required).
Anyway, having done that last job back in early March - and got the engine to sound less like a load of bricks in a washing machine - we were looking forward to a year of trouble free motoring. And then lockdown started. The car didn’t move at all for the first three weeks, except to go and fill the tank (not going to miss out on sub £1 per litre fuel, even if you can’t go anywhere!) but eventually we did start to do a few miles in it.
At which point the warm weather highlighted that the aircon had now stopped working!! When the dealership reopened they confirmed the worst - the aircon pump had packed up and needed replacing. The quote for this made the other work look like a bargain. £1200 plus unspecified “extras” (f***ing expensive) seemed a step too far for a ten year old car.
However, a quick search on eBay revealed that recon pumps could be had for under £50 and I was recommended a local guy who could do the work.
So, on the hottest day of the year (over 30 degrees when I took the photo), the work was done and coolness restored. Total cost - £155! To put that into context, BMW wanted £800+ just for the pump - and it’s not even a BMW part!
Mrs C has pointed out that as we’ve “saved” so much money, we can now afford to have a few minor scratches on the car painted. I have long since given up trying to explain how this is not the definition of saving money......
P.S. we actually had to fill the tank as well today - first time in over three months. That’s the sort of money saving I like.