A brief update.... I had the water pump/thermostat housing done last week at a local independent VW specialist, £709 all in. This was followed a few days later by a minor service at my local VW dealership (last service of a 2 year pre-paid deal, will be going to the aformentioned Indi from now on). Anyhow, the car received a complete clean bill of health, all green 'VW traffic lights'. The front/rear discs/pads were noted as having 30% wear which is a little surprising as they've only 3k miles on them since all being replaced a few months ago
With 61K miles now on the clock and turning 9 years old this year, I'll be keeping the car and hoping for a maintenance free year ahead.
On a side note, you have to love motorway driving at this time of year, an early trip up the M23 and around the M25 this morning has left the car looking like it's been in a rally
