ABzstilo - the route to madness

OK, so 2010 is now well under way and the silver beastie did bloody well in the 'big' weather - there may be more of that, so I won't say it's done yet! - those nice Vredestein Quatrac 3 tyres I bunged on did a grand job and I didn't get stuck in the snow.
Having now tempted fate the next time the snow comes I'll doubtless get stuck
Anyway, I think I've got a bearing on the way out..... there's a nasty noise coming from somewhere on the car which makes that expensive sort of "bearing getting ready to give up the ghost noise" that irritates the hell out of you for weeks
Having been down in darkest Dorset for a week and a bit I was very pleased when the Stilo fired up straight away yesterday - doubly pleased when you consider the car was pretty much buried in snow and ice when I left! A quick run down the road confirmed that the brakes weren't all that happy, that's not really all that surprising bearing in mind the amount of salt and general shite that's under the wheel arches after the roads have been treated.
Those of you south of the border might not be familair with the salt and sand that's used on the roads when there's snow and ice suffice to say there's a hell of a lot of it up here
Unfortunately, the bearing noise that was present before I went away is still there - funny how the mind works, kind of hoped that wouldn't be there when I got back The brakes will ease off with use, but it's annoying none the less as combined with the (assumed) bearing noise you can't help but wonder 'what if' as you're driving along the road.
It'll have to go to Fiat as I can't get it into my local garage before I have to go back up to Inverness, so that'll be another arm and a leg sized bill then
The upside is that most of the bits I need for the mid-life refit (Schumi front bumper and one or two oither bits) are all sat waiting to be sprayed and fitted, I've even decided to get the whole car re-sprayed to get rid of a few scratches and marks. Now all I need is that damn nearside headlamp!
Having said all this is going to be done I've been offered something with a mid-mounted V6 that floats my boat a smidgen - and it's not Italian.
Oh dear, new year? Aye, new problems.