Having done some DIY spraying years ago I would say avoid getting into compressors and spray guns if possible. You can do some decent work with good quality aerosols on smallish parts and your choice of paint is made for you in the colour that is usually a decent match for the vehicle. You can even buy two-pack car paint in aerosols nowadays.

Just an example but there are other suppliers:-...

Mate of mine does property maintenance and buys bangers form £400 to £900. He does zilch to them and when they have a bad mot off they go. He's had if my memory serves, E class estate, Meriva, Jag estate, the present one, his oppo is even better, MX5 for 14 years and again zilch done to it except the MOT, not even changed the oil. If I had £1500 to spend I'd get a car for say £700 and save the rest in case of tyres or exhausts etc needed a going over. Another mate ran 2cvs all his working life, used to buy 2 for very little and used one as spares for the other. Reckoned the engines were unburstable, he floored them all the time, they sounded like a demented swarm of bees.

I think the op is referring to water entry when the ac system is operating , rather than rain water entry .

2 or 3 years ago Ford America announced that it would in future be making only SUVs, given the popularity of that style of car in the US. They love ‘em. So I’m not surprised to learn that the Mondeo is to be discontinued, although that may not be the reason over here. I have a feeling that the Fiesta and Focus are selling too well to discontinue them, but we’ll see.

I do wonder if the craze for SUVs will fizzle out, although there is little sign of that at the moment. I would guess that some new type of vehicle will be invented at some time in the future and then we’ll all go mad for them. I’m starting to ramble a bit with my thoughts now, but maybe the switch to EVs will spawn a completely new type of car which works particularly well in EV form and which nobody had thought of before.