My wife has a bit too attached to my C3, so I am facing driving around in her R reg Almera. Which is fine, it does 35mpg and has a CD stacker, so it does the job.
It does lack aircon though. Call me a wuss, but i really do want aircon. I have a vague recollection that aircon was a dealer fit for certain Japanese cars.
Do i stand any chance of getting Aircon retro-fitted for a reasonable cost? I suspect that the answer is a newer car, but we know where this one has been?
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It looks like we were talking £1000+, and that was four years ago
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=185&m=...e
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Thanks, I was kind of expecting a figure in that ball park, open window it is then!
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Bury wife in shallow grave and take C3 back.
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Aircon costs more than car is worth.
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Air con costs more than wife is worth!!
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A/C is a piece of cake to fit for these. Ask the dealer if they can get a kit, or speak to Barry at Readerair.co.uk. Usually around £500 ish.
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Don't rule out retrofit aircon, 2 years ago I fitted aircon to my 98 Impreza Turbo - the dealer wanted £1100, I found a new Subaru kit from a bankrupt dealer for £400, fitted it myself in a day (plus £70 for oil/gassing) and it worked a treat. A dealer could have fitted it in under 5 hours (having been familiar with the fit) so probably worth making some enquirues in case it is an easy fit like on my Scooby....
Ian
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It might be worth looking round for a similar car, similar age with aircon already fitted (and working of course). The changeover cost of buying another and selling yours could turn out to be cheaper than retro fitting. More hassle though.
The UK must be getting a lot warmer than it used to be when I lived there. Looking at old photos of summer holidays we were usually wearing jerseys and jackets! Aircon was an exotic thing that the Americans had.
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My brother once fitted A/C on a 1983 Cavalier SRi. Even though he did a very good job and got the parts quite cheap it did look like a square peg in a round hole....
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Many Japanese cars can be retrofitted with ease, but the cost may not be worthwhile.
There are also several off the shelf a/c kits for fitting to cars in hot climates that were not designed to have a/c. I once drove a 1986 Fiat Uno with a/c in the Middle East. My, that car was slow!
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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Many Japanese cars can be retrofitted with ease, but the cost may not be worthwhile.
You can buy an off the shelf A/C kit from your local toyota dealer to fit any non A/C Yaris - cost is just over a grand i think.
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Thanks for all the replies and sorry for the delay.
I'm hoping a friend of a friend can sort me out with the aircon. If it's about £500, i may well go for it. If not, open windows!
As regards value, i know that i can sell R reg Almera and buy newer car for a bit more with aircon. However, we have had the Almera for 7 years i.e. most of its life, so we know where it's been and to sell it any decent money i'm going to have to sort the various scrapes etc on the bumpers. Frankly i've got more important things to do. The peace of mind that my wife's got a newish car (the C3) that beeps at her if she doesn't wear a seatbelt and the piece of mind that i've got a reliable cheap car with a decent stereo outweigh replacing it.
Thanks again.
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I have an 02 VW Golf without a/c and would like it - but the only kits I've seen are over £1000. I'd be very glad to hear if a kit is available for under £500 and reasonable fitting cost.
frmarcus
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