[Closed] Would you pay the extra for Air con?

100% yes

It's the only thing I wish my t5 had, especially on a cold frosty morning when all I want is to defrost the windscreen and get going and instead I have to warm up a 2.5l lump enough to get a feeble trickle of air out the blower to warm the entire interior of the van.

To summarize if I could add it for a reasonable amount I would have already done so.

How many miles a year will you be doing in it?

£1200? Nope. I used it about twice a year. Rather have the window open.

defrost the windscreen and get going

yes. When i got a t5 it was the omly option i viewed as essential.

I had to use the GFs old car for a business trip a couple of summers ago. southampton to thetford, no air con, on the hottst day of a heatwave. it was truly awful.

Yes, I would. But it depends if the van will be garaged and how far you intend to drive. It will also be noted as a minus if you sell the van, (although prob not £1200 off the price)

Probably 8 to 10k a year. Mostly driving to work on, sat in traffic for 30 to 40 minutes each way.

That 1.2k gets me an extra 7 months warranty, a USB connector, Bluetooth radio. 3 seats, instead of two, although the 3 are smaller.

I hate having to pay for air conditioning in a new car. I comes as standard now on the sort of cars I tend to buy and comes on automatically on some heater/fan settings. Definitely not necessary in the UK is my opinion - FWIW!

Hell yes. I remember having to try and minimise the open windows so you can still hear whilst trying not to sweat to death, I remember getting out of the car with a diagonal sweat mark under the seatbelt.. It's fantastic. Also great on cooler damp days as it dries out the air too. I remember feeling like living shit after knackering myself at a Polaris all weekend. Felt awful, started driving home still felt awful, turned aircon on felt instantly fine! Must've been overheated or something.

I wouldn't buy a vehicle without it

I paid extra for the Professional Pack when buying my Expert. glad I did, that and the handsfree worth it for me.

Yes. I bought a Panda as a run around without it and ended up commuting 110 miles a day in it. Great fun to drive but a sauna when it was parked outside in the summer. I even priced up retrofitting air con.

No. Would be handy for trips to France and cold mornings but not worth much extra to me in the UK. I think people get addicted to it. I don't mind being a bit warm when the weather is warm, in fact I prefer it.

If it's black, yes.

For those folks with a t5 who want a clear screen in the morning it's worth checking if it's got an auxiliary heater fitted, you can get an upgrade from Webasto to either control it on a timer or remote (also applies to lots of cars, particularly larger engined VAG diesels)

There are cars that has no aircon ? 😯 must be hateful things

I think people get addicted to it.

Hah.. I wished for it long before I had it. The aforementioned hot journeys.. I like being able to listen to the radio in the car - open windows pretty much prevent that imo.

I've done long trips in high heat - it was grim. No question.

I wouldn't pay £1200 for A/C, but I wouldn't have a car now without. So if it were me i'd walk away from the deal. Its' not a good deal if its not what you want - it may be £1200 cheaper, but its whatever K you're paying for something you don't really want. Having a sunroof or opening a window in warm weather is a nonsense, it doesn't cool you down and all you get in the car is hot muggy pollution. Also on rainy and wet days when sat in traffic switching to air recirculation to avoid pulling in traffic pollution makes the car steam up, unless you put the A/C on to dry the air out.

In fact these days even basic A/C is not good enough - climate control is the way forward. First world problems eh.

Words of wisdom from wobbiliscott there.

I guess the main problem is paying for something ill use for 6 weeks of the year, but without it life is bloody horrible.

I use mine all the time, not just when it's hot. Even if it's not hot, it can be much more comfortable as the UK is frequently pretty humid. It makes no measurable difference to fuel economy.

I wouldn't buy a vehicle without it

+1

in fact now, many cars come with dual zone climate control as standard and "basic" air con is sometimes seen as, well, a bit, er, basic...

Tough one, drove to Alps summer before last and had to take wife's car last minute - its got Air Con but it's a 1.4 Astra - its fine around town but under powered for hours at 82 or Alpine Climbs and the air con mode it 10 times worse so did without - it wasn't horrible but I mossed it as the temps went up over 25.

Course I spent 25 years without it without dying.

You kids are spoiled. When I werrre a lad...my 1st & 2nd cars were Minis (proper Minis) & the heaters should've been called something else cos they didn't even work. Ever.
FWIW I would never spend 1.2K for something that I really don't need in this country all that often. I mean how often is it even uncomfortably warm in Britain?

I mean how often is it even uncomfortably warm in Britain?

In a car, behind a big piece of glass - often!

If you only use the aircon a few weeks a year, it'll dry out anyway and fail...

Where do you live though, if South Coast, get it. If north of Scotland, I'd save the £1200

Near Peebles i am, so south central Scotland.

I use aircon more often for de-misting windows than I do to keep cool - in fact, when I hit the windscreen button on my climate control, it switches on the aircon

Have you looked the Berlingo van?

Same van as to Partner and I was able to get a really good deal last year. Aircon, SatNav, 3 seats all for just over £9k on the road.

[i]Near Peebles i am, so south central Scotland. [/i]

I wouldn't bother then, save the £1200.

FWIW When I lived in the south I always had it on, now living all of 30 mins from you - never bother.