I'm considering buying a R reg 306 and I have a few queries. The first one is regarging air con, I had built my hopes up about getting air conditioning in my new car! The one I am looking at doesn't have it, for those of you of that have air conditioning do you believe it makes a huge difference? Secondly if I really wanted to splash out could I have it installed and how much would it cost to do so if I could? Thirdly, instead of air con the 306 has a sunroof, the dealer told me that the sun roof only tilts and to get a full "hole" then you have to physically take it off. Is that so? Also is it electric or manual? I think that is all for now. Thanks for any help people would be able to offer.
Jon
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Personally speaking, once you have had aircon you won't want a car without. Not only the obvious benefits in hot weather but in wet or cold weather the demisting effect is incredible.
Andrew
Simplicate and add lightness!
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Thats not really what I wanted to hear because the car I am getting has not got it!! Oh well, I'll have to wait until the next car to experience it!!
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We've a 306 (1995 1.4) and it's a great car. Would buy another any day, if we needed to.
We don't have air con, so can't tell you how effective it is, and don't have a sunroof, so can't help there either. Both would be nice-to-haves, but we get on fine without.
I'd recommend testing the air con on your particular car, as others have posted here before that it can fade with age & lack of use.
Good luck!
Ben.
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novicejon: my personal view is this. Buy the best car you can afford with your budget. Forget the looks and the sunroof. Air-con, or even better, auto-climate-control is a must; and is useful all through the year.
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Can I ask what draws you to the 306. I've a '98R LD, and I've not been very impressed with the car at all. There're alot of links on this site regarding 306's, and in my opinion I wish I'd kept my 205 diesel.
Concerning air con, I think on a 306 it'll only lead to expensive repair bills.
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The 306, hmm, I was looking at the Audi A3 but it was too expensive and the focus was too popular, I didn't really look at any others. I think it is a good looking car and I have heard that it is very nice to drive. Parkers also put it second in its class for quite a while. I just like it really!! Not a great answer but all I can come up with!
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I have aircon and would NEVER go back to a car without one. It makes a huge difference to the comfort level and I really wouldn't go out in this sort of heat without it. Don't know about the 306 specifically, but I think it will become increasingly difficult to sell a car without it.
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nj - aircon: difference to what? Comfort, yes, especially in weather like now; fuel consumption, yes, but not much to a diesel; running cost, yes, if you intend to have it serviced as you are meant to. To have it retro-fitted will probably cost more than it is worth.
Sunroof: On a R-plate car I think air-con was standard on most models except the 1.4, but you could specify sunroof instead at no charge. That roof would pop up and then slide back, whether manual or electric. I would be very surprised if the car has one of the old-style pop-ups fitted by back-street fitters.
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Jon - it's only a personal opinion, but
both Mr H and I have air con in our cars. He loves it, and uses it a lot. I only like it in two circumstances - which are: when the car has been parked in the sun all day and is like an oven to get into, OR, when you're in a stationary traffic jam, in heat like we've been having.
At all other times, both of my daughters (15 and 19 - bar about 4 weeks) and myself, much prefer to have all the windows down, and our sun roof open. It leads to "discussions" sometimes ;)
If you think about it - you could always *try* to park in the shade and us a sun shade, and, the annual time that we spend sweltering in this country is quite minimal really.
If I was on a fixed budget, I'd think seriously about the more facilities I had on my car - the more you have, the more there is to maintain/fix.
A sun roof's always nice though.
"Appearances can be Deceptive"
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Hootie,
aircon is very much use it or lose it - if you don't use the aircon on a regular basis, the seals in the compressor will perish and your refridgerant will leak out.
This means that when you do want aircon, it won't be there and it will cost to put it right.
Aircon helps to clear misted up windows in winter and it doesn't affect the fuel consumption (about 5-10% extra).
When you go to sell - any serious buyer will check everything this is working - if the aircon isn't working, would you buy?
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I had a 306 Dturbo with a/c and have gone to a Honda without. Am seriously considering having it retro-fitted by the dealer as I really miss it. We are driving to the South of France again this summer and having done it many times before, once with a/c and several times without, I can say that it is MUCH more bearable with a/c.
I found the 306 a/c very effective at cooling the car down, but not much good at heating it up when the engine was cold. Hence it was little good for clearing a frosted windscreen as some seem to be.
On the subject of the 306 itself, I had very few problems with mine, althouth it only ever returned about 40mpg. I was disappointed with this as the diesel slowed it down to 12s 0-60 and services were required every 6k miles. I actually think that with stupid front tyre wear as well, diesel was a false economy.
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hootie: once you try automatic climate control, you will never want to be without it - summer or winter! (in my car, you can accurately set and maintain the temperature for drivers and passengers independently.)
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