Can you retro fit aircon to a boxster?

[stig2082]

Am buying second hand and have found a fantastic Boxster, but it does not have aircon and I often get caught in London traffic which is not going to be much fun on a hot day with no aircon. ( and yes I know I should have the roof down at all times in the sun!)

Is it possible and how much will it cost?

many thanks

Stig

[dazren]

I'm no mechanic but I'm guessing if you want A/C it'll be cheaper to buy a car with it already fitted. If you can do without, use the cost of adding it as a chipping tool when agreeing a price.

DAZ

[dontlift]

I had aircon retro fitted to my Landrover Discovery for £800 by Aircool (who apparently supply land rover and many others)

They did a fantastic job of it.

[HermanTheGerman]

Where is this Boxster Stig ?

I'm only asking cause a friend in your neck of the woods is selling his silver car and he doesn't have air con either. If it's his, I can confirm it's an excellent car.

[diver944]

I'm sure it can be done but it will cost.

I had a quote for £2000 to install aircon to my '89 944 using genuine parts and dash controller so that it would not look aftermarket. Not worth it on a car that's the age of mine, your case may be different.

I do agree it would be simpler to change to a car with aircon already fitted.

[stig2082]

Guys

Thanks for the responses.

(The car - 2.7 - is being sourced from Clapham - should ID it for you if you know)

My problem is that it is a great deal 2001Y 2.7 with only 12000 on the clock and is £3K cheaper than Parker's guide price. It drives nicer than any of the others I have tested and is getting a service next week under warranty so I can ask for any niggles to be attneded to. I would of course prefer air con and agree it would be more sensible to get one with air con in...... but would have to get an older model as I am at the limit of my budget - help!

[HermanTheGerman]

It's not his, his is a W reg.

Go for it, if you can live without the air con yourself. True, it's not as sellable, but that is reflected in the price or if you're really concerned about possible resale value, make him an even lower offer just to see if he bites.

Having said all that, I would personally wait for one with air con. There's so many Boxsters up for sale at any one time, you've got to go for one with at least the essential options.

There you go, no help at all

[Don]

Stig.

Sounds to me like you've convinced yourself its the right car for you....careful now. Why is it so cheap?

One of the reasons could very well be its not a desirable spec (e.g. no aircon). Given that its really up to you...can you do without aircon for a year until you can pay 2-3K (or whatever) to get it fitted.

My S has climate and the full works. Yes it is damn useful on wet, warm humid days. On hot days the roof is off and its irrelevant. We use our Chimaera just as much - and it has no aircon.

So...given the car is OK...just do without aircon...its just not a big enough issue to prevent you from having the car you've set your heart on.

[stig2082]

Thanks Guys,

I guess my major concern is the resale, as I'm sure I can cope without aircon for a while. As the car is 3-4K cheaper than others of same reg and mileage - then I am not losing as I can in turn sell it cheaper in due course. However, have taken your advice and asked him to lower the price - we shall see what happens. On the aftermaret subject have rung around a bit and can't find anyone who can fit aftermarket a/c so may be a mute point.

regards

Stig

[ninemeister]

With so many Boxes on the road and being written off, it should be a cake walk to source most of the bits to do the conversion from a breaker. It's not a DIY job, but I am sure that an interested independent could do the job for around £2k.

[stig2082]

Cheers - good suggestion, will try ringing a couple

thanks

Stig

[NILL]

Has anyone attempted an air-con retro-fit to a 993?

I am learning to live without A/C but it's taken a bit of getting used to. As my 1996 C2 is pretty much everything I ever wanted in life, (right colour, miles, condition, wheels, suspension, interior colour, etc) not having A/C was a minor factor to start with, but I now feel that getting it added from second hand parts has got to be achieveable?!?! Even if it costs a few quid.
Anyone been this route?

[mutt kennelkof]

I bought my 993 in the depths of last winter and being so happy about the condition/price interface overlooked the fact that it did not have a/c. When the warmer weather came, I started to kick myself. I then looked into the possibility of changing the car for one with a/c, but after a while gave up. Seems a/c in these cars is something of a poisoned chalice. You can be lucky and get one with a good system but many perform very poorly. If something goes wrong, half the front of the car has to be dismantled as the condensors etc are all buried away under the front wings and the only way to get to them is to remove the wings.

My 993 is not a daily driver, so if the weather is too extreme, I can use something else. And let's face it, how many days do you really really need a/c in this country.

And do you want to take a perfectly good car to pieces to try and retro fit a/c, because that's what it will involve.

[kamal996]

Boxster without AC-DONT DO IT AT ANY PRICE!

Phone around the trade and try and sell it to them-you will get very very low bids..

Parkers guide is meaningless as well-dont judge that the car is cheap because its below their guide price.

[Spiraldep]

Stig,

I had the same dilemma when purchasing my boxster and eventually found that getting one with A/C factory fitted was the way to go (also a 2001 Y which will probably appear in the for sale section soon). Ironically, you'll love it in the winter too when it keeps the screen from misting far more efficiently than a standard heater will.

SD

[phelix]

People who have had evaporator leaks on 993's have found it to be a very challenging component to replace. The consensus is that the car was built around the evaporator.

There was a query in either 911 and Porsche World or GT about retrofitting AC to a Boxster. Their answer was no. I'm sure it could be done but it's doubtful there's an aftermarket kit and buying all the bits from a scrappie (just think; the components involved go from one end of the car to the other!) and fitting them has got to be a monumental task. Either live without it or find a car that has it.

[johnny senna]

I have climate control in my Boxster S and I couldn't live without it. I am pleased it is there almost every day, only when the hood is down is it of no use. I would only buy that 2.7 car if you are 100% sure you can fit climate for less than 2 grand. It must look like a factory job as well. Dashboards in cars without climate look staggeringly bad. Never mind how nice climate feels......it just looks 5 times better than a car without.

Why not share the exact spec of the car with us? And the price? My mate bought a W reg silver and loaded 2.7 9 months back for 24 grand. I think his car is probably still worth that. It has full leather and sports seats, sound pack, wind deflector, 17" wheels, climate.