Just in response to the original question, I have a 2001 Fabia and have experienced no reliability problems with the aircon. My previous car (Ford Fiesta) didn't have it and, in common with everybody else who's responded so far, I wouldn't want to be without it now.

I know on the classic shape Impreza's "factory fit" air con was actually fitted by a specialist company once the car reached the UK. I guess you'd have to approach a dealer and see what they said - it's certainly feasible to do' date=' but whether it is cost effective is another matter - it's probably cheaper in the long run to just buy a car which already has it

Chris[/quote']

Same with the CTR, up until last year Air-con was a dealer fit option.

When i bought mine, we asked for the Air con to be taken out and put in a desent ICE system in. They put a full Alpine system which sounds the nuts.

But with weather like this i sometimes wish we hadn`t:mad: .

Air-con is brilliant, particularly in the hot summer weather. Only thing is though, i find it kills my fuel economy.

Get one with air con! Ive had my Fabia over a year and the aircon hasnt given me grief , and its probably one of the oldest Fabias in the country , Built Jan 2000 and registered Feb 2000.

i always said id never use air con because of the MPG's its supposed to use but once this summer weather cam i had it on constantly, it is one of the brst things to ever be put in a car. in weather like this it is essential

Well, It's done! :handshke:

I now own a 2002 BV51 plate Fabia with Aircon.

28,000 on the clock, one owner, full service history, which shows the chap only did on average 6k a year.

Now I need to try and figure out if it's suffering from any of the 'common' problems I see mentioned.

As luck would have it, it pi**ed down all night after I'd bought it and the journey home was heavy rain and spray on the motorway so plenty of water to go around.

The screen did mist up if I had aircon off and the blower set to '2' when it had been chuffing it down for a while, but from the look of it, it was rather dirty. It had been parked up at an angle all night on a grass verge, so I figured if any rain got into the rear footwell, it would be on the 'high' side.

Checked the carpets both sides, front and rear, they all seemed dry, there was water on the beading on the 'high' side, but it didn't appear to have got onto the plastic, (dunno if it seeps under it though). I checked the carpet again after the motoryway journey (80 miles), still dry. (I've had my share of leaky cars and normally, they'd be wet by then so I am hoping that is a good sign).

30 secs with aircon on and the screen cleared right up, so not sure if I'm being over cautious.

As to aircon, no indication of course as to if it has been regassed / serviced and if so when, which is a concern as it seems regassing is an "essential". I did have it on and by the gods, it went bloody cold in the car, so I'm hoping if anything, it just needs a check. Is there any danger to the air con if it hasn't been re-gassed since new?

The car has one or two stone chips, apart from that, immaculate bodywork wise and the engine bay and interior is spotless. Enough light dirt to show it hadn't been steam cleaned by the dealer though. All fluid levels right where they should be.

There is a knocking noise when I go over bumpy roads & speed bumps, (ok on normal roads / motorway, quiet as a mouse). The missus says she thought it was coming from mid-car underneath rather than the rear, so I'm hoping it's just an exhaust mounting rather than any suspension bush or such.

(My old Felcia made all manner of knocks and such, I finally traced that to a worn exhaust mount which, when I replaced it, got rid of nosies I'd been "putting up with" for about a durn year!)

Getting it serviced as soon as I can by my usual mechanic, (Carlton autos - Southport), which will put my mind at ease as I know he'll give it a good going over.

I'm hoping now that I can get as much out of this as the old Felly, (which has done 142K so far).

Any other things to look out for on these cars?

Well, ouch, guess what... needs a new ARB on da front.

So I phoned the place I got it from, they are agreeing to cover the cost when I get it done on Wednesday by my local garage.

I'm wondering about the aircon too, had it on today, never got "cold cold", even with the fan on 2 or 3. Is there some sort of pressure check that the garage can do on it? It seemed ok going down the motorway bringing it home, but now I'm wondering if that was just the fresh air being forced through as well.

If it does need a regas, is there any danger of something else going poop if there is a leak or bad seal or some such? (May be a daft question, but hey, I'm new to this modern car malarkey ).