New car with no ac.. Am I crazy?

As some of you may know, i've had a couple 'what car' threads lately? Long story short, i'm most likely down to two choices..an 09 Accent hatch or an 09 Yaris hatch. I've found I can get a stripped 09 Accent with no radio and ac for $10-$11k. I'm okay with no ac since I rarely use mind now. Am I crazy for buying a new car that has no ac?

You'll take a big hit on resale value. A/C may add $1000 to the price of the car but you will lose at least $500 at resale time as well as find it a very hard car to sell. If the 'perfect' car you found just doesn't have a/c it can usually be dealer installed (Hyundai sold 'kits' to add air when I worked there. Came in a huge box and was pretty common for Accents).

In my '20's I'd drive cars with no air. Now that my job requires me to wear a nice shirt and sometimes a tie, I need that A/C so I don't sweat myself to death in the summer - even in Michigan.

If you're buying new, tell them you want A/C for half of what the option costs and see what they say. Be prepaired to get up and walk out (even if it's to return the next day).

I'd think you're okay. In the couple of years when you're done with the car and sell it, it will be a college or even high school kid car and they dont need A/C. Go to CL and guess how long you'll have the car for and look at the resale value of similarly aged cars. But I live in the frozen tundra of Wisconsin and I rarely use my A/C. (It must take all summer long to get rid of that cabin fever felling... )

Most of the used car ads around here, the air doesn't work anyways. "Air needs recharged" seems to be the buzz words for "Hang on to your wallet if you want air".

My Miata has no AC. I have had it for 15 years that way, but... As noted above, I really can not use the Miata as my daily summer driver because of the need to arrive to work "neat." I also have the need to hold conversations via cell phone in my car during the day. A top down Miata is really no place to hold a civilized cell phone conversation what with the wind noise and all. A car with windows down is not much of a better cell phone conversation.
In summary. If the car you are buying is going to be your only car than I would get the AC.

PUT THE CELL PHONE DOWN!

As stated above, no a/c will make it hard to find a buyer later. It's not worth the savings now unless you only plan on selling the car to your insurance company via the back of a tow truck.

I'll have to look into the idea of getting air installed at the dealer. I'm okay with putting a head unit in myself or at Best Buy. The ac/stereo package is about $1600 tacked onto the base price..

I bought my new truck without air, and certainly don't miss it.

For a car like that, it will make no difference at resale time.

Unless it's an ACR-type cushyness-delete package with some real performance goodies added in, I wouldn't buy a new car without AC.

It seems that modern cars are designed to ventilate through the AC/heat systems, not through the windows. Old cars are a little different - I can drive my Valiant down the road at 70 MPH, driver's window down, with no wind blowing my (thinning) hair. The car has vent windows and footwell air boxes, giving lots of options for airflow. Even so, AC is in the works.

I have only had one car with AC. Don't miss it.

I would say that the depreciation on the Hyundai would make the AC irrelevent on the resale... it will be worthless in 4yrs anyway so you will need to keep it for life to even justify the purchase at all.

The Toyota... I'd do the AC as it will hold its value and make resale easier.

maroon92 wrote: I have only had one car with AC. Don't miss it.

I rarely use mine. 4-65 air con works fine for me (4 windows 65mph)

only times I use the air con in the mustang is HOT HOT HOT auto-x days after I am done my runs. (and then I run the AC and rest on the now-cold leather back seat)

No way in Hades I'd buy a new car without AC, and I live in Michigan. And I do think it'll make a difference in resale, especially if you end up selling the car when it's less than ~10 years old. Older than that, it's a crapshoot whether or not AC will work on a used car, but newer, it damn well should, and not having it is a negative. Many people will simply not buy any car without it, and if yours doesn't have it, they'll find one that does, which limits your market considerably.

One of the symptoms of my automotive ADD is that I'm always thinking of resale value....

I got the dealer to agree to add air for $1000 to my Sidekick if I wanted it within a year. That way, I could put off the money a bit, and still know exactly what I was going to pay for it.

Tom_Spangler wrote: No way in Hades I'd buy a new car without AC, and I live in Michigan. And I do think it'll make a difference in resale, especially if you end up selling the car when it's less than ~10 years old. Older than that, it's a crapshoot whether or not AC will work on a used car, but newer, it damn well should, and not having it is a negative. Many people will simply not buy any car without it, and if yours doesn't have it, they'll find one that does, which limits your market considerably. One of the symptoms of my automotive ADD is that I'm _always_ thinking of resale value....

+1

pinchvalve wrote: I got the dealer to agree to add air for $1000 to my Sidekick if I wanted it within a year. That way, I could put off the money a bit, and still know exactly what I was going to pay for it.

fHope you got that in writing

It's not so much the resale $ it's finding a buyer at all if you're selling it before it's hit complete beater status.

I never look to see if a car does or doesnt have A/C.

Believe it or not... old man wooden bead seat covers work wonders on letting air to your backside... havnt visibly sweated a shirt since.

Interesting choice of cars.

It's going to hit 103 today here. I need TWO A/Cs.

buy a 6 month old demo or something for less money than the newer one & get a/c too.

belteshazzar wrote: buy a 6 month old demo or something for less money than the newer one & get a/c too.

Well, for that matter, I'd probably buy something like a 2-year old Civic before a brand new Yaris or whatever. You'll get a nicer car and someone else will take the majority of the depreciation hit.

No A/C will hurt your depreciation a lot. Like you, I don't use my A/C often (and I live in Phoenix, 111 degrees today!) but finding a buyer who doesn't require A/C is going to seriously restrict your buyer pool. Unless you're going to keep the car for a decade, may as well get the A/C. Remember, use your A/C for ten minutes each month to keep the seals good. [Don't ask me how to do that in the Michigan winters.]

David