Question:
Anyone out there know what it should cost to install air conditioning in
a brand new Honda Civic DX?
Answer:
I used to be a sales manager for Honda and I think I might give
you some useful info:
American Honda shipps all cars WITHOUT air conditioning in Civics.
(Accords and Preludes have it standard, so they get it from the factory.)
To get A/C, the factory sells a "kit" to dealers, who then install the A/C.
All the fittings and attachment points are there, so it only takes
six or seven hours to put it in. (some of the time is charging the system,
which takes a while, especially when empty.
The kit cost is nearly $800 dollars (dealer cost) and labor is
another $200 to $350, depending on prevailing labor rates. Do cost
to install A/C is around $1,000 to $1,150. Dealer profit is on top of that.
Sometimes, dealers will throw in A/C at cost or even below cost to
close the deal, so you may be quoted less if there is a car being negotiated.
I have even heard of dealers pulling A/C units out of wrecked cars
to cut costs. The evaporator unit must be replaced, but the rest of the
components should be fine.
You can go aftermarket (non-factory) but be sure it is a reputable
company and that they use the modern cylindrical-rotary compressors rather
than the cheaper, but far less efficient piston-type compressors. You can
save from $150 to $300 by going aftermarket, but they tend to last fewer
years.
