Cars.com

Dear Tom and Ray:

I am considering a new Honda Civic. I need air conditioning, and I'm wondering if factory-installed air works better than a/c installed at the dealer. -- Kelly

Ray: Almost all cars are set up for factory air conditioning these days. That means the ducts and the wiring are put in there at the factory when the seats and steering wheel go in.

Tom: If you decide later on that you want a/c, you can simply order a kit from the manufacturer which contains the compressor, the condenser and everything else you need. And that stuff can be installed later on. But it's a fairly time-consuming job.

Ray: So if I could get it either way, I'd get factory-installed, because there's a little less chance of an error being made in installation -- or of anyone breaking anything else by accident.

Tom: But if there's a car on the lot that you're in love with, and it doesn't have air, I'd have no qualms about letting the dealer install the kit. It's pretty hard to screw up with all the factory prep. Put it this way, Kelly, even my brother could do it. Now doesn't that put your mind at ease?

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How can you tell if a used car is in good condition -- or even OK, for that matter? Find out by ordering Tom and Ray's pamphlet "How to Buy a Great Used Car: Things That Detroit and Tokyo Don't Want You to Know." Send $3 and a stamped (55 cents), self-addressed, No. 10 envelope to Used Car, PO Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.

© 1996 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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