[liuleichan]

>I have a 1993 850 estate GLT 2.5 20 valve automatic, 90,000
>miles.
>We want air conditioning, child seats and a top box. The
>question is should we sell and buy another car or get these
>things fitted.

With fairly expensive things like air con, it's normally always cheaper / more cost-effective to replace your car with a model that has the things you want.

I suppose if you could get the parts (say salvage) fairly cheap, and could do it yourself, it may be a different thing.

>I've got a price of £1050 plus VAT for fitting
>aircon from a firm I phoned from yellow pages.

Personally, I'd steer away from aftermarket air-con, unless you are very committed to this car. And even then, I'd probably only consider implementing the Volvo stuff - normally on fairly modern cars, air con integrates with the ECU.

To be honest, I'd change the car for one with air con, if it were that important to you.

>My garage say
>they don't do fitting child seats.
>
>Some people have said to me its not worth the expense of
>fitting aircon given the age of the car,

Normally true. Unless you are very committed to the car - and even then, looks an imposing task.

>and that aircon not
>fitted at the factory is never as good.

Well I can certainly see the logic in that.

>Any thoughts on
>this?

I'd say the convention wisdom is largely true, unless you are in very special circumstances.

Things like this, or auto-manual (or vice-versa) conversions are normally fraught with problems, expense, and it's generally accepted more more sensible to change your car for one with the features you want.

>How could I find out if seats can be fitted and if so how
>much it would cost? Are they safe? Are they comfortable -
>and for what ages?

What sort of child seats?

What do people like mothercare and halfords say?

>How long do you think I should expect the car to last in good
>shape. We do about 10,000 miles a year - another 5 years?

If maintained well, I can't see any reason. My Volvo is five years newer, but has 50k more miles on the clock than yours, and still feels like a new car to drive.

>Any ideas and experiences appreciated.

To be honest, air con on the early to mid 850s was known to be problematic - for many an expensive thing to maintain. Personally, I wouldn't buy a car without it - but if you've bought the car (how long have you owned it) and had it for some time, is it truly worth the expense (either to have it installed, or change for a car that has it)?

I would have thought the child seat thing shouldn't be too difficult to resolve - the rest will come down to your priorities. If you really want / need these things, my honest advice would be to change cars - and be wary of air con known to be problematic for 850s.

Lei Chan