When you are putting your wish list together, you will probably have a couple of accessories in mind that have to be present. Accessories can give benefits in comfort, safety and even financially. However, there are pitfalls for which you have to be on the look out. For example: after market accessories are in most cases not covered by used car warranty plans.

 

Because after market accessories are not always covered by warranty plans, it is important to know which parts are and which are not factory fitted. In this article we distinguish the after market and factory fitted accessories.

 

The accessories that are factory fitted we call factory options, the ones that are mounted in the after market we call local options. Factory options have, unlike locally mounted options, influence on the asking price of a car and are protected by most warranty plans.

Air conditioning

The air con can be divided in two classes, the ones that are temperature controlled and the ones that are not. The temperature controlled air conditioning or climate control can be recognized by the possibility to adjust the temperature in degrees. The climate control than will automatically maintain the desired temperature by heating or cooling.

An air con is in general a highly appreciated accessory and therefore its money worth. Depending on the class of the vehicle, the air con can increase the value by a 1000 to 2.500 pound. If you buy a car with an air con, make sure that it is really there. Certain types of cars are fitted with an on/off switch, even if there is no air con. A small misleading can give the seller extra profit and you a sweaty summer.

In the photo below you see 2 variations of the air con control unit. The upper one is a simple air conditioning with the text A/C on the on/off switch. The system below is a climate control. This one has, in this case, a button with the snow flake symbol. In the display you can clearly see the set temperature.

The switch to activate the air con is in most cases provided with either the AC or snow flake symbol. When you activate the air con, you will be getting cold air out of the blowers within the minute. If this is not the case, the system could have a defect or perhaps the car does not have an air conditioning after all.