Air con W124 series

[skinflint]

I presently have a W124 24V saloon with air con. I have owned the car 6 months and the air con works very well.
I am thinking of changing to a 124 coupe. Often with older Mercs you see in the ad that the air con need regassing. Is it usually as simple as that or can it be a lot more complicated. I see from other threads that a re gas is only about £50 or so, but i cant see the point in that if it needs repeating every few months.
Any common known faults and what are the cost implications please?

 

[Bolide]

If the compressor's kicking in then the system has some gas and is probably basically OK. If the compressor's not kicking in then it probably has no gas and needs a new condensor, receiver-dryer and a regas

I normally allow £500 for non-working W124 aircon

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[skinflint]

If the compressor's kicking in then the system has some gas and is probably basically OK. If the compressor's not kicking in then it probably has no gas and needs a new condensor, receiver-dryer and a regas

I normally allow £500 for non-working W124 aircon

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

How do you tell if the compressor is kicking in. Do the revs drop?

 

[BlackC55]

How do you tell if the compressor is kicking in. Do the revs drop?

You can hear it when the a/c is turned on

 

[Bolide]

The outer part of the compressor pulley spins all the time. When the magnetic clutch pulls in, to kick the compressor in, the centre of the pulley spins as well

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk