Yep, a leak I put a 10 oz can in last July 3, and the system worked fine all the rest of that summer. That time the A/C was just low, not "too low" and it was still cooling, just not as much as it should. The additional (without gauge) refrigerant brought the delta Temp up to specs. The trouble shooting of no clutch engagement led me to just add another 10 oz can to see what happens. The engine was running with the A/C switch "on" and it took only 10 seconds of the fill (these cans can take up to 10 minutes to empty on a nearly full system) for the clutch to engage and about 3 or 4 minutes to empty the can. I'll let it run this way for a few days and see what happens (it is cool here in NJ right now - in low 40s this morning). If it holds for a week I'll just top off using a guage and some anti leak. If I can get the car through the hot weather of 2013 for under $50 invested, I'll take it and worry abvut next summer if the car and I are both still around. Both of "us" are Senior Citizens. Up to 2009 I had always taken my purchased new cars to a shop to have the A/C serviced. I have kept all cars purchased new for at least 10 years, the 2004 is obviously coming up on 10 years - so new car is on the possible solution list. A 1999 Mazda was my first time adding refrigerant myself, it worked out fine there too - also just added a can to increase cooling, and it worked. I traded that car in before much of a test on the pump-up, but I did keep that car through that summer that I added the refrigerant.

cool

The deed is done, almost. I committed to a different Land Rover. I left a deposit check to be replaced with a cashier's check on Monday after I check out the insurance details, etc. Probably not the wisest purchase I'll ever make but Alice is over the moon. While not a perfect human being she is highly responsible and actually I consider a better, more focused driver than I am. I need to commute and be gone at least one night a week, she needs to get to school and to the barn to ride and potentially to a part time to buy her own gas. There is no bus service to the barn and what exists here is spotty. Her father no longer has a reliable car and isn't in a position to get one right now. Her friends with cars are flaky about rides. She has driven SUVs belonging to friends. So is no stranger to the handling. The visibility is great. It has been well-maintained. And the tires are brand new. Being able to keep her dream car, as she knows it is conditional, will motivate her to keep doing the right thing. I will replace my vintage Volvo, which I love but is quite elderly, with a slightly less vintage Volvo in a few months. There seems to be a lot of them out there to choose from in my price range. I told if I have a date (not likely!) I get to borrow her car! Here is a link that might be useful: Da car.

I will say that in the "which is better, Honda or Toyota" question, they are both pretty much equivalent. I have a 2001 Honda Accord with 105k miles on it that was NOT maintained by my husband (when he was the one primarily driving the car). I made sure that the major services were done every 15k miles but he never did intermediate oil changes. Even being abused such as it was, I STILL get 30mpg highway and even though I do have to throw a quart of oil in between oil changes and have never had a non-wear related problem with it. Ever. I would guess that if it were property maintained I would not even have to throw in the oil every 1500 miles. Toyotas are similar and honestly I would be extremely comfortable recommending either one to anyone. The whole discussion reminds me a little bit of those bumper stickers I'd used to see along the lines of "I'd rather push a chevy than drive a ford" etc. I know people have extreme brand loyalty sometimes but they are both very very very good and reliable cars (I would also add nissan and mazda to the list btw, they might be a tiny bit less reliable over a large sample set than honda and toyota but they are still very very reliable cars). I have also heard that Hyundai of the last few years is what Honda was when it first came out... extremely reliable and extremely economical with a lot of bang for the buck. Honda is still extremely reliable but you will pay for it (both new and in higher retained resale value, same with Toyota). All that said, my BIL is in the used car business and has lots of friends in the new car business too. I will probably never drive a new car again because of it - he just has access to too many resources and no matter what kind of a deal I have been able to track down for new, he has always been able to blow it away with used. But even without someone like him as a resource, he does have a few "tricks" that have yielded very good results. He does buy most of his cars privately and through auction but there are times when he will go to a dealer to purchase a car also... usually when he is trying to track something specific down for a family member. Here are the things I have picked up over the years. 1) get the carfax report. Make sure the car has clear title and few owners (1-2 depending on age of the car.. if a car has changed hands many times it is usually an indication of annoying problems). Many carfax reports will list the dates of services performed if they were performed at the dealer... although I have seen many that don't show anything about service either. If it's not reported it doesn't mean it wasn't done but if it IS reported, it's great for peace of mind. It will also list any open recall items and remaining manufacturer warranty. He doesn't buy anything without checking the carfax. The other thing it will tell you is the date of all of the title transfers, including the transfer to the dealer - so you can see how long the dealer has had it. If it's over 90 days chances are good they will be willing to deal... they don't like holding cars much longer and will likely be putting it in the auction soon to get rid of it, where they will have to pay to insert it and will probably not get all that much over trade in value... why not save them the hassle by buying it (then they will at least be able to get doc fees off of you too)? If a car has been sitting at the dealer for a while you can really go for the jugular in dealing price and maybe get it for $500-1000 over dealer trade in values. 2) Don't go to a toyota dealer if you want a used toyota. You will pay the highest prices there and really they will be trying to convince you to just buy new anyway. I've been looking to replace my accord, maybe with a subaru and you would not believe the crappy junk they had there at ridiculous prices and for everything i looked at he just kept telling me how much better a deal the new cars would be (although agreed that things are weird because of the japan situation, they can't get subarus either). The BEST place to buy a used car, especially in the "average person price range" is, believe it or not, at a luxury car dealer. People trade in their newish mid priced cars (hondas, toyotas, hyundais etc) all the time for upper end cars when basically they realize that their car that was reviewed as being the poor man's bmw is still a poor substitution for an actual luxury car. Luxury car dealers take them in as trades to make the sale obviously, but they are not really in the business of selling used hondas and toyotas... it seems to be easier to get a deal there because they just want to get rid of the things. Even better if they are holding the car upward of 90 days. The other nice thing about buying from dealers like that is that their detail shop does not discriminate based on the type of car... if you want a used car that has been put as close back to new condition as possible, the luxury car dealers are the place to go. We bought a 2008 hyundai santa fe from an import dealer (they deal in bms, mercedes, aston martin, rolls royce etc) and the thing was immaculate (both mechanically and cosmetically) and because they had been holding it for 90 days we got it for pretty much $500 over what they paid for it (including the mechanical work they did like new brake rotors and tires etc). Now my BIL bargains like no one's business but I would think that if you say "i see on the car fax that you have had this car for a while, what's the best you can do on it?" that you will find them ready to deal. 3) Don't forget the "hidden costs" of buying a used car... like the replacement of wear items (like tires, you can easily spend $1k on new tires) or major services that may be soon required. It will be less expensive to buy a car at say 105k miles that has had the timing belt and water pump changed (for cars that require that) than a car with 95k miles that will require it very very soon. That only really applies for older used cars and I think the OP is talking newer cars but I figured I'd throw that in for completeness. Anyway, good luck! I am looking to trade up my accord a little bit too (tired of driving manual, tired of burning oil) so I'm back on the hunt myself (and want to pay cash as well).