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Re: R-12 demand question
CHRISTOPHER BENDER wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I have a question/theory that I have been thinking about, but i have
> no evidence to support or dispute it.
>
> On first thought, since virgin R-12 is no longer being manufactured
> in the US, one might think its price will continue to increase as
> supplies are consumed.
>
> But the theory I was thinking of is, demand may fall faster than
> supply. How? This could happen in two ways: Cars using R-12 are
> taken out of service, or cars are fitted with R-134a conversion kits.
> The cars that need R-12 service are getting older, as a group, each
> year, and as such, they may be taken out of service for a number of
> reasons (accident damage exceeding value of car, major mechanical
> failure). Secondly, consumers may be pushed to buy R-134a kits by
> shady repair shops who use scare tactics like telling them that R-12
> is illegal, or it won't be available in less than a year, or
> something like that.
>
> Does anyone have any ideas on where data about the number of cars and
> ages of cars in service in the USA is, and is anyone monitoring the
> rate of sales of R-134a conversions? Using such data, could anyone
> make an educated guess as to whether my theory might be correct?
>
> Mandatory Audi content: I ask this question as I am contemplating
> changing my Audi (86 4000Q, 100k miles) over to R-134a, or, should I
> feel comfortable in keeping it as R-12, assuming that the entire car
> has at most another ten years of life, before it is no longer
> serviceable?
>
>
> Chris
If your current a/c is pushing out cold air just fine, don't worry about
the conversion. The price of the R-134a conversions are coming down in
price and so, as my mechanic told me, if your unit is working fine,
don't worry about converting until your current unit doesn't perform
anymore, then the price for conversion will be much less.
HTH
--
******************
Rick H. Louie
rxlouie@uswest.com
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