I've had repeated trouble with the A/C on my year 2000 Astra 1.6 Club. This isn't a request for help, more to see if anyone else has had the same experience.
I bought the car in early 2002. I rarely used the A/C; only during hot spells and for demisting purposes when it was wet or cold. I would run it for 10 minutes or so every month otherwise, as I'd heard that that was what one should do. It was fine that way. Then I decided to have the A/C serviced in 2007, when it was regassed (even though it seemed to be working OK; I just thought it was overdue a service).
I used it the same way as before, but after about 7 months I noticed that the A/C wasn't producing cooled air, and in fact the compressor would cut out after about 10 or 20 seconds. Took it back to the dealer who regassed it, though they said they couldn't find a leak. The very same thing happened early this year, and I took it in about 2 weeks ago. They checked and found that it contained 145 grams(?) of gas when it should contain 700. They ran a leak test but could find no fault (so what had happened to the gas??). They regassed it, and recommended that I run the A/C for 10 minutes or so at least once a week. Although initially sceptical about this, I decided that I'd try to follow the advice this time. After all, I don't want yet another 70 quid regassing bill next year.
I do wonder if I'd not had it serviced in 2007 whether it would still be OK (a la "if it ain't broke don't fix it")...