how much should it cost to change your car's ignition coil?

[Pyramix]

i have a feeling i got jacked today......but i didn't have any choice. my car just stopped while i was driving to work this morning. had it towed to the nearest garage.

they charged me $50 for diagnosis, $100 for the ignition coil and $100 for labor. total = $270.

EDIT: It's a 92 toyota camry

EDIT2: So, the question now is, what can I do about it?

 

[notfred]

Gotta love when people ask about thier cars but don't bother to mention what kinda car it is.

 

[freakflag]

I don't care what kinda car it is. If it's not a ferrari or a Benz, you got jacked.

 

[Marshallj]

Originally posted by: Tyler
Gotta love when people ask about thier cars but don't bother to mention what kinda car it is.

Hey, you look like a doctor- I have a medical problem what should I do?


I'm joking.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Tyler
Gotta love when people ask about thier cars but don't bother to mention what kinda car it is.

Yeah, was going to ask..

If it's just the old style round ignition coil like this one, then 100$ is way too much. I used to buy them for 5$ used

 

[Pyramix]

it's a 92 camry

so, i got jacked, didn't expect anything better from precision tune

still, how much do you think i got jacked by? i.e., how much should i have paid (considering it's a brand new ignition coil, and not a $5 one)?

 

[notfred]

Well, autozone's website lists 2 different ignition coils for a 92 camry (4 cyl) at $39 and $43, but it seems they only have the $39 one in stock, so had you gone to the auto parts store and boguht it yourself, it would have been $39.

 

[weirdichi]

I had a 91 Integra and the coil online was about $80 and my friend did it for me.. but it looked easy enough to do.

 

[NutBucket]

The diagnostic charge is a shaft everytime. Any decent shop will apply that diagnostic fee to your bill if you have the repair performed. That said, looks like you were charged for an hour of labor which is a shaft. The coil for my Accord is about $100 and takes maybe 15 minutes to change. No, they aren't available aftermarket.

 

[V00DOO]

You didn't get jacked. You got Fu#@ed. Shouldn't cost not more that an hour labor plus parts. You should file a complaint with BBB.

 

[everman]

Wow they really made a killing on that. $100 for labor?! :disgust:

 

[911paramedic]

From the Hot Deals forum.

 

[Barnaby W. Füi]

Originally posted by: 911paramedic
From the Hot Deals forum.

 

[Pyramix]

okay, so now the next question: what can i do about it?

thanks for the BBB suggestion, voodoo, but the BBB site says that they don't handle such compaints:

Complaints the BBB Doesn't Handle

The BBB does not handle complaints about the following:

Employment Practices.
Discrimination.
The Prices Charged for Goods or Services (unless they involve misrepresentation.)

i am going to go there tomorrow, and request that they remove the diagnostic charge. if they don't, i am going to tell them to the face what i have found from you guys. how much it should have cost and such. probably throw a tantrum and let them know that i am going to file a complaint and do something about it (although at this point i don't know whom to complain to or what i can do about it). i am not a confrontational guy, so this'll be interesting.......

 

[Pyramix]

any suggestions?

 

[WhiteKnight77]

Diagnostic charges are taken out of the bill depending on the shop. If I spend 2 or 3 hours chasing down a problem with or without a cod (a code makes it a bit easier to see which area to look in), you are gonna pay me my diagnostic time along with the half hour needed to change the TPS (throttle postion sensor) because of lack of throttle response and hesitation.

With more and more computers showing up in cars (a 2001 Caddy has 22 onboard computers,) out of work computer technicians should look to the automotive field. Most drivability problems are found there nowadays.

Depending on what kind of coil(s) are on your car sets the price. DIS style coils on a 2.5L chevy or even a 2.0/2.2 (they are mounted on the backside of the block just over the transmission) are not cheap or easy to get to. A Mitsubishi DIS type coil is mounted in the plenum/intake area on a Hyundai.