Was this a reasonable charge to diagnose/replace ignition coil?

My truck had been running rough again despite having new plugs and wires installed. So, I went to a recommended garage where diagnostics indicated a failing ignition coil. Only one coil was replaced, and it isn’t an OEM Denso unit like the other two.

Diagnostics, installation labor and the part itself ended up costing $400. I haven’t found the exact ignition coil online that was installed, but it doesn’t appear to be an expensive part. In fact, a set of three can be had for ~$130.

Should I be mad that:

1. The job cost $400
2. The other coils weren’t replaced at the same time? They’re all the same age.

I’m trying to determine whether or not I should use this garage again. I’m a little pissed that the other two coils weren’t replaced as well, as they’ll probably start to fail soon too..

 

Seems a little high. The denso part is around $50. I'd think the actual labor to replace it is nearly zero, but let's says it's another $50. That leaves $300 for diagnostics. Seems a bit much, to me.

 

Another thought - how does the truck run? If he fixed and you couldn't find it, it does sort of put you at his mercy. Maybe there's another mechanic who's mercy would be more tolerable, though.

 

All Data is 0.5 labor for one coil, but sometimes All Data can be out of line of what it really should be. However, if that's correct and they do an hour diagnostic charge, somewhere like my work would've been about $230 just in labor so depends on part cost and if they spruced the labor for the coil up a little or they did plugs at the same time.

Matt

 

Sounds pretty steep. Ignition coils are held in with literally one bolt and one wire. It is also super easy to diagnose, check your codes to see if you have a misfire code and on what cylinder. If you do then switch that coil with a coil on another cylinder and see if the misfire code changes cylinders. If you don't have an obd tool you can use a multimeter or an inline spark tester

$14 Lisle 20610 Inline Spark Tester, One Size, Factory

https://www.amazon.com/Lisle-20610-Inline-Spark-Tester/dp/B0002STSC6 to test the spark plugs/coils.

As for the parts:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=2140914&cc=1317633&jsn=379
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=9166644&cc=1317633&jsn=378

So for DIY it could be done for about $70 max (replacing one coil). Either they upcharged you a ton for the parts or they really rounded up on their labor time.

 

Shoot - I replaced mine with napa Echlin ones (about $100 a piece) and they've been on there for the past 2 years without a problem whatsoever.

 

The CEL never came on, and the rough running was kind of sporadic. So maybe the diagnostics charge was reasonable. My reasoning is if one coil was going bad, the other two are probably on their last legs, so why not replace them as well?

It’s times like these I wish I had a second car and a garage. If I did, l’d be more willing to do this stuff myself.

 

You got ripped, dude.

 

Coils are super easy, definitely not worth going to a mechanic for. All you need to be able to do is turn a 10mm wrench lol