Ripped off for a coil pack for a 98 Mk4 Golf?

Zulu

Hi folks,
got an old car recently and dropped it in for a service. Turns out it needs a new coil pack. The mechanic is telling me this will cost 192 euros, but after a quick google I'm seeing coil packs for 30 dollars! Is this a reasonable price, or am I getting fleeced?

Cheers.

Neilw

Fleeced....if it's an individual coilpack for each plug.
They are around 30euro each and a a known problem with vw's, audi's and related cars.

Very simple to replace too, only an electricial connection to disconnect and the coilpack just pulls off the plug, so the rest of 192 euro cant be labour charge.

Neil.

$Leon$

There is no coil pack on a mk4 golf, but there is individual coils on each cylinder which give trouble.

You would def know if one of these were gone - check light on dash and car idles very very roughly, serious shake in engine

Zulu

$Leon$ wrote:

There is no coil pack on a mk4 golf, but there is individual coils on each cylinder which give trouble.

You would def know if one of these were gone - check light on dash and car idles very very roughly, serious shake in engine

folk's thanks for your responses. In fairness the car was idling very rough and at 11K revs there was a definite shake in the engine, so I believe the coil pack needed changing. I'm just wondering how much that would normally cost. (I'm a noob to all this)

thewing

Zulu wrote:

11K revs there was a definite shake in the engine

at 11,000 revs in a golf, i'd want to see a shake!LOL(sorry!)...

Mr.Diagnostic

There is quite a bit of wrong info on the thread. Most, if not all 98 Golf's have coil packs rather than COP (coil on plug) types. It is the COP that are cheap. I cant remember the price of the coil packs but they are quite expensive.

Why not ask for a breakdown of the cost and if you are still not happy price the part for yourself from a dealer or a motor factor.

Neilw

Mr.Diagnostic wrote:

There is quite a bit of wrong info on the thread. Most, if not all 98 Golf's have coil packs rather than COP (coil on plug) types. It is the COP that are cheap. I cant remember the price of the coil packs but they are quite expensive.

Why not ask for a breakdown of the cost and if you are still not happy price the part for yourself from a dealer or a motor factor.

Thats what I said, if they are individual coil packs you have been ripped off....

Zulu

He's telling me that I need an oxygen lymbda sensor and an air mask meter. Any ideas how much these will cost me? I'm getting quote €200 each.

Thanks for your help so far.

FX Meister

You could always ring a VW parts department and see how much they say they are. I know my mechanic always shows me any part that's been replaced and gives me the invoice for any part he's bought.

SouperComputer

Hmmm, coil/coilpacks, 02 AND a MAF (Mass AirFlow is probably what you mean) sensor.

Sounds like he's not sure what the problem is and is throwing parts at it. Common enough with "mechanics" Get a second opinion if you can. 02 should be no more than 100. MAF might be more than that, 125-150.

TBH, you could change them yourself, they are extremely easy to change. Could save yourself quite a bit of money by doing so. Ask him for the codes from the ECU, and post them up here.

What engine is in this car?

The only thing I can think is if the misfire due to the igniton issues are causing raw fuel to be dumped on the 02 and has killed it. Im still on the mechanic is not sure bandwagon though.

Mr.Diagnostic

Lambda probe Air Mass and a Coil Pack, thats a lot of faults for one car.

Elfish

SouperComputer wrote:

Sounds like he's not sure what the problem is and is throwing parts at it. Common enough with "mechanics" Get a second opinion if you can.

The only thing I can think is if the misfire due to the igniton issues are causing raw fuel to be dumped on the 02 and has killed it. Im still on the mechanic is not sure bandwagon though.

I'd be thinking same as Souper here .... mechanic doesn't know what he is doing or trying to bull**** you. Also, I don't think MAF would be damaged even if raw petrol was going out exhaust.

Second opinion!

SouperComputer

Also, I don't think MAF would be damaged even if raw petrol was going out exhaust.

You are correct, it wouldnt. But the 02 could be, not to mention the cat. It takes a good lump of fuel though.

OP like I say, see if you can get the error codes from the mechanic and we can diagnose further,

Elfish

SouperComputer wrote:

You are correct, it wouldnt. But the 02 could be, not to mention the cat. It takes a good lump of fuel though.

Yeah, just kinda mentioned the MAF for benefit of OP .... anyway when you were saying "a good lump of fuel", did you mean that in relation to the O2 sensor or the cat? Or both? Any idea how much a good lump of fuel is?

The reason that I ask is that I thought the cats were v sensitive to unburnt unleaded petrol - and even moreso to unburnt leaded petrol, as in if a very small amount of unburnt leaded/unleaded got onto cat it reduces its efficiency to almost zero? Sorry bout all the q's Souper but would just like to nail this possible wives tale and you seem to know your stuff!

(I'm guessing that it would take a fair lump of petrol to screw an O2 sensor - as in driving on 3 cylinders for 1000 miles or something)

SouperComputer wrote:

OP like I say, see if you can get the error codes from the mechanic and we can diagnose further,

Only way to go, hens teeth and all that though:rolleyes:

SouperComputer

Yeah, just kinda mentioned the MAF for benefit of OP .... anyway when you were saying "a good lump of fuel", did you mean that in relation to the O2 sensor or the cat? Or both? Any idea how much a good lump of fuel is?

Im speaking subjectively from my experience, I couldn't quantify it to be honest. Generally the cats go sooner (from unburnt fuel) than the o2's as the 02's seem to be able to burn it off more.

That said, I think the sensitivity of cats to unburnt fuel is exaggerated. Problem is you never know exactly how much fuel is arriving in there.

Zulu

To be fair to the mechanic, I had a chat with him yesterday. He only replaced the coil pack and gave me the old one.
He ran a diagnistic on the car and it threw out the other two issues. I have the print out and codes, but left them at home. I'll post up here monday when I get back to the house. I got the car cheap, so I was expecting there would be some issues but I was banking on it being less than a grand in total.

Turns out the dealer had disconnected the warning light in the dash to show there was a problem. After chatting to the mechanic I was much happier and the car is running way smoother with a lot more power. (It's a 1.6 petrol) I am however really pissed off by the cowboy dealer.

rebel.ranter

I know the mechanic might be a nice guy but what people here are getting at is the fact that it is highly unlikely that the O2 sensor, MAF & coil pack are all gone at the one time, the car would probably not fire up at all if this were the case! They can all contribute to fuelling problems, the O2 & MAF giving too much or too little fuel/air, the coil pack not burning it effiiciently.
How many miles are on the car?

SouperComputer

Turns out the dealer had disconnected the warning light in the dash to show there was a problem. After chatting to the mechanic I was much happier and the car is running way smoother with a lot more power. (It's a 1.6 petrol) I am however really pissed off by the cowboy dealer.

If the mechanic didnt tell you, next time you test drive a car first turn the ignition on but dont start the car. All the lights (ABS, SRS, Oil Pressure, coolant, check engine etc) should light up. If they dont, then someone may have pulled the bulb.

Then when you start the car, make sure the lights go out, espcially the oil pressure. It should go out after no more than 2 seconds.