Think a garage may have damaged my ignition coils during a service...

howler

Hi guys, hope I'm posting in the right forum...

Brought my car (VW 04 Golf 1.3L petrol) to a local garage for a service and timing belt change...paid them, picked it up and drove it the 400m or so home and I noticed the it was shuddering irregularly on tickover, which it was not doing before the service.

I rang them up the following morning and flagged the issue, they asked me to drop it back in...they kept it for most of the day, then rang up and acknowledged the issue, but said they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. I went back in to pick it up and the guy behind the desk advised me to drive it for a few days then bring it back if it was still happening.

Brought it back in after a few days (today) and they then informed me that I had 2 faulty ignition coils that needed replacing which would cost €260...which seems insane

I declined to get that work done, and they now want €65 to give the car back as a diagnostics fee (and because they apparently cleaned some part...)

Wondering 2 things here: 1) is it possible or indeed likely that they damaged the ignition coils while replacing the spark plugs during the service? They claim it's just an unfortunate co-incidence...

and 2) What are my rights regarding this €65 they want? Surely this should have been spotted by the mechanic initially when he test drove the car after the service and diagnosed at that stage?

Any help greatly appreciated....

Dangel4x4

Coil packs don't last forever (ask any Renault owner) - that's life...

Have you ever had the coil pack replaced before?

Maybe take it somewhere else for a second opinion if you're not happy?

howler

Aye, I know they don't last forever, my issue is the cosmic level of co incidence that they're only giving trouble immediately after this service (like from the moment I drove it away).

I don't know much about car maintainence, but I also kind of smelled a rat on this one when they started talking about 260 to replace two coils...there's real time videos on YouTube of people doing this in 5 minutes practically by hand, and the parts seem to be €25-40 on micksgarage.ie...

howler

Aye, I know they don't last forever, my issue is the cosmic level of co incidence that they're only giving trouble immediately after this service (like from the moment I drove it away).

I don't know much about car maintainence, but I also kind of smelled a rat on this one when they started talking about 260 to replace two coils...there's real time videos on YouTube of people doing this in 5 minutes practically by hand, and the parts seem to be €25-40 on micksgarage.ie...

R1_Pete

howler wrote: »

Aye, I know they don't last forever, my issue is the cosmic level of co incidence that they're only giving trouble immediately after this service (like from the moment I drove it away).

I don't know much about car maintainence, but I also kind of smelled a rat on this one when they started talking about 260 to replace two coils...there's real time videos on YouTube of people doing this in 5 minutes practically by hand, and the parts seem to be €25-40 on micksgarage.ie...

Coils get brittle and worn over time and sometimes can crack while you try removing plugs. It's possible they were already on the way out and it's an unfortunate side effect of the service.

I think them looking for €65 diagnostic fee is unreasonable as they got the service work and were following up on an issue arising from same. If they didnt explain this upfront when they asked you to bring the car in then I would be unhappy to pay.

I'd make my case, take my car back and hit Micks Garage/e bay and YouTube. I think they are very accessible on the golf so should be an easy fix.