Had some hesitation and jerkiness from the engine so must be ignition system issue.

Assumed needed plugs so took it to the first garage with this request.

They tell me after a brief inspection that I need 6 new coils at $200 each + 5 hours labour = $2000

Took it to second garage. They changed the spark plugs and it has been running fine for a month. Total bill $200 (bit of labour involved as the manifold has to come off).

The first place did not have time to take anything apart so is there actually a way that they would be able to tell that it needed coils versus plugs?

2001 2.1 Manual

 

Hi,
ith a little search here you could have saved yourself about 150.00 and changed the plugs yourself. Its simple and with the help from us guys here(and girls) we could have walked you through it. And unless you hook up the car to a computer you will not know it needed coils. And just so you know. You can get the coils at autozone or advanced auto or your local parts store for under 50 bucks each with a lifetime warranty.


Good luck with your X type.
The Dr!

 

mojorising, the only way to know if your car needed coils is to physically look at the coils. When the car is misfiring, it can be a number of things, only 1 of which is the coil. So, they were looking at the car and trying to get as much money out of you as possible or they were not wanting to deal with an "exotic car" and just tossed a number at you to make you go away. A coil failing on our cars is a rarity. Normally a misfire is caused by a vacuum leak or oil getting into the plug well and shorting out the spark.

Like was mentioned, if you want to learn about your car and are willing to get a little greasy, we can step you through just about anything with your car. Granted, at $200 for the plug change, that is a pretty good price. Sounds like someone that has worked with the Duratec engines and knows how to get in and get out with minimal time.