I've just had the complete set of ignition wires replaced with the = vehicle at 52K miles. This is the 2nd problem with ignition wires - the first happened at about 25K miles and one wire was replaced under warranty. = This time the dealer recommended all be replaced. I thought these things were supposed to last a very, very long time. The cost to replace them was horrendous - $600 at the LR dealer with 3/4 of that labor costs. I paid = it but I'm thinking this is crazy. Have I been taken???
On or around Mon, 15 Sep 2008 01:23:31 -0500, NoSpam enlightened us thusly:
well... if you mean HT leads, then I suspect yes - can't see how they justify that sort of cost. But then, dealers, you'd be talking $200 per hour or something, I bet - judging by rates in this country. Dealers seem to reckon they can get away with labour rates about 3 or 4 times what an independent garage charges. I don't know how they do this. Sure, they have the stock of parts (in theory) and the knowledge (in theory) but then so do the independents, quite often.
Now, I'm not making an attempt to justify the main dealer charges, but..... At a main dealer the leads for a DII will cost me £80(ish) and that's a trade price! To replace the leads on a DII the upper half of the inlet manifold has to come off to gain access to the coil packs that are hidden down the rear of the valley area, requiring a new gasket at £18 (trade!) It's NOT a re-usable gasket, unless you like inlet air leaks. The process can take up to 2 hours (my record is 28 minutes!) so when you add it all up it's easy to see why the cost mounts up.
Mike, are you sure the leads you quote are suitable for the later Thor engines? They have a totally different end fitting at the coil end, and RIP's website does state up to 2000? (Thor engine only came in about 1999).
You got me thinking that perhaps I was wrong about these leads fitting the Thor engine so I asked Chris at RPI the question and this was his reply.
"Magnecore wires are around £80.00 but to get the best price go to our eBay shop or phone in and say I said you could have eBay Prices. You will notice an instant benefit when you change them plus you can seriously forget them for the next 8 years, this is a good thing as they take over an hour to fit any leads to this V8 as some of the injection system need removing to gain access
Kind regards Chris"
So it seems they do have Magnacor leads to fit, but I underestimated the fitting time/cost.
Ok, I do have a little more data about this situation that someone might find useful....
When I took the vehicle to the dealer it was running smoothly but with = the Check Engine Soon light illuminated. One night a week before the engine had been running rough and the CES light came on flashing. That same = night the engine ran smoothly again so I figured it was a little bad gas - problem gone. I made an appointment with the dealer the next day to be sure.
The ignition wires that were installed were "Magnecor Electrosports 80". The cost of the wires was $155 and the labor was $440 (4 hours total, 3 hours installation labor and 1 hour diagnostics). I understand the installation was aggravated by the presence of the LEV system (self-leveling).
When the repair was initially recommended the story was that LR parts = would have taken the total cost to about $900 and that these aftermarket parts would save about $250 (it ended up saving over $300 if the $900 figure = had any validity). Yes, I know this does not all add up. That's why I = posted the original query.
Ok, I do have a little more data about this situation that someone might find useful....
When I took the vehicle to the dealer it was running smoothly but with the Check Engine Soon light illuminated. One night a week before the engine had been running rough and the CES light came on flashing. That same night the engine ran smoothly again so I figured it was a little bad gas - problem gone. I made an appointment with the dealer the next day to be sure.
The ignition wires that were installed were "Magnecor Electrosports 80". The cost of the wires was $155 and the labor was $440 (4 hours total, 3 hours installation labor and 1 hour diagnostics). I understand the installation was aggravated by the presence of the LEV system (self-leveling).
When the repair was initially recommended the story was that LR parts would have taken the total cost to about $900 and that these aftermarket parts would save about $250 (it ended up saving over $300 if the $900 figure had any validity). Yes, I know this does not all add up. That's why I posted the original query.
Hi All Did you get a detailed print out of the bill showing all work Carried out ? main dealers are a rip off thou no matter what country you live in may be next time sort out an approved repair garage & get a full quote for repair work etc Regards Skinty
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