Jaguar Repair: experienced mechanic, extreme systems, extreme loss


Question
Firstly, I wish to commend you for your volunteer work on this site. It is much appreciated. My question isnt a mechanical question,I just need an opinion from a very experienced mechanic on my dilemma.    

To make a long story short, I brought my 1998 boxster in because of a " Flashing Check Engine Light" and stalling engine.  The Mechanic was speculating that it was a bad coil, but he wasnt sure.  He replaced the coil at a cost of $700.    

THIS REPAIR DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM! Now he says the car is unrepairable because there is actually serious damage to the engine and that it needs a replacement motor.

The problem is, he replaced the coils and now I have to pay $700 for a repair that did NOTHING to fix my car!  

Am I completely responsible to pay for the repair on the coil considering it didnt solve the problem??

Any other advice for preventing this from reoccuring in the future?  

Answer
Hi Joseph,
While it is possible for a coil to be bad and have a destroyed engine at the same time. A mechanic can be trapped into thinking that is all that is wrong, mainly by codes put out by the computer. I would have to question what were the symptoms besides the "Check Engine light"? For a engine to be "bad enough to need replacing" there had to be other symptoms. Like loud metallic engine noises, extreme loss of power, etc, etc.
If you noted any extreme symptoms and related this info to the repair shop before they installed the coils, then I would have to side with you and say the "Coil Job" is their baby and they should eat that cost. (and return your old coils)
The main reasons an engine can be so bad as to need replacing is if it had a major cooling system failure, an oil system failure or a major internal engine part brake. All of these failures would give you extreme systems, Over heating, Oil light on and low or no oil pressure, loud engine metallic noises, Blue smoke from the exhaust and extreme loss of power.
If you had none of these symptoms then I would want to see a oil pressure test, a compression test and a cooling system pressure test and circulation test.
If none of this was done and it were mine, I would quickly remove this car from that shop and find someone who can perform these tests. (Also test your old coils) many times a code can be set by the ECU and the item is not really bad, just a bad connection or poor ground etc, etc.

There is ONLY one way that I know of, for you to not fall into this type of problem repeatedly is self "Education".
You don't need to train as a mechanic to help stop falling into a position you are in now. You just need to be aware of the a few hard rules.
I use to tell my customers this;
If you are driving and you see a coolant warning light or gauge say the engine is hot, you have only a minute to shut the engine off to prevent major damage.
If you are driving and you see a oil light or gauge say you have little to no oil pressure, you only have a couple of seconds to shut the engine off before major damage is done.
Change your oil and filter when you are suppose to (3000 mi.).
Never drive a car with metallic noises in the engine.
If a mechanic says you have a bad engine, ask to see the results of the tests I covered above. If they don't have them right now, they probably didn't do them. Standard procedure in almost all shops is for a mechanic to do the tests and write the results on the work order or attach a paper to the work order with these tests on it. The only exception to this is an obvious one, The engine locked up solid or a rod sticking out the side of the block etc.
I hope this helps, good luck.
Howard