Your car’s engine is capable of producing quite a bit of power. But without the relatively small spark plugs that are a part of your car’s ignition system, your engine won’t be able to do much at all. Your spark plugs are that important to the overall well-being of your vehicle, which is why you should make sure that you replace your spark plugs as necessary. The spark plug replacement cost is minimal, but you shouldn’t let that fool you into thinking that fully-functioning spark plugs aren’t essential to your car. Take a few minutes to find out more about spark plugs and the spark plug replacement cost below.
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What Are Spark Plugs and Why Are They Important?
The average vehicle has somewhere between two and six spark plugs inside of it, depending on what type of engine that it has. These spark plugs are, as we just mentioned, very important when it comes to your car’s engine. When your spark plugs go bad, your engine isn’t going to be able to produce as much power as it normally does, and that can cause complications within your car.
So, what is it that spark plugs actually do? Well, spark plugs are small devices that are made to provide the spark that is necessary to ignite the air/fuel mixture that passes through your car’s engine when you’re driving it. As a part of your car’s ignition system, your spark plugs start working right away as soon as you fire up your car and create an arc of electricity that is used during the combustion process. They, quite literally, provide the spark that your car needs to get going.
As you might imagine, this makes spark plugs an integral part of your car. If they aren’t able to do their job from the second that you start your car, your vehicle won’t have the spark that it needs. In some cases, that might mean that your car won’t start up at all, and in others, that might mean that your car doesn’t get good fuel economy or doesn’t accelerate in the way that you want it to. For all of these reasons, spark plugs need to be replaced regularly to keep them in good working order.
How Often Do You Need to Change Spark Plugs?
Now that you know how important your spark plugs are to your car, it’s time to talk a little bit more about replacing them. As you’ll find out in a few minutes, the spark plug replacement cost isn’t all that high, which is why you should make it a point to replace your spark plugs as necessary. You don’t have to change them every few months or anything, but you should get into the habit of replacing them early and often.
How often? Most mechanics will tell you that you should shoulder the spark plug replacement cost at least once every 20,000 to 30,000 miles. The exact amount of time should depend on everything from how often you get behind the wheel of your car to the make and model of your car. You can usually find a recommendation from your auto manufacturer in the owner’s manual that’s tucked away in your glove compartment.
You can also evaluate your spark plugs yourself every now and then or have your mechanic do it to ensure your spark plugs are always in good condition. If they appear as though they’ve seen better days, you should pay the spark plug replacement cost to get new ones. You should also keep a close eye out for signs that’ll let you know that it’s time to toss your old spark plugs and put new ones in their place.
What Are the Symptoms of Bad Spark Plugs?
If you’ve had the same spark plugs in your car for more than 40,000 miles now, that should be reason enough for you to arrange to have them replaced. You shouldn’t let anything, including the spark plug replacement cost, hold you back from doing it. But the age of your spark plugs shouldn’t be the only thing that helps you determine when to replace them. There are also a bunch of symptoms of bad spark plugs that will let you know it’s time to give your old spark plugs the heave-ho.
Here are some of the symptoms that may indicate that your spark plugs have gone bad:
- You’re experiencing slow acceleration every time you step on the gas pedal
- You’re finding that you have to fill up your gas tank more often than usual since your car is burning through fuel at a rapid pace
- You’re hearing your engine misfiring almost every time that you climb behind the wheel and drive it
- You’re having a hard time getting your car to start when you stick your key into the ignition and turn it
There is, of course, a chance that some of the symptoms could indicate the presence of other problems in your car. If, for instance, your car won’t start, you could be having problems with your starter, your alternator, or even your ignition. It’s not always going to be your spark plugs causing your car not to start.
But if you start to see more than one of these symptoms pop up, that usually means that it’s time for you to replace your spark plugs immediately. You should take on the spark plug replacement cost and put some new spark plugs into your car to clear these symptoms up once and for all.
What Happens If You Don’t Replace Spark Plugs?
If you know for a fact that your spark plugs are on the older side or if you experience any of the symptoms that we just talked about while driving your car, it’s imperative for you to have new spark plugs put into your vehicle. The spark plug replacement cost is going to be well worth it if you’re in either of those scenarios. There are, however, some people who will openly choose to ignore the signs that they need spark plugs and continue to drive their cars around.
These people are just asking for trouble! At first, driving around with spark plugs that have gone bad in your car shouldn’t prove to be too problematic. But it won’t be long before they’re causing major problems for you. You’re going to wish you had just paid the spark plug replacement cost once you begin to see these problems pop up.
In a best-case scenario, driving with bad spark plugs will result in you dealing with poor fuel economy all the time. You’ll have to pay more at the pump to keep your car gassed up. But in a worst-case scenario, your car’s engine could lose pretty much all of its power. It won’t perform in the way that you want it to, and eventually, your engine will just stop working altogether. It’ll make you wish you could go back in time and replace your spark plugs.
Can I Replace Spark Plugs on My Own?
The good news as far as spark plug replacement is concerned is that, for as important as your spark plugs are, they’re not terribly difficult to replace. If you’re in a bind and don’t have the money to pay the spark plug replacement cost, it’s actually something that you can do on your own. All you’ll have to do is get your hands on tools like a gap gauge, needle-nose pliers, a socket/ratchet set, a spark plug wire puller, a swivel socket, and a torque wrench. From there, you can find an easy how-to guide on replacing spark plugs and get to work.
You also don’t have to go this route if you don’t want to spend a bunch of time replacing your spark plugs on your own. You can take your car to almost any mechanic and they’ll replace your spark plugs for you in no time at all. And they’ll do it without breaking the bank in most cases as long as they don’t find anything else that needs to be done while they’re in the process of replacing your spark plugs.
How Long Does Spark Plug Replacement Take?
Regardless of whether you choose to replace spark plugs on your own or have someone else do it for you, you should know about how long you should expect for it to take. This can be a difficult question to answer since some cars take longer than others when replacing spark plugs. But generally speaking, it’s often going to take somewhere between 30 minutes and four hours for a mechanic to replace spark plugs. On average, it takes right around two or two and a half hours to get the job done.
If you’re scheduled to have a mechanic replace your spark plugs, you might want to inquire as to how long your specific spark plug replacement job is going to take. They can give you a much better idea after popping the hood on your car and seeing what they’re working with.
How Much Does Spark Plug Replacement Cost?
So you know what makes spark plugs so important at this point. You also know how often you’re doing to need to replace them and what will go into replacing them when you take your car to an auto repair shop. But there is still one last question that is lingering out there in the air: “How much does spark plug replacement cost?” It’s a great question to ask before you bring your car in for spark plug replacement.
The total amount of money that you’ll pay for spark plug replacement will vary based on how many spark plugs go in your car, what kind of car you have, and how complicated the replacement process will be. But you should be looking at paying somewhere between $190 and $260 to have the spark plugs in your car replaced. That includes labor costs of right around $130 to $160 and parts, which are priced at $60 to $90.
As you can see, that’s really not much of an investment when you think about just how essential spark plugs are to your car. It’s also not much when you consider that you don’t have to replace spark plugs all that often. You may only have to do it once or twice over the entire life of your car, depending on how long you keep it for.
Is the Spark Plug Replacement Cost Worth It?
Since the spark plug replacement cost is on the lower side in terms of auto repair prices, it’s definitely worth it to pay it to replace your spark plugs. In many cases, people can get away with paying less than $200 to have new spark plugs put into their car. That small investment could pay off for them if it means providing them with better fuel economy and less wear and tear on their engine.
You should keep this in mind before complaining about the spark plug replacement cost. When you think about all the advantages that will come along with doing spark plug replacement, you’ll find that it’s well worth doing it, even if you have to take your car to a mechanic to have it done.
Should I Get Rid of a Car With Bad Spark Plugs?
By now, you should already know the answer to this question. Bad spark plugs alone are not a good reason to get rid of your car. It’s simple enough to pay the spark plug replacement cost and keep your car out on the road and in good condition.
But if you suspect that your car might have other issues with its engine, that could be reason enough to consider selling it. You can get cash for cars with engine problems if you would like to do it by working with the junk car buyers from Cash Cars Buyer. No matter what might be wrong with your car, we’ll pay you top dollar for it and help you avoid having to dump any more money into it moving forward.
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