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I'm at a GM/Subaru dealership. The GM starters/alternators are Delco Remans (totally gutted, with only the case reused after sandblasting). Subaru sells remans on their older vehicles that have plenty of cores out there to rebuild, and new units on those that aren't plentiful yet.
Thanks to everyone for the validation - I am NOT crazy! And I am NOT getting anything done at the dealership!
To respond to Mitch I drive it a couple of times a week and it is city driving but if you do math I drive less that 10,000 miles per year on average. I am good to my car... not the best but I don't let things get too degraded. The battery looks clean (no fuzzies).
And you won't belive me... but the dealership couldn't give me a direct answer on what ultimately the problem is... other than replacing the starter. So now that I can drive it to the shop of my choice I am going somewhere OTHER than the dealership and if I may steal your phrase I will make sure they dont "Easter Egg"!
Thank you again for all of your expert advice, it made the decision much easier!
$250 out the door does not sound totally unreasonable for a starter, IMO. They will usually quote you out the door prices. I used to be a service advisor (not for Chrysler) and sometimes vehicles would come in with no starts like yours and we would do a battery 'midtronics' test and alternator load test, and check the connections at the battery and starter. If those all checked out, we would recommend a starter, just as a precautionary measure, because it would probably fail to start again at a most in-opportune time down the road.
So, its not unheard of to have no-start one day and starting fine the next, when the starter is going out. That being said, it could also be a battery or connection issue. Hope you get it resolved.
Just an update... my boyfriend (I am a woman) told me it's not too hard to replace the starter so we are going to go buy one (now that I know how much $ to expect to pay at Pepboys... thank you) and he is going to teach me how to do it! If it happens again... then I will take it to a shop and see if its the solenoid or the other possible causes you told me about.
Just an update... my boyfriend (I am a woman) told me it's not too hard to replace the starter so we are going to go buy one (now that I know how much $ to expect to pay at Pepboys... thank you) and he is going to teach me how to do it! If it happens again... then I will take it to a shop and see if its the solenoid or the other possible causes you told me about.
Wish me luck fellas!
Way to go! A babe that wrenches cars. Too cool!
Anyway, this is probably stupid to say, but make sure you disconnect the battery before changing out the starter.
The re-man electrical parts (starters, alternators, etc.) I buy have a lifetime warranty. If it fails, I take it back to Checker Auto Parts and they give me a new one. That was real nice when I was driving AMC vehicles. The Ford starters that AMC used on their I6 engines had a high failure rate (they lasted about a year), but it only took 10 minutes to remove the fool thing, and a fresh rebuilt was free, so no big thing.
I installed a re-man alternator on my Dodge CTD about 5 years ago, it is still going strong.
Ask about the warranty. Re-manufactured parts are often just as good, sometimes better, than new, and much less expensive.
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but the dealership couldn't give me a direct answer on what ultimately the problem is... other than replacing the starter. So now that I can drive it to the shop of my choice I am going somewhere OTHER than the dealership and if I may steal your phrase I will make sure they dont "Easter Egg"! 
