There isn’t a single person who has ever found that their car won’t start and enjoyed the experience. It is the very definition of frustrating and rage-inducing. In most cases where this happens, it is safe to assume that there is a problem with the engine. Or, at least, a component adjacent to the engine that plays a major role in its functionality.
Accumulation of Wear and Tear
The well-being of your automobile’s system of electrics is heavily influenced by how well the rest of the vehicle in question is working. This is made all the more of truth by the fact that so much of the electricals are all so close to the engine. If there is an issue with one electrical component specifically, there is a good chance that it will spread.
Engines get very hot when they are running. It makes perfect sense that this should be the case. And the component that takes on a lot of the trouble caused by constant fluctuations in temperature happens to be the starter. So, the starter has to deal with heat, but that isn’t all. It has to deal with a massive amount of strain that it undergoes as a result of having to turn the crankshaft. If the crankshaft isn’t turning, the car isn’t going to be driving.
When it comes to random unexpected part failures, the top offender is the starter. Motorists who don’t do a lot of driving will not need to stress out about this, as their car doesn’t do a lot of work. It is the driver who is driving their car every day that should keep an eye out for problems.
How to Prevent Issues from Arising
Your car driving is an emergent property of all the different parts inside it working in unison. Of all the parts, the most valuable player that takes on the most stress and pressure is the starter. When your engine experiences massive temperature fluctuations, the starter will take the brunt of the worst of them. There is no getting around it. The only way to really prevent it from ever happening would be to simply never drive your car.
Warning Signs to Look Out for
Starters are infamous for their ability to fail without warning. This doesn’t mean that when they fail, it is always unexpectedly. In fact, a majority of the time there will be some warning signs preceding the failure of the starter in question. Some come in the form of sounds and noises, which a distinctive if you know what to listen for. It is of a grinding quality that is unmistakable. Upon hearing this, you can be sure that your car’s starter is in ill-health and will not last for much longer.
When the starter is starting to deteriorate, it will have more trouble turning the crankshaft. If it can’t turn it, your vehicle will not be driving anywhere anytime soon. More damage can come as a cause of the grinding that takes place as a result.
Whether to Replace the Starter or Not
You don’t want to replace the starter if it isn’t the issue that is causing your car to not start properly. So it is important that you confirm that it is in fact the starter that is the culprit. Once you know that it really is the starter that is causing all your despair, the next step is to look at how much replacement costs. Compare that cost to how much your vehicle is worth.
The good news is that crankshafts and starters aren’t the kind of part that ends up with a whole bunch of other parts needing to be replaced as well.
How Much Does a Stater Cost to Replace?
You may not want to spend a whole bunch of money to replace your starter. But if you don’t, it will cause other issues later on, which will cost even more money to fix. So if you hear that grinding sound that was talked about earlier, your starter is up for replacement.
The amount of money that it will take to replace a starter will depend on certain things. The cost of getting the car to the mechanics in the first place will be slashed if your car is still running, which means you have caught the problem early. When a starter randomly fails out of the blue, you will have to pay a car towing company to transport the vehicle to where it needs to go. Add that to the replacement job itself, which can cost up to half a grand.
The cost of replacing a starter also depends on whether a new ring gear is going to be part of the deal. The starter itself normally costs a mere $50. The rest of the money you are paying is going toward labor costs. Add the ring gear cost into the mix and you are paying even more money, up to $200 in some cases.
When to Scrap the Car Instead
Sometimes it just isn’t worth it to get the repairs needed for your car to be driveable again. This is when it costs more than the car is worth. Your car would have to be quite old for this to be the case, but if it is, don’t worry. It is incredibly easy to sell a car that needs expensive repairs that outweigh the car’s value. There are companies called cash for cars or “auto wrecking companies” or scrap wrecking yards. They buy the vehicles no-one else wants.
Auto Removal Experts will decide how much to spend on buying your car by looking at all the parts that they can salvage and how much they are worth. They also take into account the weight of steel. They won’t pay you the full amount that they expect to make from the car, because they want to actually make some money themselves. But you do stand to get more than you would get via any other method.