There are few feelings worse for a car owner than jumping into their vehicle, only to discover that it won’t start. Usually, when this happens, the root cause is something to do with the engine. In most cases, the problem will be in or around the engine, something that interferes with its proper functioning.
Wear and Tear
The health of your car’s electrical system is intimately linked to that of your car. In fact, the majority of components of the electrical system are located right near to the engine. This means that if a problem develops with one, it can easily spread to the other. The biggest concern for any of the components in your car’s engine is going to be temperature fluctuations.
Given how a car works, it is unsurprising that it can get so hot inside the engine compartment. The starter is one of the components most susceptible to the effects of temperature fluctuations, but it is also placed under a great deal of mechanical strain. Every time you start your car, the starter has to turn the crankshaft. The crankshaft is the first component involved in starting an engine, and like the engine itself, a problem with the crankshaft will bring your whole car to a literal standstill. If your starter is unable to turn the crankshaft, you aren’t going anywhere.
If any component in your car is likely to fail unexpectedly, the starter is that component. If you only use your car occasionally, you won’t have to worry about the starter giving in to the pressure for some time. However, given that every time you start your car you are putting the starter through its paces, those who drive every day will notice the effects sooner. Those who drive the most will find that their starters fail at a more frequent rate.
Can I Prevent Problems from Arising?
There is a multitude of components that work together in concert in order to make your car start. The car starter is one of the most important components; it is also subjected to more strain than many other components. The temperature fluctuations and mechanical strains that the starter has to contend with are inherent in its operation. This means that there is no way around the fact that your starter will experience wear and tear over time.
What are the Signs That it is Failing?
While starters do sometimes fail unexpectedly and without warning, in most cases there will be some indications of imminent failure beforehand. Perhaps the most common sign that your starter is on its last legs is a distinctive grinding noise, audible when you are starting your vehicle. You can find examples of the sound online if you are unsure, but it is quite a distinctive noise and you are unlikely to mistake it for anything else. If you hear this, it means that your starter has begun to deteriorate.
When the starter begins to wear out, it won’t be able to generate the torque needed to turn the crankshaft, which will mean the car won’t get started. Worse than this, a deterioration of the components responsible for turning the crankshaft can end up grinding against gears and causing a great deal of damage.
Should I Replace the Starter?
If you are having trouble getting your car started, and you have ruled out a problem with the engine itself, then your problem lies with the starter. As with all vehicle repairs, you will need to make a determination for yourself as to whether it is economically viable to replace the component or not. The cost of replacing a crankshaft isn’t as high as some other common car repairs, but it is enough to make some people think twice.
If you do decide that you want to replace the crankshaft, you will be happy to know that you won’t usually have to replace anything else. Unless your starter was damaged by some kind of physical impact or force which might have affected components around it, a failing starter shouldn’t spread.
What Does it Cost?
If you are hearing any unusual noises when you first turn your car on, it usually means that it’s time to replace your car’s starter. It’s never fun having to spend money on repairs for your vehicle, but if you don’t repair your starter now, it could necessitate more expensive repairs later.
The exact cost of replacing a starter can vary. If you are able to identify an issue with the starter early, you might be able to save yourself some money by getting your vehicle to a repair service yourself. If your starter fails unexpectedly, you may well need to pay for a tow vehicle to come and tow your car to be repaired. The costs of the job itself will vary, but it usually costs somewhere between $400 and $500.
One of the most important factors regarding the overall cost of replacing the starter is whether it needs a new ring gear. If it doesn’t, repairs will not be so expensive. Starters themselves can be obtained for as little as $50 but might set you back as much as $100. On top of this, there will be a couple of hundred dollars to pay for the costs of labor. The cost of a ring gear can easily add another $200 onto the cost. In the worst cases, there might be multiple components in and around the starter that require replacing.
Scrapping Your Vehicle
In some cases, the costs of replacing a vehicle’s starter just aren’t worth it. When the cost of replacing a starter starts to approach the value of the vehicle itself, you should begin to think about other options. In fact, unless you feel some kind of attachment to the vehicle in question, you should always consider whether your money might be better spent on upgrading.
Whenever someone is thinking about purchasing a new vehicle, one of their first orders of business will be to sell any vehicles they currently own. Sure, many households have a use for more than one car, especially families with children. However, even in these situations, it is quite uncommon for them to purchase a new vehicle without getting rid of an existing one. Doing things this way offsets some of the costs of a new vehicle, making an upgrade viable for people who would otherwise be unable to.
Scrapping your vehicle, rather than replacing a worn-out starter, is also a smart move to make if you have a sneaking suspicion that other components in the vehicle might also be approaching the end of their lifespans. There is no sense in taking on the financial burdens, and general inconvenience, of a vehicle that is prone to failure. Instead, you can recover what you can from the vehicle by scrapping or selling it and putting the resulting proceeds towards something better.
Junk/Scrap/Recycle
If your vehicle is in good enough condition to be sold on, and you will make enough money doing so to buy a better vehicle, that’s great! However, most of us aren’t driving around in new top-of-the-range cars anyway. The average person simply cannot justify spending that kind of money, and so we tend to buy used cars. There is nothing wrong with buying a used car, but when you have a used car that has developed an expensive fault, it is going to be a tough sell.
Selling a car with a known fault is, again, perfectly fine practice – as long as you disclose the issue to the buyer, of course. But selling isn’t the only route open to you when you are getting rid of an old vehicle. You can also choose to scrap or recycle the vehicle. Doing this can still get you a reasonable amount of cash for your vehicle, which can then be put towards a new car.
Cars have very long lifespans when compared to most things that we buy. A car can also continue to sell, whether new or on the second-hand market, for decades after it was initially produced. However, some vehicles are either too old or too damaged to warrant anyone spending the money to purchase them, even at the used price. In such cases, scrapping the vehicle still allows you to recoup the value of the material and components inside.
If you have a newer car that is suffering from a broken starter, or another technical issue, scrapping it can be a very smart decision. The term ‘scrapping’ might imply to some people that the car is being discarded. In reality, when you scrap a vehicle, you receive financial compensation for it.
There are a surprising number of people who just assume they need a car, but in reality, they don’t. When a component such as the starter gives in and finally breaks, it can provide the impetus for getting rid of the car altogether.
The bits of any car that you scrap or recycle that can still be used will be salvaged and repurposed. How many components are salvaged will depend on the specific vehicle in question. However, regardless of the outcome, in scrapping a vehicle you are disposing of it properly. If you don’t benefit financially from the decision to scrap or recycle your vehicle, the planet certainly will!
If you either do not need the money from the sale of your vehicle, or you have a vehicle on your hands that isn’t in a sell-able condition, scrapping or recycling that vehicle is your best option.
