[siclmn]

I have worked on my cars for 40 years. I have always used rebuilt starters and can't remember having any problems with them. So why on this forum do so many say not to use a rebuilt starter? There is a huge collection of them to choose from between 1 to 200 bucks. They all claim to be rebuilt.

 

[Island E]

Nothing wrong with them. They get rebuilt and are pretty much like new.

Some people have money trees in their back yards and don't care what they spend I guess.

 

[tangboy5000]

I think the problem lies in that the starters are not so much bad, but there are bad ones and it is much harder to change them out on foreign cars due to tight engine compartments. So after all the work and to have it not work, people tend to post more bad experiences. The failure rate is probably close to the same as on domestic starters, it's just much easier to change one out on a Ford vs. a Honda.

 

[goosler]

the problem with this site is that 90% of the people on here are keyboard mechanics who aren't capable of replacing the starter anyway. But they sit around all day reading things on the net, & "if you read it on the internet, it must be true" so they post what they read, NOT real world experience.

don't believe me? search for the dozens of threads discussing wiper blades & headlight bulbs, oil weights, etc.

Back on topic......whenever I've had an electrical part (starter, alternator) go bad, I've always gone to my local rebuild shop & had them rebuild my part. I always ask for the bosch or other top internal parts & have never had a problem......I don't think I've ever paid more than $100 for a rebuild....Pat

 

[marvin the marshen]

ive rarely had a problem with rebuilt starters or any other re manuf part.Just be carfull ware you get it rebuilt .Thats the reson why most of the part's have core charges like starters old brake shoes and so on because they clean them up and rebuild them, like new..

 

[GaryS]

the problem with this site is that 90% of the people on here are keyboard mechanics who aren't capable of replacing the starter anyway. But they sit around all day reading things on the net, & "if you read it on the internet, it must be true" so they post what they read, NOT real world experience.

don't believe me? search for the dozens of threads discussing wiper blades & headlight bulbs, oil weights, etc.

Back on topic......whenever I've had an electrical part (starter, alternator) go bad, I've always gone to my local rebuild shop & had them rebuild my part. I always ask for the bosch or other top internal parts & have never had a problem......I don't think I've ever paid more than $100 for a rebuild....Pat

Well said!

A friend of mine runs a small, low budget used car lot (the type of which is sometimes referred to as a "Lumpy Lot") and he also repairs the cars he sells both before and after the sale. He says that he used to buy rebuilt starters and alternators from parts stores. When they failed (which happened more often than not) within the warranty period the costs involved in replacing it would eat up what little profit he made on the car. He then found a local guy that rebuilds starters and alternators and hasn't had a failure since.

Moral to this story? All "rebuilds" are not created equal.

 

[lizzurd]

I agree that not all rebuilders are created equal. I am willing to pay a few dollars more for a quality product that i know will not come back to bite me in the ass.

 

[NOSkweezePSI]

At work, we put alot of rebuilt starters and alternators and most of the time they dont last a year. It could also be partially due to our drivers but I wouldnt mind spending a little more for something new, potentially more reliable than a part with a lifetime warranty. Having to remove and replace a part every few months gets redundant.