Repairs — Starter Replacement
Click, click, nothing. The one repair where the car literally cannot come to the shop.
Typical: $275–$570 — done in your drivewaywon't crank
A dead starter is the purest case for a mobile mechanic: the car cannot start, so getting it to a shop means a tow — often $150–300 on the Peninsula before anyone has fixed anything. Or: we drive to the car, and the tow bill never exists.
The classic symptom is a single click (or rapid clicking) when you turn the key, with good battery voltage. Sometimes it's the dreaded intermittent starter that works nine times out of ten — until the morning it doesn't. Heat, worn brushes, and forty years of bell-housing grime all take their toll.
Vintage note: on pre-1972 machines with 6-volt systems or foot-operated starters, the diagnosis logic changes — and starter rebuilds are often the right call when replacements are unobtainable. That's squarely our specialty.
Built from our published labor rate of $125–135/hr and a typical parts range for this job. Adjust the hours if you know your vehicle runs easier or harder than typical.
Typical range for common vehicles. Parts vary by make and model; classics may differ. Final quote after diagnosis — approved by you before work begins.
On the Olympic Peninsula, starter replacement typically runs $275–$570: 1–2 hours of labor at our published $125–135/hr rate plus roughly $150–$300 in parts for common vehicles. The repair is done at your home — travel is included in scheduled repair visits — and the final quote is approved by you after diagnosis, before work begins.
A quick test tells: if the lights are bright and you hear one solid click, suspect the starter; slow cranking or dim lights point at the battery or connections. We test rather than guess — the diagnosis is included in the repair visit, so you don't pay to replace the wrong part.
See all our repair cost guides, the full pricing policy, or start with a $125 mobile diagnostic if you're not sure this is your problem.