I'm buying a new starter tomorrow. I haven't compared prices and availability yet. Anybody have good or bad experiences with either new starters from Nissan vs. rebuilt from Advance or Autozone? I'm sure the dealer charges more but has anybody seen a difference in quality?

Thanks.

 

i believe that rebuile ones have less teeth causing it to run slower...

 

Not true, there's 2 different starters. I bought a remanufactured Bosch with a lifetime warranty.

 

Purchased mine from Advance Auto back in 2003. No issues yet.

 

like i said "i believe"

 

put in an duralast reman w/ a lifetime warranty ~6 months ago and no problems. When I installed it, a piece of paper inside stated the starters varied between an 8 and 10 teeth design, but both were compatible. The starter itself is pretty easy to replace, and given that information, I don't think the extra cost and limited warranty associated with a Nissan starter is warranted.

 

my friend had to replace his starter in his camry, and has been having issues with it. his mechanic suggested that he should have rebuilt his original one.
therefore he was saying that OEM > aftermarket/replacement.

 

OEM is always better than aftermarket. Anyone know the price of an OEM Starter Unit ??

If you can afford it, get it. It'll probably be an extra 60-80$ over a rebuilt unit from an auto parts store. To me, its worth it.

-matt

 

You should go to Denso.com and buy it there, much cheaper than at the dealer and it's the same part.

 

Remember, the 'New' starter from Nissan is ALSO a rebuilt part.

 

definately..

when the alternator went bad in my 97 i bought an oem one, no problems at all.. i know my borther bought a reman alt for his maxima and had to replace it like 3 times since they kept going bad.. oem >

 

[QUOTE=matty]OEM is always better than aftermarket. [QUOYE]

In some cases "OEM" is just aftermarket with a nissan box covering it. Go with a reputable aftermarket piece with a lifetime warranty from a reputable store, such as Bosch from pepboys orthe like.

 

I'm on my 2nd rebuilt. But that would have never happened if the OEM hadn't crapped out. I say rebuilt.

 

i bought a a rebuilt one 2 years ago still going strong.

 

I researched this subject and ended up going with a rebuilt "Gold" starter from NAPA ($150)...It does seem to be better quality than what I've bought from Autozone in the past and I havent had any problems with it so far and it has a lifetime warranty.

 

has any one used a duralast from autozone. it is a reman. but it is about all i can afford.

 

did you just say your starter runs your car?

 

WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG.

A "remanufactured" OEM starter only has a USED case, all of the internals are NEW, YES BRAND NEW. I went thru 4 CRAPZONE starters the latest one lasting over a year it's now starting to malfunction.

PLEASE GO WITH OEM.

 

a rebuilt one should be fine.

 

It would be temporarily.

 

I have a used starter on my Maxima and it has been working fine for like a year now.

Before that one, I had a reconstructed one and it burned out after a few months. Lost the receipt and got screwed with no guarantee. Make sure that you don't screw up the guarantee like I did.

Dunno if you guys have junk yards the way we do here in Mexico (this damn city has like 50 junk yards, they're big business ).

 

My first rebuilt (Parts America) starter with lifetime warranty lasted about 5 years, it's replacement has been fine for over a year. However I probably would have bought OEM had I known about online dealers prices, local dealer wanted about $280 at the time.

 

This thread has sure made the rounds.

I went with a remanufactured starter from Advance Auto for about $90. I called a few dealerships and only one had my starter in stock. The Advance down the street from me had one and it was too cheap and easy to ignore. It went in without a problem and works fone for now. I think the starter I replaced was the original with 180K miles on it. If my rebuilt goes in the next few months then I'll post it.

 

buy BOSCH...avoid autolite(despite lifetime warrenty). Check PEP boyz. I bought a new remanufatured autolite...put it in and it almost fried my battery. My mistake was not to test my old starter...

My bosch was in good condition...I put back the bosch in and will get the autolite exchanged. I won't use that cr*p.

if anyone wants it and lives near me...give me a holla. I still owe 55 bux in core charge and I don't want to return my good bosch. So I am eating the price of the AUTOLITE + core charge.

trust me, BOSCH is the way to go. OH, get a free check on your starter before you proclaim it bad. My problem was just a 23 dollar fix on the ignition switch (the back plug key switch on steering column).

 

Don't get the 8 tooth starter ... just because why should you when you can get the 10 or 11 (not sure which one, but I thought 11). With more teeth, it cranks the engine faster thus making winter starts easier and when you do your 3.5 swap ... well that is just obvious

 

I put a rebuilt in my 96 SE, its lasted over 100K without any problems