I own an '86 Nissan Stanza wagon (4wd) and last night I stopped the car and when I came back five minutes later, it would not start.
I turn the key and the lights go on, but there is no noise from the engine except this very faint, steady noise that goes away after a few seconds, like a small electric motor or something.
The headlights and radio, etc. all come on at full strength.
Today I tried the car and it turned right on.
The car is not a super happy car in general. Here's a list of symptoms it has had for awhile:
burns through oil steadily (2 quarts a month) poor/no compression in one cylinder (says my mechanic) smell of burning/C02 or something - comes from the front of the car (I had a front exhaust piece fabricated, so maybe that just doesn't work)
Other than that, it is A-ok.
I love this car a whole lot and want to drive it for a long time. I'm hoping somebody will say something like,
"oh, that's the ignition switch. it costs 25 bucks and you can replace it yourself if you are very modestly handy with a screwdriver."
Am I living a fantasy world? Do I need to buy my friend Joe's 1987 Nissan Stanza wagon (4wd)?