Susan wrote: ... > It makes me sick. The only people who should have older cars are > people who know how to work on them. Taking an old car to a shop, > especially if you are a woman, is almost a guarantee of getting ripped > off, even when you educate yourself to avoid it!
Well, that's mostly true. However, it has nothing to do with being a woman. And, it's a lesson most of us have learned.
And, educating yourself CAN help. You're learning about "standard practices" in the industry, the hard way, by examining the bloody pieces left after surgery. Only a custom, specialty shop will "spec" rebuild your starter. A mainline shop will replace it with a good rebuilt, for the flat rate. Done deed. You're lucky it's not a Delco-Remy replacement!