$170 denso starter vs $80 duralast
 

I have a 1999 Honda Accord LX, manual transmission, 4 cylinder. It has 232,000 miles on it.
I'm about to replace the starter. Should I go for the more expensive Denso, or the cheaper Duralast that Autozone sells?
(I am new to repairs but doing it myself for financial reasons.)
Thanks for any opinions.

Re: $170 denso starter vs $80 duralast
 

I hate to say this, but I'm sure the Duralast has a lifetime warranty vs the long lasting Denso. Also, there is a AutoZone around every corner now. I've had my Duralast for almost 150,000 w/o any issues. ALTHOUGH, if you want to stick and know you have a "OEM" item, go Denso. Have you checked and partsgeek for a Denso starter for pricing?

Re: $170 denso starter vs $80 duralast
 

I've had Duralast in my 96 Accord for about 4 years now. Works fine so far. If I had to redo it again, I would rebuild my original starter, like replace the brush or fix the solenoid. You can buy the parts from Honda.

Autozone in general has a reasonable exchange service.

Re: $170 denso starter vs $80 duralast
 

normally anything you get from Advance or autozone is junk, I've had such bad luck I will never buy another electrical part from them again, dont buy either, find a good automotive electrical shop and have it rebuilt, a reputable local shop is going to do a heck of a lot better job then a mass rebuilt box store brand

Re: $170 denso starter vs $80 duralast
 

Thanks for the advice. ... I ended up finding a thread about replacing copper contacts in the starter, so I ordered those online for just $12 or $13 and hope to get them in the mail soon. If it doesn't work, I think I will take lostforawhile's advice and see if I can just have the Denso rebuilt at a local shop.

Re: $170 denso starter vs $80 duralast
 

Good to know. I like the idea of rebuilding a starter, rather than replacing it.

Re: $170 denso starter vs $80 duralast
 

i had a duralast starter for about 40k before i sold my car and didnt have one problem with it

if it were to have a problem then you can always warranty it

Re: $170 denso starter vs $80 duralast
 

Good idea; I did that on a Denso starter a few years ago and it worked great. The thing is, Denso makes a great starter; the only weak point is the contacts, and those are cheap and easy to replace yourself.