Starter motor

Been a while since I posted but thankfully that means the van has been running OK.

However, there has been an issue with starting it which has got progressively worse until it began to refuse completely.

Took it to a garage they tested everything, diagnosed a faulty starter motor and quoted £360 for a replacement motor.

Yes, you read that right - £360. And that was just for the part.

So I told them to hang on, I checked around and they were all coming out at £80 - £125. There were only two makes showing up - Apec and Bosch.

The garage agreed to fit one if I supplied it, I gave the parts dealer the engine number and I was assured the Apec one would fit. Turns out it doesn't. Then tried the Bosch one - same issue.

And that issue seems to be that the positions of the solenoid and power lead have been switched. And - according to the garage - the existing leads atren't long enough and would 'arc', risking a short. I'm told there is no way round this, not even by extending the lead.

Here's the original:

Here's the APec:

The garage tell me they would get the one for £360 from Europart (I think thats what he said) and they would be unbranded.

I'm considering seeing if I can get the old motor repaired, but wondered if anyone had any input or experience of this?

Something seems a bit odd to me and I'm reluctant to pay £360.

(p.s I phoned VW dealer to find out about an official VW part and was quoted £470 + Vat. )