Starter motor AC DELCO or OEM Volkswagen

My problem (from 2+ years ago) turned oiut to be a bad starter. The solenoid must have gone south. A new starter motor fixed it.

Denso, Bosch, and ACDelco are all OE parts suppliers for various car manufacturers and remans can be found for under $200 online even including the core charge which you'll get back when you send the old starter in.

Well I began taking apart the car and removing the starter and found that a part of it was bent. I'm not sure if that's the solenoid or what it's called but I'm pretty sure it's the reason the car wouldn't start.

So, replaced the starter, and that was that issue.

My almost stock winter beater has had minimal issues minus exhaust and front end which goes just because the wear and tear. Replaced the original starter last year and alternator a couple weeks ago.

On an LS motor, IIRC, it's a rather easy DIY job, if you buy one outside the dealer you may be able to buy one cheaper but get a good quality one, like an AC Delco which is OEM.

I ran the smaller mk3 starter for many years, and it was fine, but now that I have a new-to-me car with the original starter still in it- I prefer that one. It never bogs down, seems to have more torque.

I would get a Denso or AcDelco reman, no cheap crap since they're a bit of a pain to replace.

I would rather do it once and have it last for 100k+ than to do that repair 2x.

Volkswagen did something similar with the starters on the 70's/80's Rabbit -- They installed it mere inches from the exhaust, which led to premature solenoid failure. I installed a solenoid bypass button and mounted it under the dash after the 3rd starter replacement in 5 years.

Ive noticed during the day on a lunch run, when I release the pedal to pull away from a stop sign or light, the engine judders hard and lunges me forward somewhat aggressive. I think this feature really puts a strain on the starter too.