How much to fix a 94 Mercury Capri that turns over but sometimes doesn't start?

[Tertium Quid]

My car occasionally was not starting. The engine light would go on intermittently. I discovered if I pressed the accelerator to the floor and held it there, the car would start. That trick only lasted a couple of weeks. Now, sometimes the car starts right up, and sometimes I have to really pump the gas to get it going. Tonight it took a long time to get it to start. I have very little money, so I'm hesitating to bring it into the repair shop. Do you have any idea what might be causing my car not to start? The engine turns over fine. I also notice that when I put the best grade gasoline into the car, the engine light rarely goes on. I've tried putting carburetor and fuel-injection cleaners into the gas tank, but that hasn't worked. What kind of ballpark figure am I looking at to fix this problem? Thanks.

[Optimus Prime]

Must Need New Alternator Or Starter. And Its An Electrical Problem I Dont Think Its Fuel Problems In Otherwords Check The Fuel Filter If Its Dirty Change It Thats Just An Option But Remember The Problem Must Be Electrical, Alternator Or Starter.

[just*a*girl]

How much?


$27,000.00 = new car.

[demo_corndog1]

Hey that isnt very hard how many miles does it have if you hav ehad the car more than three years and never have changed the spark plugs, wires ,cap and rotor that might be some of your problem but if you have then it is either you coil or pickup coil in the distributor is getting weak just depending on how many miles you got on it

[jillians_apologist]

• Dirty carb/throttle body.
• Dirty/faulty fuel injectors.
• Clogged fuel line(s).
• Clogged fuel filter. (Cheap fix)
• Faulty fuel pump, but doesn't sound like it.

If it's running fine once the car has started and doesn't sputter and spit once going, I would say clogged fuel lines/fuel filter. That shouldn't cost more than about $50-75 at the most. Then again, the fact you have to practically flood the engine to get it going makes me wonder if its not a dirty throttle body.

If it's the fuel pump it'll be over $100. But I really don't think this is the case.

The most important thing is to find someone to look at it, even just a friend of a friend you can go to who can drive the car and give you a more solid answer before you go to a mechanic. I'd hate for you to get screwed on something that only takes 30 minutes to do.