he said when he "hotwires" it the car starts right up, meaning the starter works. unless.....i've heard when starters go bad that it takes a big ole shock to get them going. maybe it's weak, but not dead...? it might be worth pulling the starter and taking it to autozone to have it tested just so you can eliminate the possibility completely. when the starter on my accord went out, that's exactly what it did. if i kept clicking the key back and forth, eventually it would crank and start.