My car will not start

First, figure out which kind of no-start this is

Don't keep turning the key over and over. If you hear rapid clicking, or nothing at all, stop and try the headlights. Turn them on. If they're dim or don't come on, that points one way. If they're bright and normal, that points another. Either way, you're not stranding yourself further by checking this first, and it saves time when you call someone.

What usually causes this, commonest first

A weak or dead battery is the most common cause by far, especially if the car is a few years old, has sat unused, or it's been cold out. Next most common is a bad starter or a loose or corroded battery connection, which can act just like a dead battery. Less common, but it happens, is cranking fine but the engine not catching, which points to fuel or ignition rather than the electrical side.

How to tell them apart

Rapid clicking, and the lights are dim or flicker when you try to start: almost always the battery. Slow crank, or a single loud click and nothing else: could be the battery, could be the starter or its connections. If the engine cranks over at normal speed, sounds healthy, but just won't catch, the battery and starter are probably fine and the problem is fuel or spark not getting there. Also worth a quick look: corrosion on the battery terminals, a battery post that wiggles, or a smell of gas that suggests you've been cranking it a lot.

One more thing worth ruling out yourself: make sure the shifter is fully in park or neutral. A shifter that's slightly out of position will produce a dead-sounding no-start that has nothing wrong with the car at all.

What the fix usually involves and roughly what it costs

If it's the battery, a jump start will tell you fast, and a replacement battery is a same-day job, on the cheaper end of car repairs. Cleaning corroded terminals or tightening a loose connection is even cheaper, sometimes just needs a wrench. A starter is a bigger job, usually a few hours of labor plus the part, and it varies by vehicle since some starters are easy to reach and some are buried. Fuel or ignition issues need actual diagnosis rather than guessing, because "won't catch" can mean a dozen different things underneath, and the cost really depends on what turns up.

This is worth getting looked at soon rather than living with it. A car that no-starts once will usually do it again, often at a worse time. If you're not sure which of these it is, Auto Star in Graham can generally tell within a few minutes on the car, and they're open Saturdays if a weekday doesn't work.