cheap fix

So, when we bought our little geo metro, it would not start. If you pop started it, it worked great (you know, pushing it until it is going fast enough to start running if you give it gas and let out the clutch). But if you tried to start it with the key, it would not start. It would turn over, but not catch and drain the battery very quickly. Jump starting it did not work either. We were told the starter was bad by the guy we bought it from. Taking it on faith, even though James did at one point say that it just didn't seem like a starter problem to him, last night he took the starter out and took it to the auto parts store to be tested prior to shelling out the $61 for a new one. It was fine. James came back and frowned at the car for a little while, occassionally reaching in and fiddling with things. He checked the ground wire and it was fine, same with the connections to the battery. Hmmm.... Then he looked inside the battery to check the water level. It was EMPTY. bingo! So I went to the store and bought a gallon of distilled water for $2.29, James filled up the battery, hooked the jumper cables up to give it a jump, and it started right up. Let it run for a few minutes to charge the battery back up, and it works fine. I am thinking the guy we bought it from knew it wasn't the starter, but didn't know what it was. If he knew it would be a $2 fix, I am thinking we would not have gotten it so cheap.