Hi all:

My daughter is using my vanagon while her 1989 Cabriolet is in the shop for body work. 

She's been having some trouble with an intermittent no start issue.  The first time it happened was after the ice and snow we had here in Northern Virginia and the van had been sitting for about a week.  She went to start and got nothing.  Took the battery out and took it over to a FLAPS and they said the battery was fine.

Put the battery back in the van, we went over and rolled the van forward a couple of feet (not a roll start), then tried the ignition and it started.  It did this again maybe 2 or 3 times in the 7 or so days since.  This morning, it wouldn't start, she tried to roll start, no go.  It's still sitting there, not starting.  There's no grinding, almost no noise, except what my husband says is the fuel injectors.

My husband thinks we should go buy another starter and put it in and then see if it works.  Is there any way to tell for sure that it's the starter before laying out that much money, provided I can even find one?  Any other possibilities we need to rule out first?

Thanks in advance,
Karen