Past couple of mornings, car cranked a little longer than usual upon first startup of the day--I attributed this to cooler New England mornings. This a.m. (not particularly cool--about 60°F), cranked for a couple of seconds, then nothing. Waited a minute, tried again... cranked slower and again nothing. Tried again after a few MORE minutes, then nothing... no cranking, no clicking, just nothing. BTW, radio and lights worked. Tried jump-starting it--no luck. I'm guessing this is a starter issue (did not know to "knock" on the starter housing--will try that when I get home tonight before I suck it up and have it towed to the garage), but want to have all my ducks in a row before I take it to a garage (I'm new to the area and don't have a "regular" mechanic yet that I can trust to give me the straight scoop).

#1) if it's the starter, about how much should I expect to pay w/ parts and labor? I have seen starters online for about $125 but wonder how involved this repair is and how many hour of labor I can expect.
#2) if I get a new starter, do I also need a new battery?
#3) is there an easy way I can be sure it's not the alternator before I bring it to the mechanic?

I'm guessing an alternator repair is more expensive than a starter and want to make sure I'm getting the right diagnosis before dropping hundeds of dollars on repairs. It's not the I want to go into a new garage being suspicious right from the get go, but being a chick in a new town, I want to make sure I'm not getting the run around by someone who may or may not have great integrity. Thanks for any info you can offer! :)

My hunch is that you need a new battery. Disconnect the negative battery cable first and reattach it last. If you want, remove the old battery and place it on a charger. If the ammeter does not kick back relatively soon, the battery is bad. Also, be sure to clean the battery terminals and connections. You really don't want to jump start modern-day cars, if at all possible. It greatly increases the chance of damaging the computer and alternator.

The link below should help:

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/cars-trucks/faq-how-troubleshoot-repair-maintain-hondas-46563-3.html#post235560

The best battery deal, I'm aware of, is from Costco--3 years/100 months. Your car likely takes a 51R size battery. I believe they are around $40.

It would be unusual for it to be a starter motor or alternator, on such a new Civic. Starters are usually very easy to install on Hondas. The labor should not be very much.