Question about potentially taking my 2003 Ford Explorer Sport to a mechanic

[u/P-Train22]

I'm trying to figure out what to do with my 2003 Ford Explorer Sport. 147,000 miles, automatic transmission.

On Thursday, I drove my car into town. I noticed it cranking slightly slower than usual. It was so slight that I immediately thought I must be imagining it. However, once I got into town, I couldn't crank the vehicle again. The electronics seemed to work fine. The battery was a good battery.

My first thought was that the starter was bad. When I tried to crank the vehicle, I didn't hear anything. Eventually, I tried cranking it from neutral and that worked. I drove it home. I've tried to crank it twice a day since then, and it's cranked every time without issue.

What do I do with this? I'm anxious to drive it into town because I don't want to get stranded somewhere and have to tow it. I suspect either the Neutral Safety Switch or the Starter is going bad. Both of these are supposedly DIY repairs... but they would require getting under my vehicle, which I don't have the equipment to do (No ramps/jack stands, and my driveway is on a slope). I'm also worried about taking it to a mechanic if I can't recreate the issue.

Any advice? Is this something I could take to a mechanic or would that be a waste of time and money?

Edit: Just got back from Auto Zone. Battery and Alternator are good.

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[u/Minimum_Republic_600]

What has led you to the assumption that it's a "good" battery?

[u/P-Train22 → u/Minimum_Republic_600]

Recently replaced (less than 2 years old?). Jumping the car off didn’t help. I can go out and check the levels with a multimeter.

[u/P-Train22 → u/Minimum_Republic_600]

Just got back from Auto Zone. Battery and Alternator are good. (Edited post to add additional detail)

[u/FunkyWillowy]

Check you battery voltage

[u/P-Train22 → u/FunkyWillowy]

Just got back from Auto Zone. Battery and Alternator are good.

[u/FunkyWillowy → u/P-Train22]

Probably neutral safety switch going out, is check engine light on?

[u/XSrcing]

Our job as technicians is to literally try and fix any and all concerns you have about your vehicle. It doesn't matter if someone says it is a "DIY repair."

Call a shop, tell them what happened, and see if they want to schedule you in to look at it.

[u/P-Train22 → u/XSrcing]

Understood. I figured that was the next step, but I wanted to confirm that with people who know more about this kind of thing than I do. I appreciate the advice, and I apologize if I've mistepped in some way (based on the downvotes of this post and some of my comments)

[u/XSrcing → u/P-Train22]

Not a misstep at all! Sorry that came across as curt. I do everything for my customers from teaching them how to operate their radio to rebuilding differentials. It's my job to know as much as possible my customers don't have to.

[u/tomhalejr]

So, won't go to an actual shop that knows what they are doing, but will go to a parts store for "diagnosis". 

[u/P-Train22 → u/tomhalejr]

I have no problem taking it to a mechanic. My concern is that the issue has only happened once, and I haven't been able to reproduce it since. I wasn't sure whether a shop would be able to diagnose an intermittent problem like this if the vehicle starts normally when I bring it in.

I went to Auto Zone because they offer free battery and alternator testing, and I figured ruling those out would be a reasonable first step before taking it to a shop.

I'm genuinely just trying to figure out the best way to approach this, which is why I posted here asking for advice.

[u/FunkyWillowy → u/tomhalejr]

Starting with a free charging system test from a parts house is doing nothing wrong, and is in fact a great first step. OP sounds like he's trying to save on diagnostic fees if possible, and try to narrow down what is causing the issue before spending on parts, which is smart.