This car has a new starter but every once in a will not engage the starter the first time. it only clicks. And then on the second try the engine will turn over and start. Is this common? The battery is good.

 

most likely starter's dying if you're 100% sure the battery and grounds are good.. was it a rebuilt starter? I would suspect its more likely a grounding issue.

 

How new is the starter? I've seen some go bad after a couple months. Did you change it yourself or where did you bring it in? (dealer or independant mechanic) Check the grounds on the car to make sure they're tight and connected good and clean the battery terminals, they get corrosion on them and give you a bad connection. Also, the starter relay could be starting to go bad.

 

when my 99's just clicked (and yes it would start after a few clicks), I replaced the solenoid contacts and that fixed both of mine.
(one was over a year ago)

 

How hard is it to get to the solenoid on the 99?

 

Well, it is right underneath the starter.... which I removed so you can see the solenoid

 

So long as the starter itself is good, replacing the contacts will fix it. Another scenario to ponder: If the plunger and other components are suspect, easier to replace the whole assembly than discover that some months down the road, it begins showing symptoms and you have to go back in.

How many miles on car?

 

First thing i would do is to read the battery power when car is idling it should show something like 12 volts.
A fully charged car battery should show 12.65 volts.
Clean battery terminals + put some grease on them.
Read here
DIY: replacing starter plunger / contacts /diagnosis all IN one //photos inside

 

Ya, it sat for over a week & it just clicked once for about 5 times, then started.
After driving it a while it started fine about 4 times with no click.
The negative battery cable wasn't real tight so I cleaned terminal & tightened it good.
Maybe new battery was just run down sitting?

 

Happy to hear it is doing well now.
The whole starter issue is a PITA.