Dead Battery. Want my warranty covered.

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loganscuda

This/These
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This is not a joke, just funny to me. I’ve been having problems with my battery. Thought I had a ground problem would have to jump it for past 2 months every once in awhile. Went out Saturday to drive the car it was dead. Took it to COSTCO with receipt and told them I wanted it replaced under the warranty. Gave guy the receipt and he said this is 6 years old. I argued and said it less than 3.
He showed me the receipt, he was right and I said well sell me one just like that one.
$94 for a battery that lastest 6 years is pretty good I think.
 
I have a friend who has a 65 Mustang (totally restored). He complained to me the other day that he was having trouble getting the Mustang to start. I went over and the battery was really low on charge so we charged it up but it only last a day. I asked him "How old it that battery?" He said that it was probably about 3 years old. So we removed the battery and took it back to Walmart where he had bought it. Walmart checked it out and informed him that the battery was over 10 years old. He said, "Well, how time flies!!!"
 
I have a friend who has a 65 Mustang (totally restored). He complained to me the other day that he was having trouble getting the Mustang to start. I went over and the battery was really low on charge so we charged it up but it only last a day. I asked him "How old it that battery?" He said that it was probably about 3 years old. So we removed the battery and took it back to Walmart where he had bought it. Walmart checked it out and informed him that the battery was over 10 years old. He said, "Well, how time flies!!!"
You know how long batteries usually last down here. They usually go out a week after the warranty.
 
Your new battery from costco will last 41 months............

:thumbsup:

(they have a 42 month full refund warranty)
 
When i was in parts this was a common thing. Most would claim battery was 2 years old. Computer records in a small town tell all.
 
I had a battery from Advance Auto, 5 year battery. Took it back with a date stamp of 40 months old. Guy asked for receipt: I told him its your battery with your date stamp. He told me unless I can produce a receipt he can do nothing. I asked what a receipt would prove if the date was on the battery, he told me original owner, warranty is non transferrable. I got the battery in the car when I bought it...So much for standing behind your products. Similar story with Hooker headers when they drilled the holes too low in the flange and the "O-rings" would not seal on the port. "Lifetime warranty on manufacture defect" but I couldn't **** them the 5 year old receipt so I was SOL. F them.
 
I had a battery from Advance Auto, 5 year battery. Took it back with a date stamp of 40 months old. Guy asked for receipt: I told him its your battery with your date stamp. He told me unless I can produce a receipt he can do nothing. I asked what a receipt would prove if the date was on the battery, he told me original owner, warranty is non transferrable. I got the battery in the car when I bought it...So much for standing behind your products. Similar story with Hooker headers when they drilled the holes too low in the flange and the "O-rings" would not seal on the port. "Lifetime warranty on manufacture defect" but I couldn't **** them the 5 year old receipt so I was SOL. F them.

At our store, if a customer comes in with one of our batteries and it's out of warranty by 3 months or less and they are cool about it, or they are a regular customer, they're gettin a new battery. That's just good business.

I can tell you why Advance did what they did. They purge their customer database every six months. So if you buy a three year battery, on that 7th month, you're kicked out of the system. Even with a receipt, I've had Advance customers come in mad as hell because Advance refused their warranty, receipt in hand. That's bad business. That's the kind of business that drives customers away.

O'Reilly isn't perfect, but their customer service attitude is good. Perhaps better than most. We're told in meetings all year long "make sure the customer leaves happy". As corny as it sounds, that means a lot to me.
 
Buddy bought 2 interstates from a local dealer, my employer at the time. When the first battery crapped at 45 months owner couldnt be bothered to look it up. Was a total prick about it.
I have a file for every battery i sell,customer loses a bill, its in my file. It is about the warranty, not the battery.
 
Oh also, FWIW, O'Reilly's stance on battery warranty is that it is indeed transferable. All the new owner needs is the previous owner's receipt or phone number the battery was purchased with and they are "supposed" to warranty it. Not every store will honor that because some are not up on their training like they need to be.
 
In 2014 I replaced the original GM Delco battery in my company truck, a 2004 Silverado. The NAPA lasted till 2018 for the guy that inherited my truck when they bought me a new Transit Connect. Which, by the way has a battery I cant even see. Forget about askin me for a jump start.
 
I bought a sears diehard platinum (made by Odyssey) back in 2010. Still going strong. Man what an awesome battery it has been. Too bad sears quit making them
 
I love them AGM batteries. Especially when you can get them used because the guy didnt know how to charge them with a regular "smart" battery charger.....
 
I recently replaced an Advance Auto (gold) in my truck after 32 months. First question to me was "do you have your receipt?". So they did a replacement swap free but gave me only a 90 day replace warranty with the new one. A month less than when the original would have timed out.
Save that receipt!
 
I got 6 years out of my $46 Rural king branded Exide.

I also posted in Rainy's thread about wal-mart batty warranties.
They only honor the warranty once. If your 5 year battery craps out after 2 years, you get one new replacement only. If the replacement craps out in a year, you're screwed.

RRR- how long ago did I suggest you'd make a great parts store person and maybe even be manager material.

Was I right or what?
 
Why doesn't someone make a rebuildable auto battery? New plates and new insulators? Drop them all into a hard plastic case dry and bolt them up. Fill and charge....Leads still pretty cheap @ 3/lb in ingot. Maybe after all said and done its impossible to ship ie. hazmat or some other BS. We have huge Lead Acid batteries at the phone offices that last for decades. Seems the reconditioned batteries are only old batteries that are cleaned externally, checked for opens or shorts and recharged. Maybe fluid changed out but you cant get the hard sulfate out unless you disassemble... ?
 
...RRR- how long ago did I suggest you'd make a great parts store person and maybe even be manager material.

Was I right or what?

RRR as a manager would raise eyebrows at corporate when his battery return rate would be double what the next stores was, then he'd get called upstairs......even if practices were followed.I had a supervisor that was all for the employee (customer in this case): pulled all kinds of strings, found loopholes in productivity metrics, etc. Made us all look great on paper...got canned. Didnt have enough failed QC's "so he must not have been looking hard enough..." They offered me management training, I said hell no. I like being responsible for what I can control, me.
 
Isn't he already an assistant manager?

it's all about documentation and communication

make sure everyone is "on the same page" and CYA.

it's not easy and it's not for everyone, but somebody has to do it, and if it pays a premium and causes things to be better for everyone, it can be a win/win.

it does all depend on the next manager up the chain though.

too many times I've seen junior managers used as scapegoats.

You need to know the guy above you and the guy above hem/her.
 
Why doesn't someone make a rebuildable auto battery? New plates and new insulators? Drop them all into a hard plastic case dry and bolt them up. Fill and charge....Leads still pretty cheap @ 3/lb in ingot. Maybe after all said and done its impossible to ship ie. hazmat or some other BS. We have huge Lead Acid batteries at the phone offices that last for decades. Seems the reconditioned batteries are only old batteries that are cleaned externally, checked for opens or shorts and recharged. Maybe fluid changed out but you cant get the hard sulfate out unless you disassemble... ?
IMO, is Because society is being dumbed down. People are not learning how to fix and repair things. Only replace with new parts. Machine shop, welding, auto body, wood working is being taken out of school electives. A whole lotta high schoolers can’t do general maintenance on automobiles.

Anyways back on topic.
 
I wonder what the cost would be.

Handling the plates, making the connections, stocking and handling acid...
 
motorcycle batteries are still 'buy dry and fill' with included acid. unlimited shelf life....about as dangerous handling as pool acid.
 
When Costco sold the Kirkland battery it had the highest rating. Now they sell Interstae, which I’ve had good luck with. I don’t know how long the AMG batteries last but $300 is a lot of money to me if my $100 lasts 6 years
 
...and the case would have to come apart, yet seal.
 
RRR as a manager would raise eyebrows at corporate when his battery return rate would be double what the next stores was, then he'd get called upstairs......even if practices were followed.I had a supervisor that was all for the employee (customer in this case): pulled all kinds of strings, found loopholes in productivity metrics, etc. Made us all look great on paper...got canned. Didnt have enough failed QC's "so he must not have been looking hard enough..." They offered me management training, I said hell no. I like being responsible for what I can control, me.

And then that's when I'd tell them to stuff it. I've had this discussion with both my DM and RM and they both said the same thing. That the customer's satisfaction is all that matters. Of course it's a judgement call when warranting something out of the warranty range. They simply ask us not to abuse it.

That said, I've never been management material. I'm in management now and I'm still not management material. I likely won't last much longer, due to my health issues and other corporatey nonsense that's come up elsewhere. Sad, really. I finally found something I really love doing and it's not gonna last.
 
Had the biggest baddest Sears Diehard battery I could find in my Dart. I put it in in 2000 and replaced it (only because I was worried I was pushing my luck) in 2014. I replaced it with a another Diehard Platinum that's still in there and has never given me any problems. I kepp it on a maintainer any time it's in the garage. Hopefully I'll get the same life out of this one.
 
We made batteries in 4th grade, just like the yellow tops: Took 1 strip of copper, and 1 strip of zinc and rolled them together with a paper towel insulator in the middle, filled with acid. Looked like a jelly roll and it made 1.2V. I was reading an OLD service manual for a car and it showed how to rebuild the battery! It was a wooden box with plates and all, the top was hammered on with tar sealer. Showed a drawing of a guy opening the 'battery box' with a crowbar and pulling the old sulfated plates out.
 
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