Talk to Optima

Denise: That'd be cool if you can get your old battery back, or at least get a photo of it at O'Rielly's. Pose with it and become the Optima poster child! Ha!

FuelFC: Yes, this is an invalueable customer focus group and I'm very honored and humbled that so many have pitched in here. Thank you all!
I'll ask the Optima reps if they'd like to drive me around to some Vegas parts stores. If their car starts, I'll let you know what kind of battery is in it.

 

Holy Crap! I didn't intend on poking a stick in the already aggrivated bees nest suggesting the part number thing. I just happened to be under the hood of my OT vehicle and thought of this thread while I was there. Figured it would be good info to supply. It took maybe 3 minutes to grab a pencil and discarded piece of paper. Coincidentally the crap ass battery was a few feet away and I sketched those #s down as well.

Being in Aircraft maintenance with the military, part and serial numbers are damn near everything which is why I brought this point up. Using this we are able to isolate "bad" batches of parts and track failure trends. This way we get the word out to others in the field. I thought the concept may cross over.

 

I used to campaign for them, now I speak against them. Maybe I could be swayed if I still didn't have that dead one out in my garage, that Optima won't replace. Focus on that.

 

Anarchist! Look at what you've done!
Seriously, I thought the idea had some merit, or I wouldn't have encouraged it. Sorry everyone...
(Mister Wizard? I don't think I want to be in Marketing anymore...)

 

I've struggled thru the whole thread and all the other threads posted as links within this thread. Did this because it's almost battery buying time on my roadster project.
I had been trying to decide on whether to use a reg. lead/acid batt. and enclose in vented and sealed box, an Optima, or the Odyssey type of dry cell technology.
I have decided to give new technology a try with the Odyssey, or other dry cell type, and leave enough slack in cables to be able to install a sealed and vented box with a good old lead/acid batt. inside. Way too much negative about Optima, whether it's made in good old USA, Mexico, or Bumfuck, Egypt.
Dave

 

After reading this debate / rant for several days I looked at the batteries in my cars today . I have a total of 8 Optima batteries . Not all in cars .

I started my 6V '40 Coupe / mild Flathead for the first time in 2 months . Battery date is 4/99 and still good .

I have a 12V that I replaced in my '32 3W in 3/07 that I bought in 1997 , it is still good after sitting for almost 3 years . I also have 2 6V that have been sitting and not used but are still good with dates of '99 and '04 . All are USA made .

I do have 3 that were made south of the border that still start but are only 12 - 16 months old .Time will tell on them .

I would not buy another Optima after reading of the problems of others and their high price . I priced the CARQUEST line today and it seems like the best value for my needs .............Z.

 

(we need to start letting any company know that if they take their product out of this country to cut a fat profit and screw the consumer , that were not just going to sit here and play dead for them.
I know I wont.)

That was perfect.

I will add, We also need a Goverment who would back that type of thinking up -

Want to move your plant out of our country....?

Ok - now your going to pay a 25% import tax on everything you make over there - and want to sell over here.

That tax goes for all the other crap shipped over here too.

I'm pretty sure that would change thing a bit.

 

I had an optima in my first car (honda prelude.... i know. i was 16 give me a break) And when it died it was 7 years old. I bought another one and pulled it out when i sold the car 3 months later. Never put it back on anything, its just sitting in the shop.

ive been really happy with the duralast red tops from autozone actually. Ive got 1 in all 3 of my cars right now. one of them died at about 3 years, the other 2 are still kicking. But they even warrantied the 3 year old battery.

My point is. FOR the price. i could buy a duralast, interstate, or number of other batterys, that are going to do the same thing, for less than half the price.

Plus, outsourcing is just bullshit.

 

bttt

 

Hey Scotty, I actually think I might have seen a red topped on on the side of the road between Jacksonville and Ashland on Highway 238 today....
Had one in a 6 volt VW, never gave me any trouble, sold the car after 5 years, still starting just fine, but this was long before they shipped production south of the border...

 

Here's my take on this debacle...from a former potential customer:

When they first came out, I thought "OOOOOhhhhh...Pretty Coool"....then I saw the price, and figured maybe one day when I had something worthy to put them in, I'd buy one. At the time, they were twice what I was paying for an 'ordinary battery', and I had no reason to justify the price jump.

From what I have gathered over the years:

1) They sold out to Mexico
2) Their reliability went south too, years ago- around the same time they sold out of the U.S.
3) Their price went up, DESPITE moving to Mexico (which defies MY logic).
4) I've never had a 'cheapo' battery fail before it's time (5-10 years) that was not MY fault (read below):
6) Can't justify the increased price, over-inflated rep, poor return policy, and general lack of support.
7) A $200 battery should last a helluva lot longer than what a $50.00 battery costs. That doesn't seem to be the case, unless you bought a early, pre J/C battery.


OK-- so I have stated my reasons for NOT wanting an Optima.

To add to what I said about cheapie batteries...the only time a 'cheapie' has failed on me is when I let it sit outside too long, in sub-zero temps for weeks at a time before getting around to either trying to start the car or putting the battery on the charger 'just in case'. If not, I froze a cell---my fault. For the past few years, I stored a car all winter long, and I simply removed the battery and moved it to a room temperature place. Hooked it back up in spring; fired up the car like a champ.

OTHERWISE, THEY FAILED WHEN THEY WERE 'OLD'. PAST 5 YEARS OR SO, WITH 0 PROBLEMS UP TO THEIR FAILING POINT IN NORMAL EVERYDAY USE. THAT TO ME, IS ACCEPTABLE.

When they outlived their usefulness, they let you know...and not in some 'weird way' that had battery techs telling me it was my alternator. I'd take it in, have it load tested, and sure enough, the battery had gave up the ghost.

NOW... I ask...short of being able to put these batteries on their side, what are the advantages to them? They seem to have an unconventional charge system to bring them back from the dead...and to add insult to injury, they don't seem to like to sit too long unused.

These Optimas-- they used to be the sh*t. If you had an Optima, you knew your stuff...you were 'serious', a 'car guy'...or at least you new someone who told you you should have one...especially if you were a car audio guy. Even if you had an Escort, if you had an Optima, you were 'in the know'.

Now, you are "in the duped' category.

As far as I am concerned, a quality name was bought up by a big company, who sought to capitalize on that good name. They bought them out, moved the manufacturing to Mexico to make money, put people out of work, and cheapened the product- all in the name of the almighty dollar. I don't knowingly support that kind of behavior. Whenever possible I try to buy American, even if it means paying more.

Over the past year I have spent a lot of money on car parts that were from the U.S. I have looked at parts on the counter and asked if they had the equivalent that were not made from somewhere other than the U.S...part of the problem is the parts people: "yeah, we got that, but it costs more..." has been said to me more than once. "I don't care..." is what I say to that. I didn't want to mess with the offshore stuff if the U.S. equivalent was available...but less money.

I just so happen to be in the market for a "stand alone" battery. I don't have a core, this will be the first one for the Merc.

I'll never buy an Optima.

Plus, they look like they belong in 'Tuner' cars...not any of mine.

 

Guess I just don't "get it". I have had DIEHARD's fail, K-Mart el-cheapo's fail and everything in-between and I have never stopped buying a particular brand because one failed. If my Chevy fails, I don't go buy a Ford and say I'll never buy another Chevy - but that is what (to me) it sound like the majority of you are saying. One or 2 bad experiences and never again - (Do you still go to movies if you sit through a dud - or did you swear off them too?)

And this "don't buy from Mexico" junk - I know I am probably just a pup at selling auto parts (26+ years) but I do not know of one single manufacturer that does not use another countries services or parts in their product. Now before you jump up and down and stomp my guts out - listen here - there is some junk out there yes, but even if someone advertises that everything is Made in America is that where all the components come from? Do all the tools used to manufacture it come from America? Are all the workers American citizens? This is 2009 - the world has changed - we need to accept change (although I personally hate it and would love to be "all American" but that is just not realistic anymore). Belly-aching won't change it - just get you riled up.

I think the input is very good - but don't you think, if you have a company's ear that instead of just saying how bad they are you should tell them what you think they should do to correct it? Anyone can complain - but step up and tell them what to do so they can change it! That is supposed to be what this is all about.

Okay - let the hate mail begin.......................

 

Tudor: Thanks for the tip, man! I'll check it out (if my car starts)...

 

Make the battery the way it was 10+ years ago, when it was made here in the U.S., before it was bought out by a big company that thought they had a better way of maximizing profits.

The original batteries seem to be the ones that were good.

 

Us too, but I think when someone pays $150-200 bucks for a battery, and it takes a dump after 6 months, something is wrong. 6 months seems to be the magic number if you read all these posts.

If I pay $50 for a Sears battery, I expect it to last 3, maybe 5 years.

If I spend $150 for an Optima, I expect it to last 3 times as long...do you see where we are going with this?

For the record, I've never had a Die-Hard, a Duralast, an Interstate, or an Eveready fail before at LEAST 3 years...and like I said earlier, it was my fault for not storing them properly IF and WHEN they did fail. Most of them DID NOT fail.

 

I use to use them all the time and had no problems then about four years ago everytime I would buy one it would last less than a year, and everytime I went to return it I got nothing but hassle. I am running a walmart battery until my new Kinetic battery comes in for the van Kinetic is by far the best battery I have ever used and dont plan on ever using anything else.........especially since they even make really small batteries that fit in a battery compartment of a corvair van

 

I run a company, and I keep track of our quality control! Your telling me that Optima did not realize they had a problem with their product??? I have returned two myself, in the last two years! after two I went with a Walmart one and never have had an issue and it was $69.00! Its simple they sell a product, its quality is not as good as it used to be, What is to discuss, fix your quality and reliability and everyone is happy, you don't need 12 pages of rants for that. I ask what kind of testing do they do before they leave the factory, do they use the same supplier all the time for the internals?, if so what are their quality controls? are the batteries made the exact same way as they were 10 years ago? If not there is your problem! You had a good product, now you don't pretty simple huh, fix it and get you will get your customers back! FIRE who ever is in charge of customer service and quality control. I would have.

 

Wow...

You run a company, in America...and you buy stuff from...Walmart?

Wow. Ironic.

 

Yup!!!! I buy my socks and underware there too!!!

 

It didn't bring any comment at all from others, but buried within this threadis a comment from one post that the writer had weighed an old Optima from back pre JC and pre Mexico, and the new, made in Mexico batt. was considerably lighter than the old one. IIRC, he said almost half the weight.
Ever wonder why a batt. is so heavy? It's because of the lead plates. So it appears quite likely JC and the Bandidos have cut back on either the plate size or number.
Back in the days when Sears, Roebuck & Co. published their huge mail order catalog almost 3 inches thick, they had lots of car parts in there, including batteries of several different grades, prices and warranties. IIRC, they even listed the number of plates and the weight to further illustrate and justify the higher prices of the best batteries.
JC and the Bandidos just got too greedy, listened to the bean counters instead of the engineers and QC people and have runed a good product and just sbout anniliated it's once proud name, all this before the altar of a better bottom line for the next quarter, and don't worry about the aftermath till now, when they say they wanta do better! Jeez, gimme a fucking break!
I would like to know more about the Kinetic Battery someone mentioned.
Dave

 

WOW - that's a great post! My friends used to laugh at me when I'd go to the store and buy a car battery as I'd borrow a bathroom scale and start weighing them.

 

one of the things that directly affects a battery is the amount and purity of the lead in the plates, if they are using cheap recycled lead full of impurities, which wouldn't surprise me in Mexico, thats more them likely the problem. that also explains the difference in weight, since lead is so heavy of an element and the plates are so large, if it's an inferior mix of junk with the lead of course it's going to weigh less. I'm sure they also reduced some of the lead to cut costs. lets see, piss poor lead=cheaper, less of it=cheaper, desperate for a job workers who will work for burritios= way cheaper, dumping pollution and chemicals in the ground=way cheaper = lots more profit in executives pockets.

 

OK I been reading through this thread hoping to see a little light at the end to tell me Optima has figured out their problems but that is not the case.
First let me say I don't give a crap where they are made, hell I was told I was made in the back seat of a 53 Pontiac convertible.
I just want a good reliable product when I lay down my hard earned American cash. I have a 32 Ford street rod built for 10 years I am on #5 optima battery in those 10 years, the one in the car now is less than a year and a half, it was on a battery tender 1.5 trickle charger while disconnected from the car in a garage heated at 55 degree through the winter. It is dead also. I charged it and even took the car out for a 5 mile drive, that is the most it has seen in a year and a half.
I have Wall-mart 6 volt in my 55 and it is going on 5 years sits in a cold garage all winter and has never failed me yet.
I was able to get a warranty on the 1st 2 optima's but after that they told me they would only pro rate so I did get something off on each of the except the last 2 I got for my pick up. So I have owned 7 optima red tops in the past 10 years and all of them are dead.
Tell Optima I will be their test bed for any future battery's if they want good honest feedback. I have a fleet of 45 vehicles local we would be willing to test for them. Our company wide fleet is about 35000 and not one optima because we need reliability.

 

this is the most telling post of all, so basically the large batch of bad batteries went out there and was sold and they knew about it!!

 

How come this "dead horse" thread is still running?

99% of you are saying the exact same things, but getting angrier every time it's said. I think it's clear that most of you feel:

-They don't last
-They used to last
-The warranty sucks
-The warranty service sucks
-Made in Mexico sucks

OK, I GET IT!!!!

Personally, I'd really like to hear innovative ideas, especially when a company is asking for them. You bitch that they want input? That just amazes me. Charge them for the input? Why? Nobody MADE you post in this thread. This place sure seems to like to bitch more than contribute these days. If you wanted to screw them, let them sink without your input. Believe me, big companies can change via input from their customers.

I'm not saying "don't say things that suck, suck", I just don't think the exact same thing said over and over is doing anything. It sucks to lose $200. That's a lot of money. But some responses are downright livid. Apparently an experience with a bad battery is the worst thing that has ever happened to you. I'm jealous!

Maybe post like this...

I don't like:
-They don't last
-They used to last
-The warranty sucks
-The warranty service sucks
-Made in Mexico sucks
-The high price

I do like:
-Their pretty colors
-

I'd like to see:
-Flexible batteries for unique applications
-Smaller batteries with more power
-One terminal on each side
-Pink polka dots

If everyone lists the same dislikes, they'll see them. Adding expletives and rants, makes your input sound less credible.

Go ahead and hate on me. I just like seeing the industry improve, regardless of who it is. Better products and customer service make all of our hot rod experiences better. If it's something they can fix and do, that's great. If it's something they can't fix fix, or choose not to, then they'll sink.

I love you!

 

I've never owned a Optima ,but I've jump started a lot of cars that had them.

 

KIRK, thier is companies that make a better product allready and smaller, more powerfull.
I think everybody is just finished with Optima, I know I was a while ago.
Everybody keeps beating this horse because of the beatings we took on buying thier product only to have it fail.

 

it's simple, make a product that actually lasts, STAND BEHIND YOUR PRODUCT!!, thats the thing that makes a lot of people so mad, and they are right to be, 200 dollar battery and they won't warranty it? thats like buying a car brand new and the manufacturer says once you drive it off the lot, tough luck.

 

I know those things.

I just find the fervor kind of silly. I find it down right funny that people decide to take the time to rant (of their own free will) and then say that Optima should pay for the input.

Next time I go to Wal-Mart I'm going to walk in the door and tell them that I don't like the new logo - I mean, is it a sun? a snowflake? or a cat's butthole?
Then I'll hold out my hand and wait for payment for my input.

 

That's culling it down to the bare bones. I'd take that to heart if I was them.