You know what, I agree with you that there is a problem with consumers buying foreign junk from big box retailers and treating their employees like crap. I don't agree, however that this is the place to rant like a child about it.
My current battery has been abused and neglected - not used for many months at a time- for a couple three years and still works great. By all rights it should be DOA. It was made in america and lotta cabbage but worth it, which is hard for a cheap SOB like me to say. I just despise breakdowns and battery problems, so I always buy the biggest and best I can. Sometimes it even pays off!
I buy all my auto parts at a local parts store. Been in business here since 1932. I like to support the local Mom and Pop stores, but I buy my batteries at WalMart because we travel a lot and there are WalMarts everywhere. Never had a problem bringing my battery back. Pat.
Walmart is for me. Always open, competetive price, rock solid guarantee, just keep the reciept. It's a local business too, local people are employed there.....................
They usually stick it in a little pocket on the side of the battery, so you don't have to worry about it.
only things i consider when buying a battery... color: i dont like those interstate green/white, etc ones cause they look too outta place cca: i like to have too much, rather then not enough. my big block car was always 800+ cca and spun it like a 4 banger size: duh, its gotta fit!!
I had two Interstates and one went bad on me. Have a Deka boat battery that came with one of my Suburbans and I'm going to switch it to my van - can't kill it, it will run the radio all day at a car show. But it's a boat battery. I've had used Wal-mart batteries and they've lasted plenty long enough too. Honestly unless I need a special one or a fresh one for a nice ride I just go buy a used one at the junkyard though. Hard to beat $12 (plus $3 core).
Any battery that is discharged will freeze if it gets cold enough. It's all about the specific gravity of the electrolyte, not about who sold the battery.
I have purchased their deep cycle batteries (big yellow ones) for my travel trailer. I don't use it alot, so they go flat and die. Never to recharge again. I need to buy one in July or so because I usually use the trailer for the first time in May each year, and its dead.. the warranty dates are always in Oct..I forgot to swap them out this time. I got one of those solar chargers to keep them up from now on. I have one in my truck that works fine. I just think they don't like to sit.
Over the years I have purchased maybe 20 of them. I have grouped them in large equipment, have them in my Dodge diesel, Mustang, lawn mower etc. They are open late, just down the road and the warranty is good. No problems. B
Lucky to have Interstate and Excide warehouses here in town. They both sell blems for half the price of the same 1st. Difference, scratches and nicks in the case, or sticker on crooked. Big Deal. The Excide 6V in my plymouth is going on 5 years and woke up nicely from it's winter nap. The I State in my wife's driver is going on 6 years. I think I paid 18 for the 6V and 35 for the one in the daily. The 12V died once but the trunk was left unlatched for three days and the light was on. Came right back. So if you don't want to support Wally world's questionable labor practices, you might want to check your yellow pages for the I state and Exide warehouses in your area. As has been established its a black box with some lead and acid in it, made in one of three places in the country. Currently optimas are assembled with questionable labor south of the border.
Watch out. Went to get my Wally World RV battery replaced this Winter and was told new ones don't have ANY warranty on them. I'm thinking they have figured out that they don't pay with people swapping them out every year. Unfortunately the warranty on my old one had run out so I was faced with buying a battery with absolutely no warranty. Mine was a freebee after I bought the camper and PO included receipt for the Wally World battery which would no longer hold a charge. I also learned that Wally World (and others) have Northern and Southern batteries. I was in So Cal at the time and couldn't get a Northern battery. Fortunately Sears was able to put a good charge on my existing battery and allowed me to make it back the the NW.
You cheaters who don't maintain your equipment and then expect "warranty" and those who otherwise "game" the system screw things up for the rest of us........frankly, that REALLY pisses me off.........because it's such a blatant double standard.....YOU sure as hell wouldn't want to put up with that crap if YOU were the merchant. Hope I'm never in a situation where I have to count on your good character for the outcome............... Ray
^^^^^^^ Sorry to piss you off, but its not a game..I have more expensive batteries in my tow truck, its been sitting almost 2 years because the motor is bad. It will still crank over today. They have never been charged up. The Walmart ones cant sit 6 months without being junk. I did not realize that at first, and use the warranty they provide for their product. I didn't see the point in spending $500 for batteries for a travel trailer. The Walmart ones are the first ones to die like that. I have others that go dead and can be recharged. I don't think I'll be buying walmart ones anymore. I bought some factory blems for $50 each at Pomona that work great...so far. To maintain my equipment in the future, I bought a solar battery charger/ maintainer. Sorry not all of us are as omnipotent as you..
My pop is on his 4th replacement on his Walmart battery, he just got a replacement one today, and the last one he got was in November!
Best batteries I have ever had did'nt have label one on them........don't know who the crap made them! peace
Most auto batteries are made by just three manufacturers, Delphi, Exide, and Johnson Controls Industries. Each makes batteries sold under several different brand names. Delphi makes ACDelco and some EverStart (Wal-Mart) models. Exide makes Champion, Exide, Napa, and some EverStart batteries. Johnson Controls makes Diehard (Sears), Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), Motorcraft (Ford), and some EverStarts. http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.aspx?contentid=4023696
East Penn deka is one of the easiest companies to deal with for warranty issues, and when you open up their batteries you would see that the brazing of the plates and post are much higher quality than most other manufacturers.
I've never used their car batteries but I have used them for my lawn mower.Lasted far longer than the mowers brand name(less) ones. Giz'
I always have bad luck with batteries. A cheap one from the wreckers will last just as long as a top of the line job. At least Walmart has an easy exchange. Most places treat you like a criminal that has to prove the entire electrical system is up to scratch.
I have the same size battery in my 55 Ford and 37 Chevy (I think for a Honda) as it fit the original 55 battery hold down and fit the 37 after I had to cut down the battery box,I got the battery for the 55 from Advanced and from day one it can sit from november to march without being started and no problems and its 3 years older then the wally world battery in my 37 that could not sit the same amount of time. Before the battery box surgery in the 37 I had a Autozone battery that was 10 years old and could sit a year and not go dead but that was before I installed a stereo and both the 55 and 37 have a stereo and the slight draw of it does not kill the battery in the 55 sitting all winter unlike the battery in tthe 37.
Omnipotent???????? Is that a synonym for 'honesty' or 'taking personal responsibilty for the consequences of my own choices" ?? The batteries that you say keep their charge for a long period says more about the electrical system they're attached to than it does the batteries. Many electrical systems have a low draw 'appliance' somewhere in the system.......older vehicles are less likely to. Few batteries in my experience will properly recharge after long periods of discharge. They tend to sulphate between the plates. I use battery tenders on all my in storge units and have pretty much eliminated the inconvenience and expense of dead batteries. Warranties are failures occurring in products through no fault of the consumer.........not to make up for abuse and neglect....treat your stuff any way you choose, just be man enough to be accountable for the consequences instead of 'sticking it' to the merchant just because you can get away with it. No "omnipotence" (you really ought to look that up) here, just the old fashioned Golden Rule. If that makes you uncomfortable, tough! Ray
Exactly! How many mom and pop stores employ/ed as many people as the local Walmart? And was their benefit package as good? I might have to check out their bike batteries. I always buy oil filters for my bike there.
For all kinds of batteries at a good price and with fast shipping..........try Batterymart.com. I have been very pleased with bike battery and household phone batteries etc. they just about everything........although, that said, for a larger, heavier battery as used in my cars and trucks, I buy local. Ray
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