Post by Candyman on Feb 14, 2008 0:36:31 GMT -8
Hey Everyone,
Well, my old battery finally gave out on me. It is just a fact of life especially if it is only driven a couple times a month, rather than being a daily driver.
Way back once upon a time, when I was struggling to get my Detail Shop going, I had to take on a second job to help pay the bills till i got going, and worked for Interstate Batteries of San Diego out in Mira mar. Anyways, long story short, I got a pretty good education on the Automotive Battery Industry, and thought I might pass along a few things that you can do to save some money, and get the most out of your Battery!
First off, if you live in a pretty good sized town, I would highly recommend flipping through the phone book for a Automotive Battery Store that only deals in Automotive Batteries. The reason for this is that most places like this usually have load testers, and volt meters, and can tell you if your battery is bad, or not, and what is wrong with it. over my experience, I have come to realize that a lot of people replace batteries that are still good! They may be discharged, but with a slow charge back up to good levels, the battery is perfectly fine. After explaining to a customer that the battery is still good, a number of people still replace the battery. With this said, most battery shops will recharge the battery, clean it up, and re-sell it at a fraction of the cost!
Case in point, I needed a new Battery for my PT. I have been really wanting a Red Top Optima Battery, but the price of a new one is somewhere in the neighborhood of $160.00. Seeing as how I rarely ever drive it, I can't see spending that kind of money, so off to my local Battery Store I go! Turns out a gentleman came in last week with a car that had three Optima Batteries running a bunch of Electronics on his car. One of the three Batteries had a bad cell and was no good. This discharged the other two batteries, which otherwise were fine. The Battery Tech told him this, but the Customer wanted new ones, so the Battery Shop charged them, cleaned them up, and they were good to go! These two Batteries were 2 months old, still have the remainder of a 2 year warranty left, and since they were used, I bought them for $45.00 each! On top of that, the Battery Tech brought out his Volt Meter, and checked to make sure my Alternator was charging correctly, and everything was good to go!
SO next time your car Battery dies, before you head to NAPA, or Pep Boys, stop and see if you can find a Battery Shop! I guarantee it is definitely worth your time!
Here is a short reference of sizes, and part number
Diehard Part Numbers..
Plus Start
Sears item #02830127000
Mfr. model #30127 $39.99 Available in Sears Auto Centers only.
Product image DieHard WeatherHandler® South
Sears item #02830327000
Mfr. model #30327 $59.99 Available in Sears Auto Centers only.
DieHard
Product image DieHard WeatherHandler® North
Sears item #02830027000
Mfr. model #30027 $59.99
Interstate Battery is greentop 26R
Exide Group 26R :
Till next time, take it easy!
Candyman
Well, my old battery finally gave out on me. It is just a fact of life especially if it is only driven a couple times a month, rather than being a daily driver.
Way back once upon a time, when I was struggling to get my Detail Shop going, I had to take on a second job to help pay the bills till i got going, and worked for Interstate Batteries of San Diego out in Mira mar. Anyways, long story short, I got a pretty good education on the Automotive Battery Industry, and thought I might pass along a few things that you can do to save some money, and get the most out of your Battery!
First off, if you live in a pretty good sized town, I would highly recommend flipping through the phone book for a Automotive Battery Store that only deals in Automotive Batteries. The reason for this is that most places like this usually have load testers, and volt meters, and can tell you if your battery is bad, or not, and what is wrong with it. over my experience, I have come to realize that a lot of people replace batteries that are still good! They may be discharged, but with a slow charge back up to good levels, the battery is perfectly fine. After explaining to a customer that the battery is still good, a number of people still replace the battery. With this said, most battery shops will recharge the battery, clean it up, and re-sell it at a fraction of the cost!
Case in point, I needed a new Battery for my PT. I have been really wanting a Red Top Optima Battery, but the price of a new one is somewhere in the neighborhood of $160.00. Seeing as how I rarely ever drive it, I can't see spending that kind of money, so off to my local Battery Store I go! Turns out a gentleman came in last week with a car that had three Optima Batteries running a bunch of Electronics on his car. One of the three Batteries had a bad cell and was no good. This discharged the other two batteries, which otherwise were fine. The Battery Tech told him this, but the Customer wanted new ones, so the Battery Shop charged them, cleaned them up, and they were good to go! These two Batteries were 2 months old, still have the remainder of a 2 year warranty left, and since they were used, I bought them for $45.00 each! On top of that, the Battery Tech brought out his Volt Meter, and checked to make sure my Alternator was charging correctly, and everything was good to go!
SO next time your car Battery dies, before you head to NAPA, or Pep Boys, stop and see if you can find a Battery Shop! I guarantee it is definitely worth your time!
Here is a short reference of sizes, and part number
Diehard Part Numbers..
Plus Start
Sears item #02830127000
Mfr. model #30127 $39.99 Available in Sears Auto Centers only.
Product image DieHard WeatherHandler® South
Sears item #02830327000
Mfr. model #30327 $59.99 Available in Sears Auto Centers only.
DieHard
Product image DieHard WeatherHandler® North
Sears item #02830027000
Mfr. model #30027 $59.99
Interstate Battery is greentop 26R
Exide Group 26R :
Till next time, take it easy!
Candyman
