NEVER BUY WALMART'S BATTERIES OR YOU WILL BE SORRY

Well, perhaps that explains what happened to me. I purchased a
WalMart battery, it was sitting on the shelf apparently fully
charged. This Walmart did not have a service garage, so I installed
it myself. The next day, my car engine started miss firing, stalling
and was hard to start. It had to be towed. The mechanic found that
the fuel was not making it to the engine. He changed the fuel pump
and it ran ok for a day or so. Then the electrical devices started
acting intermittent and the engine missing started again. Long story
shortened, I replaced the battery with another brand and had no more
problems with the fuel or with the electronics (over a year now). If
I hadn't read this posting, I would have never suspected the fuel pump
wasn't bad as well as the bad luck to have had a bad battery.

Dave

On Oct 16, 12:32 am, "Tom" > wrote:
> Regardless if you used their batteries or not, they won't let you return no matter what!! Plus 75% of their batteries will cause your car to have faulty Fuel Reading.
>
> Full Story:
>
> There was no clear written "No Return" policy in front of the battery section, one of their managers tried to point out to me that there is a No-Return policy, I was surprised, later you read it, I did not see any where did it say "No return". They just made up their policy as they go these people.
>
> I bought one of their batteries a few days ago, I had never opened its seal nor used it. I later discovered that my other battery in my car is fine, something was wrong with my car's charging system. Any way, I thought I wouldn't be needing this new battery, now I am stuck with their battery.
>
> One more thing to keep in mind, their EverStart batteries (black color) had jumpy Current flow, its Current+Voltage will jump from 12.80v to 13.76v, also to 15.45volts, Wal-mart batteries will cause your Fuel Gauge to move up and down like crazy. Why?75% of their batteries won't give you a constant current flow. How do I know this? I put a current & volt meter on their battery and that's how I know.
>
> A jumpy battery will cause the fuel pressure to fluctuate because the fuel pump depends on a constant flow of current. Do not buy Wal-mart's EverStart battery (black color).
>
> Their technicians will lie to you to get you to buy their low quality batteries, then they will surprisingly tell you "no return" policy. It took me two mistakes to finally decide to analyze their batteries. This costs me more troubles than good. Be ware.
>
> Tom

I have used their batteries for years with no problems. In FACT, there
are only a few batery manufactuers and they just slap a marketing
label on the things.

- Never ever assume that a shelved battery is fully charged. All
batteries should have charge levels checked before installation.

- Never check a battery with a volt meter. Batteries need a load put
on them to measure ampheres. Nearly dead batteries could still muster
12V.

I have returned batteries to Walmart, if the posts look like they have
been clamped, it is now a used battery. This guy said that he tried it
on the car, then said he never used it. Which is it?

Walmart batteries are fine. Guessing shade tree mechanics are not.

on 10/20/2007 1:39 PM Blake Dodson said the following:
> I have used their batteries for years with no problems. In FACT, there
> are only a few batery manufactuers and they just slap a marketing
> label on the things.
>
> - Never ever assume that a shelved battery is fully charged. All
> batteries should have charge levels checked before installation.
>
> - Never check a battery with a volt meter. Batteries need a load put
> on them to measure ampheres. Nearly dead batteries could still muster
> 12V.
>
> I have returned batteries to Walmart, if the posts look like they have
> been clamped, it is now a used battery. This guy said that he tried it
> on the car, then said he never used it. Which is it?
>
> Walmart batteries are fine. Guessing shade tree mechanics are not.

I bought a Sears Die Hard a few years ago. Got it home and installed it
on another car. No good. Returned it, and they said it was dry!
Got another. OK with that one.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On 10/20/07 1:12 PM, in article , "R
J Talley" > wrote:

> Batteries are pretty simple devises. Where people get into trouble is when
> the either buy a battery too small for the operation or they buy one that is
> already old. The first issue is easily prevented by reading the owner's
> manual carefully and then purchasing a battery that fits the manufacturer's
> specs. That's pretty plain and simple. If possible, I usually try and exceed
> the rec specs by as wide a margin as possible. Frequent trips to Montana in
> the winter as well as the brutal summers here in the high desert country of
> SoCal really test a battery's "cajones". Going light is no bargain.
>
> The second issue is a little harder. Consumer Reports publishes a list of
> battery maker's codes. With this list in hand, one can sort through the
> batteries being offered and get one that is less than a year old. This is
> the place to start. Some outfits will sell batteries that are two and three
> years old off the shelf. Of course, that translates into far less service
> life to the consumer.
>
> At present I have a three year old 72 month Wal-Mart battery that I use only
> occasionally in my RV. It sits 9 to 10 months of the year unused and off
> line. Each year I hit it with a charger the night before I need it and so
> far, it comes to life and holds a charge. To date, I've never had a 5 year
> battery last less than 4 years or more than 5, usually they go about 4 years
> and crap out. Life-time batteries have proven to be 4 year batteries and no
> more. Even the venerated Die-Hard goes 4 years and no more.
>
> I get my batteries at either Pep Boys or Wal-Mart. Each has a pretty good
> deal. I have used Sears in the past but fail to see any real benefit in
> doing so now. Their batteries and prices are no better and often worse than
> either of the afore mentioned retailers.
>
> One thing I will not do is use the dealer. Damn, that is just plain foolish.
> They have a huge mark-up on the battery, and charge a usurious installation
> fee. Worse, truth be told, their batteries are bottom line spec only. So you
> end up paying out a huge sum and getting only mediocre value for the money.

You might want to rethink the dealer option. The last two times I needed
batteries, the dealers (Acura & Nissan) were both ten dollars cheaper than
Die Hard (at NTB) and had a longer (3 years vs. two) free exchange period.

On 10/20/07 6:12 PM, in article , "R
J Talley" > wrote:

> If'n ya noticed .... I said that Sears was frequently beat by both Pep Boys
> and Wal-Mart that's why I never go to them any more. The cheapest any dealer
> ever quoted me for a battery was $89.00 plus $25.00 installation and a $15
> hazmat dump fee. At Pep Boys, a 5 year battery installed and paid for never
> runs over $80 period. Shop the sales and you can beat that by $15-20. So,
> the dealer is out as far as I'm concerned.


Obviously your mind is closed on the subject, but just for reference, my
last battery on the Acura TL was $69.95 plus sales tax, no additional fees,
free installation & 3 year free replacement warranty (the pro-rated period
is 6 years) from the Acura dealer. They also threw in a free car wash while
they had it. Definitely met your under $80 criteria.

Don't close the door to the dealer for everybody just because the one in
your area is a greedy sleaze.

On Oct 22, 10:54 am, E Meyer > wrote:
> On 10/20/07 6:12 PM, in article , "R
>
> J Talley" > wrote:
> > If'n ya noticed .... I said that Sears was frequently beat by both Pep Boys
> > and Wal-Mart that's why I never go to them any more. The cheapest any dealer
> > ever quoted me for a battery was $89.00 plus $25.00 installation and a $15
> > hazmat dump fee. At Pep Boys, a 5 year battery installed and paid for never
> > runs over $80 period. Shop the sales and you can beat that by $15-20. So,
> > the dealer is out as far as I'm concerned.
>
> Obviously your mind is closed on the subject, but just for reference, my
> last battery on the Acura TL was $69.95 plus sales tax, no additional fees,
> free installation & 3 year free replacement warranty (the pro-rated period
> is 6 years) from the Acura dealer. They also threw in a free car wash while
> they had it. Definitely met your under $80 criteria.
>
> Don't close the door to the dealer for everybody just because the one in
> your area is a greedy sleaze.

Costco batteries are great, and IIRC have a 5 year warranty to boot.
I imagine any of the warehouse clubs have a similar deal. The battery
in my Maxima is going on 5 years old, and I'm debating replacing it
before winter even though it still tests fine.

On Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:23:09 -0500, "Copper Emeritus"
> wrote:

<battery pros and cons>

>If you got five years out of it you are way ahead of the game. The only
>question now is do you want to replace it on a nice sunny afternoon during
>half time watching your team on TV, or wait for the first snow or ice storm?

For several years, I bought 5 year warranted Pep Boys batteries for a
number of different cars. Several of them failed and whenever I took
one back they would cheerfully replace it with a new one.

Then I realised that all the hassle simply isn't worth it. Pay the
extra for a battery that's less likely to crap on you at an
inconvenient time. In my hog f*cking opinion, Pep Boys batteries are
garbage, regardless of the warranty.
--
Dan.

Dean Dark wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:23:09 -0500, "Copper Emeritus"
> > wrote:
>
> <battery pros and cons>
>
>>If you got five years out of it you are way ahead of the game. The only
>>question now is do you want to replace it on a nice sunny afternoon during
>>half time watching your team on TV, or wait for the first snow or ice storm?
>
>
> For several years, I bought 5 year warranted Pep Boys batteries for a
> number of different cars. Several of them failed and whenever I took
> one back they would cheerfully replace it with a new one.
>
> Then I realised that all the hassle simply isn't worth it. Pay the
> extra for a battery that's less likely to crap on you at an
> inconvenient time. In my hog f*cking opinion, Pep Boys batteries are
> garbage, regardless of the warranty.

Fabulous. That and $1.95 will get you a cup of coffee.

--
-Fred W