Heres Why Car Batteries are a Ripoff
video description
Date: 2019-05-28
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 9
Laila Kumaki
Dont ask a mechanic to test your battery unless you have a history with them and theyve proven themselves trustworthy. Batteries are one of the number one items that service shops try to push on people who dont need them. Its gotten even worse since programmable battery testers have showed up in every shop. They plug their tester into your 4 cylinder Honda that needs 300 amps to start, set it to test a 1000-amp semi-truck battery, and what do you know your top of the line battery you bought yesterday is bad You need a new oneI sell batteries for a living, and let me tell you: for every one customer who actually needs a battery I see five customers who get a second opinion from me and have a perfectly good battery that their mechanic tried to scam them into replacing. Its such an easy, low-effort way to make a profit that even mechanics who dont usually scam people are starting to give in to the temptation.
reply
Dont ask a mechanic to test your battery unless you have a history with them and theyve proven themselves trustworthy. Batteries are one of the number one items that service shops try to push on people who dont need them. Its gotten even worse since programmable battery testers have showed up in every shop. They plug their tester into your 4 cylinder Honda that needs 300 amps to start, set it to test a 1000-amp semi-truck battery, and what do you know your top of the line battery you bought yesterday is bad You need a new oneI sell batteries for a living, and let me tell you: for every one customer who actually needs a battery I see five customers who get a second opinion from me and have a perfectly good battery that their mechanic tried to scam them into replacing. Its such an easy, low-effort way to make a profit that even mechanics who dont usually scam people are starting to give in to the temptation.
reply
Sal Esposito
Ive had four Optima Redtops. Two in trucks that I occasionally off roaded and two in cars I regularly race[d]. The only Redtop that failed prematurely was the US made battery in my FJ40. Optima replaced it under warranty and the replacement was still going when I sold the truck a couple years later. The Redtop in my 2004 Subaru 2. 5RS was still in the car when I sold it. It probably had 6 or 7 seasons of autocross on it. It replaced a supposedly sealed Deka that spewed acid everywhere from a slalom feature on course. What a crap battery that was. The current Redtop in my STI is going into its 6th season of time attack and still works perfectly. The car doesnt get driven daily so I do put a tender on it. I swear by Optimas. They can take a lot of punishment. The Redtop in my STI regularly sees over 1G. Draw your own conclusions.
reply
Ive had four Optima Redtops. Two in trucks that I occasionally off roaded and two in cars I regularly race[d]. The only Redtop that failed prematurely was the US made battery in my FJ40. Optima replaced it under warranty and the replacement was still going when I sold the truck a couple years later. The Redtop in my 2004 Subaru 2. 5RS was still in the car when I sold it. It probably had 6 or 7 seasons of autocross on it. It replaced a supposedly sealed Deka that spewed acid everywhere from a slalom feature on course. What a crap battery that was. The current Redtop in my STI is going into its 6th season of time attack and still works perfectly. The car doesnt get driven daily so I do put a tender on it. I swear by Optimas. They can take a lot of punishment. The Redtop in my STI regularly sees over 1G. Draw your own conclusions.
reply
David Hernandez
Scotty, this info is for K9-Sammy with the Saturn Vue transmission issue. I have a 2008 which developed a transmission issue (about a year and a half ago) shifting gears between like 2-3-4 and it had about 75k miles. I was not the original owner and it was way out of warranty. I happened to take it to a Chevy dealer and they found it was a problem covered under a techical service bulletin. They covered the entire repair. K9-Sammy didnt specify his/her specific issue, but I was told GM extended coverage of the transmission to 120, 000 miles or 12 years for this TSB issue. If K9-Sammy didnt go to a GM dealer and has this issue, he/she may benefit from having a GM dealer check it out. If it is a different issue, I am not sure if it is part of the TSB or not. In my case, it definitely fixed the issue for free. Thank you
reply
Scotty, this info is for K9-Sammy with the Saturn Vue transmission issue. I have a 2008 which developed a transmission issue (about a year and a half ago) shifting gears between like 2-3-4 and it had about 75k miles. I was not the original owner and it was way out of warranty. I happened to take it to a Chevy dealer and they found it was a problem covered under a techical service bulletin. They covered the entire repair. K9-Sammy didnt specify his/her specific issue, but I was told GM extended coverage of the transmission to 120, 000 miles or 12 years for this TSB issue. If K9-Sammy didnt go to a GM dealer and has this issue, he/she may benefit from having a GM dealer check it out. If it is a different issue, I am not sure if it is part of the TSB or not. In my case, it definitely fixed the issue for free. Thank you
reply
E
I have always bought the cheapest walmart battery that would fit in my car provided the crank amps and voltage was the same. Its never let me down and I usually save at least 60% off new batteries in 7 different cars this way. The ones that are the same size as OEM are almost always expensive. OEM battery sizes on popular vehicles are intentionally inflated cuz ripoff. I average 5-8 years per battery and Ive bought 9 this way. Just bungie the battery in so it doesnt move around and it will work to start any car with similar cold cranking amps. A mazda 3 stock battery is almost 200 dollars for example, but a 50 dollar slightly different sized one will fit and work for years to come.
reply
I have always bought the cheapest walmart battery that would fit in my car provided the crank amps and voltage was the same. Its never let me down and I usually save at least 60% off new batteries in 7 different cars this way. The ones that are the same size as OEM are almost always expensive. OEM battery sizes on popular vehicles are intentionally inflated cuz ripoff. I average 5-8 years per battery and Ive bought 9 this way. Just bungie the battery in so it doesnt move around and it will work to start any car with similar cold cranking amps. A mazda 3 stock battery is almost 200 dollars for example, but a 50 dollar slightly different sized one will fit and work for years to come.
reply
Jesus jimenez
I forgot to turn off the lights of my brand new car so next morning battery was dead I thought lets go to autozone the recharge the battery They say is going to take an hour wen website says 30 min Well I come back an hour later and ask for my battery they say my battery was ready and just need to check one more time before I go The guy plug some machine and say your battery is dead and old you need a new battery I take my battery back and call road assistance for free cus a new car right Road assistance guy plug a jumper and done Autozone sucks and they try to sell you stuff even if you dont need it
reply
I forgot to turn off the lights of my brand new car so next morning battery was dead I thought lets go to autozone the recharge the battery They say is going to take an hour wen website says 30 min Well I come back an hour later and ask for my battery they say my battery was ready and just need to check one more time before I go The guy plug some machine and say your battery is dead and old you need a new battery I take my battery back and call road assistance for free cus a new car right Road assistance guy plug a jumper and done Autozone sucks and they try to sell you stuff even if you dont need it
reply
kuro kuranoshin
In my experience, a far as the Optima, the yellow top is great, ive let some of my cars sit there for a good 6 to 7 months. cranks right up. thr red tops though, havent had one last me without dying for even a couple months. I had to start and run the car at least four a couple minutes every very day if I wanted to keep using it, of not it would be dead the next day, or the day after, depending on weather, but even with that and sprays driving around I havent had one last even a year. Ever. But the yellow top, best battery ive ever used. im wondering if they do that on purpose.
reply
In my experience, a far as the Optima, the yellow top is great, ive let some of my cars sit there for a good 6 to 7 months. cranks right up. thr red tops though, havent had one last me without dying for even a couple months. I had to start and run the car at least four a couple minutes every very day if I wanted to keep using it, of not it would be dead the next day, or the day after, depending on weather, but even with that and sprays driving around I havent had one last even a year. Ever. But the yellow top, best battery ive ever used. im wondering if they do that on purpose.
reply
Joshua Kiser
I buy the cheapest car batteries I can find. Most are made Johnson controls anyways, you pay more for a warranty. Johnson controls just got bought out so expect a wave of bad car batteries while the new company cheapens them even further. I buy exide car batteries at rural King for 40-50 bucks. I get 3-4 years out of them. Pasted cells are garbage, the best battery ever made was the original solid plate Plante battery. Costs more though because it needs more lead, very heavy but can last decades with no drop in capacity or cranking power.
reply
I buy the cheapest car batteries I can find. Most are made Johnson controls anyways, you pay more for a warranty. Johnson controls just got bought out so expect a wave of bad car batteries while the new company cheapens them even further. I buy exide car batteries at rural King for 40-50 bucks. I get 3-4 years out of them. Pasted cells are garbage, the best battery ever made was the original solid plate Plante battery. Costs more though because it needs more lead, very heavy but can last decades with no drop in capacity or cranking power.
reply
Thrift Pup
My uncle has a 97 or 98 Toyota supra, what I was told by him, he has to get one of those Optima batteries for the car because that is the only thing that is made for the car, meanwhile my 03 jeep had another top post battery go bad, I replaced it with a side post battery with higher cold crank amps, and it was cheaper cost. I honestly prefer side post because they seem more reliable, with top post they can be finicky, your car wont start, fool you to get a new battery. But if you twist the connector the other way the car starts right up.
reply
My uncle has a 97 or 98 Toyota supra, what I was told by him, he has to get one of those Optima batteries for the car because that is the only thing that is made for the car, meanwhile my 03 jeep had another top post battery go bad, I replaced it with a side post battery with higher cold crank amps, and it was cheaper cost. I honestly prefer side post because they seem more reliable, with top post they can be finicky, your car wont start, fool you to get a new battery. But if you twist the connector the other way the car starts right up.
reply
Sajjad Rana
Costco got the best deals on batteries Plus theyll give you 10 for your old one. So if your battery ever goes bad within the warranty they will give you a FULL CREDIT + 10 core Assuming your goings to buy a replacement. Then keep the credit that they give you and (keep your mouth shut) just buy another battery as new, but make sure you bring a dead battery back from somewhere else to get a 10 as core. Repeat steps over and over again Your car will always have a new battery if it goes bad within the warranty period.
reply
Costco got the best deals on batteries Plus theyll give you 10 for your old one. So if your battery ever goes bad within the warranty they will give you a FULL CREDIT + 10 core Assuming your goings to buy a replacement. Then keep the credit that they give you and (keep your mouth shut) just buy another battery as new, but make sure you bring a dead battery back from somewhere else to get a 10 as core. Repeat steps over and over again Your car will always have a new battery if it goes bad within the warranty period.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
