Art & Inspiration Did you want the deluxe battery?

A number of years ago I wanted an 8 volt battery for a hard to start old clunker so the auto parts asked if I wanted the standard, deluxe or superior grade battery. The difference, besides a substantial increase in price was the length of the guarantee. 2, 3 or 4 years.
I just wanted the standard and they said it would take a day or 2 to get it. I wanted it like right now so I asked if I could pay them for it and go pick it up wherever the battery warehouse was. They said that was a little unusual but it was OK
So off I go to the battery warehouse with my paperwork and receipt for a standard 8 volt battery. I go in and say I'm here to pick up an 8 volt battery. The battery guy goes and gets an 8 volt battery and puts it up on the counter and then he looks at my paperwork which says standard battery and he goes over to a wall of boxes full of battery stickers and get a sticker that says standard battery and slaps it on the side of the battery.
I asked him how he knew I wanted a standard battery and not a deluxe or superior when he went to get it because he had not looked at my paperwork yet.
He just looked at me and said, "They're all the same, we just have one kind of 8 volt battery"
They sure had a lot of battery stickers though.

 

Hahaha

 

It sounds almost like an urban legend, except that urban legends always are about what happened to a friend of a friend...not a personal experience.

But yeah, I always buy the cheapest battery, they've served me very well over the years.

 

2 , 3 or 4 year warranty is the difference ...obviously if they have to warranty it for 4 years that will cost more than warrantying for 2 years

 

You are buying the paperwork. The guarantee costs more for the longer terms.

 

Same deal with Hot Water heaters for your house......your paying extra for "insurance"

 

Among electric auto affeciondos the saying was, "There are liars, damn liars,
and battery salesmen!

 

I was employed in a battery shop a very long time ago, & it's absolutely true : you are paying for a "box of electricity"(& nothing else) for a certain period of time, no matter what the ad says. If it lasts longer, good for you : if it doesn't : that's what the(usually 'pro-rated') guarantee is for.

 

Speaking of batteries, bought one lately? I had to buy one for the wife's daily driver Expedition last weekend, it was sticker shock for sure. Cheapest one I could find was at Walmart, and it was nearly $120 when all was said and done. Just a few years ago, I bought that same battery for my F150 and it was only about $65 IIRC. Less than 5 years, and the prices have doubled! Even riding lawn mower batteries are up from $20 to about $25, at least they haven't doubled in price like car batteries.

 

Check battery weight... heavier battery, more power. Despite what the OP ran into, most batteries do come in different 'sizes'. While a particular case size will be the same, the size of the cell plates inside can vary between brands and 'quality' levels. Bigger plates, more power and generally longer life as they don't have to 'work' so hard. I can see a retailer doing what happened on a low-demand battery like a 8V, but I doubt that it's standard practice.

 

Yeah, batteries are expensive but, I think batteries are generally better made and last longer than ever in the past. I just replaced a 9 year old Interstate in my OT 2003 S-10 daily driver. I know that years ago I never got more than 5, maybe 6 years from a battery in fact the one that came in the truck lasted only 3 years.

 

The OEM battery in my Ex's Focus went ten years.... and the Motorcraft replacement had a 9 year warranty.

 

I still replace them every 5 years, in anything that I want to not have trouble with. I try to keep the old ones around for shop use.

Late models don't like having the alternator work harder than it has to, and keeping an old battery charged is hard work for them.

 

That's a great battery slogan!
"Lasts longer than most marriages "

 

My 2003 Silverado still had its original battery when it was totaled in 2011 with 250,000 miles on it.

 

Why are we discussing late models batteries here? Yeah, I'm that guy.

 

I buy batteries at walmart, they never seem to fail at your house, always in some cold parking lot, walmarts are everywhere. I've been swapping them at 7 years in my daily drivers even though I haven't had an issue with them.

Sitting around in the "hobby" cars kills them, trickle charger, or pull them and keep them warm and charged for the winter helps.

 

................Good point......I just replaced a 15 year old Optima in my <<<avatar '40 Coupe with a new Interstate.

 

My auto shop teacher told us one time that a new car could get away with the cheapest battery on the shelf but as rigs got older they should have a battery with more cold cranking amps and more reserve.

That said I've had my 2000 ot daily for 2-1/2 years and have never seen the battery. It's under the back seat and I have never had the seat out. You can damned well bet though that when it gives out the exact same brand and model of battery is going back in.

 

.............Excellent point, Jim.

 

I have been buying batteries for the last 20 years or so at the Exide and Interstate battery warehouses that we have here in town. I always start out asking for a 2nd or a blemished battery. The last 6 V battery in my car was getting a little reluctant so I swapped it out for a new one last year. I felt pretty lucky as I thought I got 4 years out of it for my 35 dollar purchase. It had actually been in the car 7 years according to the information in my account in the computer. Check out your yellow pages for a warehouse in your area. Their 2nds are just past their on the shelf dates, blems have scratches in the case or stickers on croked, and with only 1 exception I have never been skunked. Just got one for my John Deere Garden tractor $172 retail (?????wtf) $49 at the Interstate warehouse. 9 month warranty.

 

While I do agree that some batteries of the same size differ in cranking amps I do know for sure that at our warehouse they would slap on the sticker with whatever month warranty was ordered. These were Exide/Carquest batteries.

As far as the pro-rate went I do remember that after a few years it was just cheaper to buy another battery outright. I think it had to do with them pro-rating at the list price. This was back in the 90s

I would look for one with at least a 2-3 year free replacement instead of relying on the prorate.

 

The Interstates were a local built Battery, never had a problem with them!

 

Because 80 year old batteries don't work worth a darn.

 

It`s a dirty job but someone has to do it. LOL

 

Read my post again. Yes, I know we all run new batteries I just don't care to hear about the late model it's in.

Someone is bound to do an interweb search on batteries and come across this thread with the late models mentioned and think that's what this site is about and join. This happens all the time.

 

960 uh unclear on why you would heat hot water ??

 

My modified has a Harley Sportster battery.....

 

I just fitted a Lithion Ion battery to an O/T Morgan style trike. It was tiny (3x4x6) and so light that I thought the box was empty. Felt like a Tupperware box with a few AA batteries in it. Supposed to be good for and SBC and up?? Spun up the Citroën engine in the trike like it was nothing at all (which it pretty much is TBH).

 

Lithium is ~ 4x as power dense as Lead...so do the math.
(or compare them on a bathroom scale, )