Talk to Optima

im also a counterman
ive worked for advanced and autozone.
at both places same results with optimas.
shitty quality,dead bateries,returns,returns,returns,...
i agree 100%

better off buying a duralast gold or advanced autocraft titamium
they are both manufactured by johnson controls.

 

we will make this one short I have had a red top in my drag car for about six years now in that time I have run with no alternator then with an alternator and then had a charger go wonkey and literally boil the bat.(you could hear it inside the battery sounded like your were frying up butter in a pan.)just this last two years I pull it in the winter and it goes on a batt tender no problems with the old batteries.Now when I bought another red top for my dd i was expecting the reliability out of it like my last one wow was i wrong it went stone dead almost two years after the date sticker on the side of it(was dated 07 and made it to 09),so on a tip from another disgruntled customer I put both red tops on a scale and to my surprise the old one weighed 5lbs more than the new dead one.

 

What do you guys think of this approach? Is this acceptable to you?

 

I think the biggest issue with the Optima batteries is how people are using them. I used to EXCLUSIVELY use them in everything I built and owned. When the quality went to shit, I found out that it was ME that wasn't putting them to proper use. So now instead of using them to start cars and boats, I use them to hold down car covers on really windy days. They work PERFECTLY for that, and they last forever that way.

 

I had one that barely lasted six months in a daily driver. No warranty assistance at all. Customer Service? Not. The store I DID get that Optima red top from, allowed me to trade it off on a traditional battery, that has lasted me three years thus far.

From others I know that have run the Optimas in the past (as in ten years or so ago), they had longevity and great luck with those. I must've got a Mexico battery, because it was pure crap. I was not at all impressed at all!

 

I USED to push thier batts to all my friends. I ran them in my off road only jeeps for years, When I got into the hot rod street rod world I was still happy with them. I would install them in some of my clients cars, that would sit for extented periods of time. then somthing happened I was getting batts back with dead cells left and right, to the point I BANNED them from the shop not sure if it means anything put it seemed the early ones had the posts close together on top, and they held up GREAT and the returns were nil, but the ones with the posts spaced further apart were the ones I kept getting back as dead or down 1 cell. I was in need of a replacment battery for my DD and I put a NAPA orbital 6 in it, low and behold it went south, I went back for a warranty replacement and they gave me a red top with close posts. So far it is still working but I'm not holding out hope. I know work in an off road shop and we are NOT installing them as we had one tossed thru our front window after a customer was told his 13 month old battery was dead and not under warrenty but he would pro-rate it (this was stated by our interstate driver not one of our employees) Keith

 

s.r.i. - Thank you. Very helpful..

 

I would like to see an optima battery that was all black and square with no markings except for "DELCO" in raised plastic letters on the side.

 

How do/did the Optimas hold up to off-road use?
And has anyone mounted them sideways or upsidedown?

 

they got along way to go to be worried about what the case looks like..
would the case be made in the USA with the rest of the battery made in the USA and would they stand behind their warrenty, and build something to be proud of rather than run from? would they take care of all those they fucked over in the past from selling them un reliable crap?

they got other problems to deal with other than what the case is like..i hope they dont try to change the look of them just to say they solved the problems..we know that stuff goes on..

I for one like i said before..i dont care if it looks like jessica rabbit in battery form..if it dont do the job its just a good lookin door stop

I think the way the case looks shouldnt even be an issue here..but thats my opinion..

 

10/23/09, DES MOINES, Iowa—Appliance maker Electrolux announced Friday that it would close two Iowa plants by spring 2011, putting 850 people out of work as operations are moved to Mexico.

Electrolux Major Appliances North America said it would close the Webster City plant by early 2011 and a smaller facility in Jefferson by late 2010.
The Webster City plant employs about 880 people and produces top-loading washing machines. About 50 people work in Jefferson, a plant about 50 miles southwest from Webster City that builds components for the washing machines. The company says about 75 jobs will remain at a technology center in Iowa.

Hmmmmmmmmm, they never learn do they...

I think any company that moves production to Mexico should all go bankrupt...America used to be known for superior products because companies had employees that cared what they turned out...now all a company CEO wants is multi-million dollar salarys and all the perks he can get the board to give him...he has no concern for what Mexican laborors turn his product into.

I also think more and more Americans are getting tired of having foreign crap shoved down our throats and that they are going to see a backlash, if they are not already...

I don't even own a foreign car because I refuse to see the profits go to a corporation somewhere other than the US...and I'm trying very hard to buy only products that are made in America...

Furthermore, I think you'll find most people on this board are tired of foreign made crap that never works like its supposed to...

Rant over (and this one will prolly get this thread closed)...!!!

R-

 

I ran one in my Porsche Race car 1999-2002. It was mounted sideways and worked fine, but that car only had 40 or so hours of run time. Hard cornering and braking though.

 

So rather than offer us something in return for our product testing, they are going to just read what we think at no cost to them. Testing and research cost money and this is just what they are doing.

With that said, I have one that's about 3 years old that needs to be jumped after sitting for more than a couple of months. This is a replacement for my first one which crapped out after six months or so.

 

Same problem here too! I actually took my genny off of '61 Buick, took it down to the little mom and pop alternator rebuild shop here in town only to find out the my genny was fine and that it was my Almighty Optima!

 

Von Rigg is on a roll today.

 

Jangle, maybe you or somebody from Optima can give some Info here.

By proving or disproving a therory I have about Batteries.


Seems to me there is no real reason they couldn't last a lot longer than they usually do.

A buddy of mine had a regular acid battery that lasted for ever ( he got it out of a used car that he traded in, and then he used for about 10 years or so )
That one was made by Bosch, if I remember correctly.

Seems to me, regular car batteries are suffering from Planned obsolescence, and piss poor industry standards.


So I feel like I've been had, every time I walk out of the parts store with a new battery....

 

No sweat. This thread is useless Opima knows exactly what is wrong with their product, their pricing, and their reps. This post is nothing more then them trying the whole "we care, so please come back". They don't. There are countless threads on their crappy batteries on here as well as all over the web. They don't know how to use a search engine? Did they move all the representative jobs to Mexico too?

My post was as helpfull as any here. In fact I gave a very good example of what their batteries ARE good for, seeing how they aren't good for batteries. I still have an OLD Optima Red Top in my truck. 10 years plus. Never let me down. A long time ago if someones starter solinoid was turning to crap, you could use an Optima to over power it and it would start like new, when a regular battery couldn't crank it. Now days, waste of time.

Optima knows thier issues. Simple, make the battery the best again if you want to charge the prices that they charge. If they keep the shit quality, than charge shit prices, but you can't have both. On top of that, now they need to go ABOVE the rest to get the customers back, because as you can see, many have swore them off for good.

 

Make them in the usa!!!!!!!
Buy Exide, made in Salina. NOT IN MEXICO.

 

hahahah sorry ..guess it hit a 400 dollar nerve

not to mention some of the other issues covered in my rants..
Im done..Im going back out in the shop i got a car to build and its got room for a regular 59 dollar battery that im sure i will get at lest 6 years out of or more

i work hard for my american money..i just want an american product to work hard for my money too..is that too much to ask?

 

back when I was with AMS we ran the red tops in pretty much all our racecars. I always thought of them well but I bought 2 last year for the Chevelle and the 37 and they lasted 6 to 8 months, both Optimas were purchased at the same time from the dumbshits at the local Autozone. Both the cars were hardly used and both have kill switches and I'm still fighting them to warranty the damn things.. So I went out and bought 1 yellow top from Oriellys. If it fails, I'm done with Optima...

 

Another though...

How about a flexible linear "6-pack? I don't know the science/engineering of a car battery, but it would be awesome to be able to arc a batter or "fold" it into an L shape for specific applications.

Oh yeah, grrrr!!!! I'm angry that a company asked for my feedback and may listen to what I have to say. Grrr!!!

 

I've been looking someone that services Exide like Interstate does, that's where my Optima's have come from. I told the route guy that I was looking as soon as I found out they went to Mexico.

That and the price going up so much. I'm pretty much done with them.

Though I can say the one in my Buick has been pretty good.

 

Just wanted to add something else....

My comments aren't about resisting foreign made products. If a Mexican company can make a better battery than a US company.... they should win the market share.

BUT if a USA company wants to pull it's manufacturing out of the USA, leave workers stranded, and then set up shop in another country... and then later theiir product go to shit.... they should expect to be held accountable for those actions.

This is not about US (USA) against THEM. This is about US leaving US and using THEM for cheap labor and then wondering why US isn't interested in buy them THEM anymore.

 

I'm watching this while making some bracketry for my hot rod. Sorry I haven't been on here more today.
For those that don't know me: After a couple decades of working in wrecking yards, etc, I finally landed my dream job making parts for a big aftermarket company. It was bliss for me, until my job went to Taiwan. I started fabbing on a freelance basis for independent shops around the northwest and freelancing stories to magazines.
Now, through a friend of a friend, I've been approached about doing this research gig for Optima. I said yes.
I've had the same experience as you guys - with jobs and with batteries. I promised these guys I'd get them some honest feedback and so far, so good. Ryan willing, this thread will stand until SEMA's over with. The ranting is probably healthy, but I'm hoping for some constructive criticism, too.
I have to go do a photoshoot now, but will be back later to check on this. Keep it up.
Scotty

 

I'm not happy about the made in Mexico thing. Mine seems to work as good as it should. Had it a year and no problems yet.

 

Nope, and if more people asked the same more companys would get their act together.

 

Can't get too excited on the subject. A battery is a battery. As an everyday driver, consider myself average, I have never had any call to get a 'special' battery. As it is with oil, spark plugs, zerk grease, and gas, I buy the cheapest. The batterys I buy are with 2? or 3? year warranty, not even sure. Seems like they run me about 50 bucks or less, don't pay that much attention. I have a new one in the shed in case one of those in use craps out. Can Optima get me one for less, with a better warranty? If so, I might be interested............

 

I have been an Optima bigot for at least a dozen years. Been using yellow and red tops in all of my vehicles. Two yellow tops and one red top purchased within the last two years from Summit have completely failed - they will not take a charge and show very high internal resistance. None of the vehicles involved had anything wrong with their charging systems and none of these batteries was ever completely discharged or left uncharged.

I have not sent them back because between the proration and shipping it is not worth the bother. But three failures in a row after years of trouble-free service (prior to this) I have been wondering if I will ever purchase another Optima.

 

Every manufacturer worth anything tracks Mean Time to Failure (MTTF) for their products, and works on increasing it. Really sophisticated users, like the military, track this stuff religiously and perform preventative maintenance and maintain spare parts based on the numbers. How would you decide how many Humvee batteries you're taking to Iraq without knowing how long they last? The mathematics were developed in the 1920's, so it ain't nuthin new, and the computers do all the ciphering for you nowdays. Optima may have been in a tuff market, but letting quality drop when they moved, and not responding appropriately may well be the end of the business. As many have pointed out, 12 V car batteries are a commodity, and the marketplace is merciless on poor quality commodities.

 

I started using Optima batteries in the 90's when they were the new guys.
Had dual batteries in my 4x4 & my Ford van. Have also used them in a few other vehicles. I have never had one last more than 2 years! I would take them back to where they were purchased & only once were they ever replaced.
I have had 3 Optimas strand me. Shut off the vehicle & then go to restart & nothing! Dead!
One place put one on charge for 24 hours & still didn't have any volts in it. Gave me a new one & it died within a year. Took it back & they wouldn't replace it.
I will take a picture of the pile of Optima Crap batteries I have laying around.
Wouldn't take another Optima if you Gave it to me. They are crap! Service sucks & way overpriced now! Don't really care where they are made,still crap! Brad