75K and new battery from AAA

[Benzadmiral]

In one of those neat effects Fate stage-manages now and then, I hit 75K on the '03 Buick yesterday on the way to work. Turned off the car, then thought I ought to move it to a shadier spot. Turned the key. Clunk! Key again. Clunk!

Grrr. I walked to my office and checked. Yes, Buick has roadside assistance . . . if your car is less than 5 years old. So I called AAA, figuring I'd get a jump, then drive to the nearest Advance Auto to have them put in a battery. On an impulse I asked if AAA installed batteries. "Yes, sir, we certainly do!"

The driver showed up, put a meter on my old battery and pronounced it DOA, put in a new 72-month maintenance-free unit, checked that both under load and not. Cost? $125.06 total. Since an equivalent battery for my car from Advance would have been upwards of $100, and I didn't have to drive to a store in the heat and then hunt for a new parking spot back at work, I consider I made out well.

So if you didn't know AAA replaced batteries on service calls (I didn't), well, now you do!

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

That is the exact same price a friend paid last week for a battery from AAA for his 98 Grand Marquis.

 

[Food Scientist]

I know NAPA is running a $10 rebate on their batteries till the end of the month.

 

[brianl703]

I know someone who contracts for AAA. What's interesting is, he pays AAA more for those AAA batteries than I can get an equivalent battery from Costco!

A group 65 battery from Costco is $75. AAA group 65 battery is $125. I think the contractor pays about $100 for those batteries from AAA.

The AAA batteries are now made by East Penn. They were made by Exide.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: SVTCobra
I know NAPA is running a $10 rebate on their batteries till the end of the month.


True, but AAA's niche is they will drive to where your car is and install it.

 

[Vizzy]

NO question that you PAY for failing do regular maintenance checkups and the convienence.

 

[bigmike]

I'd pay alot more than $125 if I were in a bad spot too, such as being stranded at night or something.

 

[Vizzy]

But the OP battery WAS about 7 years old and he lives in a very hot environment, I mean why end up in a spot like this in the first place when you can do preventative maintenance and save yourself money and trouble?

He probably should have at least had someone do a free battery test the last couple of years .

 

[bigmike]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
But the OP battery WAS about 7 years old and he lives in a very hot environment, I mean why end up in a spot like this in the first place when you can do preventative maintenance and save yourself money and trouble?

He probably should have at least had someone do a free battery test the last couple of years .


I agree.

AAA will, however, install a battery for you free of charge.

If your vehicle’s battery is dead, the service driver will jump-start your vehicle, if possible. If it cannot be started, towing will be provided under the towing benefit.

AAA Battery Service is a mobile battery testing and replacement service. In areas where it is available, a AAA Battery Service technician will test and assess the vehicle’s battery and electrical system. If the existing battery fails the test and you would like to have the battery replaced, the technician will install a new AAA battery, if available, that meets or exceeds the vehicle’s original specifications at an exclusive AAA member discounted price. All AAA batteries come with a 3-year free replacement warranty valid in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada. AAA Battery Service is only available in select areas, during select hours. AAA batteries are available for most makes and models. 24-Hour Emergency Road Service terms and conditions apply.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
But the OP battery WAS about 7 years old and he lives in a very hot environment, I mean why end up in a spot like this in the first place when you can do preventative maintenance and save yourself money and trouble?

He probably should have at least had someone do a free battery test the last couple of years .

Oh, no; I guess I wasn't clear. This was not the OEM battery! That, I'm sure on a GM car, would have been an AC Delco, no? This one was an Interstate. The trouble was, I couldn't tell what month and year it had been installed. The installer scratched off "08" as the year. But I bought the car in 2007, and I didn't buy any batteries in '08. If I'd thought it was, say, 4-5 years old, I'd have replaced it quite a while ago. At a guess, I'd say the previous owner probably installed it in the first half of '07, which would make it 3 years old -- but that's a guess.

As for maintenance, I frequently checked the water (which I rarely had to top off), and I cleaned up the battery posts and retightened the clamps late last year. I'm pretty sure I had a battery test done at my regular mechanic sometime last year as well -- and that it passed, or again I'd have bought a new battery a lot sooner.

 

[hillclimber]

Originally Posted By: Benzadmiral
Cost? $125.06 total. Since an equivalent battery for my car from Advance would have been upwards of $100, and I didn't have to drive to a store in the heat and then hunt for a new parking spot back at work, I consider I made out well.


Agreed, that's not bad.

 

[sciphi]

Yow, and I thought $80ish was bad for a Wal-Mart battery for my LeSabre.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: Vizzy
NO question that you PAY for failing do regular maintenance checkups and the convienence.


Actually my friends battery that went dead recently had it checked when he had a oil change 2 weeks prior to it going dead and it checked out just fine..His old battery [Interstate] was 3 years old...My battery was checked out at Ford when it was in for a oil change just 1 week before it went belly up...They said the battery checked out perfect...The battery [Motorcraft] was 5 years old...Those battery tests just show how the battery is at that moment.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: bigmike
I'd pay alot more than $125 if I were in a bad spot too, such as being stranded at night or something.


My friends battery went in a very bad section in Miami at midnight...There are alot of drive by shootings and other nasty stuff going on there...He works in that area...He would have paid anything to get of there ASAP...Life means nothing there.