Anyone have any experience running interstate blem batteries?

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Jan 16, 2017
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Hey guys, it's that time for me, time to put in a new battery. My everstart maxx from the beginning of 2018 quit, and from what I've found online, if you take advantage of the prorated portion of the warranty, the new battery will have the warranty that of the original.

My car takes a Group 51R, and these seem like they are more pricey than other group sizes, which blows, looking at $149.99 at walmart for the everstart maxx, which kinda prices out advance and auto zone, but it's still pricey.

But then a friend mentioned Interstate blemished batteries, and said a family member had good luck. There are a couple dealers around here so I gave them a call, the close one(of course) didn't have any, but the other location said they had a couple blems for $45 with a 6 month warranty. That price is very tempting. I'm curious if you need to warranty a blem within those 6 months, and they don't have any, if you'd be SOL or if they give you a new one or a refurb, I completely forgot to ask when I called.

So, I must ask folks of BITOG, have any of you had experience with blemished batteries? Let me hear it!



My apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.
 
Hey guys, it's that time for me, time to put in a new battery. My everstart maxx from the beginning of 2018 quit, and from what I've found online, if you take advantage of the prorated portion of the warranty, the new battery will have the warranty that of the original.

My car takes a Group 51R, and these seem like they are more pricey than other group sizes, which blows, looking at $149.99 at walmart for the everstart maxx, which kinda prices out advance and auto zone, but it's still pricey.

But then a friend mentioned Interstate blemished batteries, and said a family member had good luck. There are a couple dealers around here so I gave them a call, the close one(of course) didn't have any, but the other location said they had a couple blems for $45 with a 6 month warranty. That price is very tempting. I'm curious if you need to warranty a blem within those 6 months, and they don't have any, if you'd be SOL or if they give you a new one or a refurb, I completely forgot to ask when I called.

So, I must ask folks of BITOG, have any of you had experience with blemished batteries? Let me hear it!



My apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.

You sort of roll the dice on those. The blem batteries can be anything from sat on shelf too long to call new, wrong size returns (that have visible wear and can't be resold as new), or factory defect like a blemished case.

Case in point, I recently had a work buddy complain to me that he bought a new Interstate battery for his wife's car (we have a work account at Interstate), and it worked fine at first. Four weeks later, the battery was dead. He insisted he got a bad battery, so called Interstate up to have it replaced. They charged and tested it, and told the fella it was good, but he insisted it was bad and that they replace it, which they did. I later learned his wife hadn't driven the car in 4 weeks, so it was likely a good battery from the get-go, but discharged from lack of use. Guess where that good battery went? Right into the blem catalog. Problem is, it was deeply discharged and sat there long enough that a car wouldn't start, but still good enough to sell. Deeply discharging a starting battery is about the worst thing you can do, short of keeping it there for an extended period.

That's the type of unknowns you get when you buy a blem-- but personally, if the price was right I'd definitely roll the dice. For $45 I'd try it once, if it works out, every time.
 
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In that size, that is probably your best bet.
Is there enough room under the hood that you could swap in, for instance a 35?
I was able to on my Accord. It was a good move.
It gave me a wider array of batteries to choose from at usually less cost, as well as a better starting experience in cold weather.
 
In that size, that is probably your best bet.
Is there enough room under the hood that you could swap in, for instance a 35?
I was able to on my Accord. It was a good move.
It gave me a wider array of batteries to choose from at usually less cost, as well as a better starting experience in cold weather.
Very good point. Usually in a given vehicle there are a variety of options, which depends on the space you have available.

Many times you can fit a larger battery that will still clear the dimensions you have available with higher CCA, RC, or other battery metrics. Look up battery group sizes on your favorite search engine, that will point you in the right direction. Just measure the space you have, look up the table of group sizes (avail online) and write down what fits. Then shop for batteries and pick the one with best reserve capacity, or best bang for buck is how I usually do it. Where I live, CCA is not essential, but if you lived in northern Alaska it might be.
 
This seems like you are setting yourself up for additional maintenance when the cheap battery needs to be replaced early.
 
I’ve had them for 25 years, only had one dud which was returned for exchange.

The sad part is the pandemic has almost doubled their cost from $35 and the core charge is now horrifying

Actually have had better luck with recons at battery mart than new batteries, just make sure they have a good warranty and exchange period.
 
That Interstate likely has caps... and you can charge it and test specific gravity for ea. cell, determine at least a bit, if it's a dud or not (on at least that basis). Charging activity, vibrancy of ea. cell...
 
Your call. I like having great batteries. My sequoia toyota branded is 7 years old. It works great but i think its time. Being stranded is no fun when your older and have a bad knee.
 
Hey guys, it's that time for me, time to put in a new battery. My everstart maxx from the beginning of 2018 quit, and from what I've found online, if you take advantage of the prorated portion of the warranty, the new battery will have the warranty that of the original.

My car takes a Group 51R, and these seem like they are more pricey than other group sizes, which blows, looking at $149.99 at walmart for the everstart maxx, which kinda prices out advance and auto zone, but it's still pricey.

But then a friend mentioned Interstate blemished batteries, and said a family member had good luck. There are a couple dealers around here so I gave them a call, the close one(of course) didn't have any, but the other location said they had a couple blems for $45 with a 6 month warranty. That price is very tempting. I'm curious if you need to warranty a blem within those 6 months, and they don't have any, if you'd be SOL or if they give you a new one or a refurb, I completely forgot to ask when I called.

So, I must ask folks of BITOG, have any of you had experience with blemished batteries? Let me hear it!



My apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.
See if you can catch a WM or big box special. $ 88 for my 24 f at WM 6 mos ago.
 
A friend here has used their blemished batteries for years and has nothing but good things to say about his experience doing so. No, he’s not getting a premium battery, but he’s getting a good battery for half the price of a junk battery. His have mostly been cosmetic defects. If you could load test one before buying, that would be helpful.
 
Hey guys, it's that time for me, time to put in a new battery. My everstart maxx from the beginning of 2018 quit, and from what I've found online, if you take advantage of the prorated portion of the warranty, the new battery will have the warranty that of the original.

My car takes a Group 51R, and these seem like they are more pricey than other group sizes, which blows, looking at $149.99 at walmart for the everstart maxx, which kinda prices out advance and auto zone, but it's still pricey.

But then a friend mentioned Interstate blemished batteries, and said a family member had good luck. There are a couple dealers around here so I gave them a call, the close one(of course) didn't have any, but the other location said they had a couple blems for $45 with a 6 month warranty. That price is very tempting. I'm curious if you need to warranty a blem within those 6 months, and they don't have any, if you'd be SOL or if they give you a new one or a refurb, I completely forgot to ask when I called.

So, I must ask folks of BITOG, have any of you had experience with blemished batteries? Let me hear it!



My apologies if this is posted in the wrong section.

So....I have bought group 65 blem batteries since the early 2000's and when you do get a real genuine blem, they are awsome. You need to look close and hard for any signs of use. If it is a blem it will be stamped "BLEM" and there will be defects. Example; a sticker that is misplaced or upside down / missing, inking incorrectly applied, machinery marks and gouges in the casing, and have been told that some do not test out quite correctly. If this is the case then you are pretty safe.

If it is a blem that was a used warranty batter (you can tell by the terminals) I have had much worse luck with those. I returned a failed motorcycle AGM battery and I feel sorry for whoever gets it next as a blem. It tested 100% perfect and if you let it sit 1 week it goes dead even if not hooked up at all. Nobody can answer why that is.
 
For what its worth, put one in my wifes van 6/2/2018. Today is 10/14/2022 and its about to go through its 4th Rocehster winter.

I own a car dealership and have installed about 60 of them in the last couple years and I have had 1 come back. I bought them another one and we all lived happily every after. I found this thread searching for the answer as to where the blems come from... figured I owed it to the group to share this feedback
 
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