Car Batteries in Canada - Costco, Motomaster, Wal Mart, Ac Delco

[f355spider]

The issue with Canadian Tire here is that the stores are franchises, and the money comes right out of the owner's pocket. I suspect the managers are discouraged from approving warranty claims.

Same with Batteries Plus stores in the USA....I had to jump through hoops before they would warranty replace a flooded East Penn battery that was clearly on the way out. First they wanted to clean the terminals, charge it (I already did all this) and then have me use it for a week and retest it. It failed the test a week later and they finally gave me another battery. Two trips and having to remove/install the battery each time...they admitted anything they take back on warranty they bare the cost of. They are given an "allowance" or rebate on everything they purchase from Battery Plus warehouse each month to cover for the rare warranty return. So anything they warranty eats away at their profit.

 

[350Rocket]

Costco hands down. Even if they cost a little more, the warranty process is MUCH more seamless than any chain store. I had a battery that had a very clear visible mechanical failure, but the geniuses at Canadian Tire refused to warranty it because the battery tester still said it was ok. The store policy at Canadian Tire and many other places now require a failed test report from their tester before allowing the battery to get warrantied.

They also denied warranty on Duratracs I had. They were just under the 5 year cracking warranty and had significant enough cracking that the Goodyear stores I worked at before would have covered them....they basically said no because they had 40k miles on them. They were bought at that store before I owned the truck. I went to the Goodyear I used to work at and got them replaced there. It was less than 50% they had to cover because of tread wear but I was still pissed off.

 

[f355spider]

They also denied warranty on Duratracs I had. They were just under the 5 year cracking warranty and had significant enough cracking that the Goodyear stores I worked at before would have covered them....they basically said no because they had 40k miles on them. They were bought at that store before I owned the truck. I went to the Goodyear I used to work at and got them replaced there. It was less than 50% they had to cover because of tread wear but I was still pissed off.

"Crappy Tire" living up to their name?

Percentage coverage is how a pro-rated warranty works. Better than nothing...but just barely.

 

[350Rocket]

"Crappy Tire" living up to their name?

Percentage coverage is how a pro-rated warranty works. Better than nothing...but just barely.

Yeah I always called them that.
What I I meant is they refused to cover any part of it. The Goodyear dealer I paid about 55% if I remember right.
Btw my wife's Hyundai has a Kirkland battery in it about 5-6 years old now. No problems knock on wood.

 

[KE7JFF]

Same with Batteries Plus stores in the USA....I had to jump through hoops before they would warranty replace a flooded East Penn battery that was clearly on the way out. First they wanted to clean the terminals, charge it (I already did all this) and then have me use it for a week and retest it. It failed the test a week later and they finally gave me another battery. Two trips and having to remove/install the battery each time...they admitted anything they take back on warranty they bare the cost of. They are given an "allowance" or rebate on everything they purchase from Battery Plus warehouse each month to cover for the rare warranty return. So anything they warranty eats away at their profit.

You just reminded me of osmething. My old boss was a big fan of those NOCO jump packs, he somehow has fried a few of them and he would go to a specific Batteries Plus that would exchange them on the spot. I’ve wondered why he was driving 25 miles out of his way for a while, now I have a hunch that store he was buddy with who would eat that cost…

 

[350Rocket]

You just reminded me of osmething. My old boss was a big fan of those NOCO jump packs, he somehow has fried a few of them and he would go to a specific Batteries Plus that would exchange them on the spot. I’ve wondered why he was driving 25 miles out of his way for a while, now I have a hunch that store he was buddy with who would eat that cost…

That's probably pretty likely. Only reason I got a warranty battery replacement last year when I had lost the receipt was my pushy father in law (my mother in law retired from HR at that location) he took my battery in and came back with a new one. Lol. It was on their system but their policy is to deny warranty if you don't have the physical receipt.

 

[f355spider]

You just reminded me of osmething. My old boss was a big fan of those NOCO jump packs, he somehow has fried a few of them and he would go to a specific Batteries Plus that would exchange them on the spot. I’ve wondered why he was driving 25 miles out of his way for a while, now I have a hunch that store he was buddy with who would eat that cost…

Just an FYI on Batteries Plus....the manager explained this applied to car batteries....I don't know if it applied to everything the store stocks.

 

[addyguy]

I’m a parts Manager for a small CT store. The advantage of getting a CT battery is there are 500 stores in Canada, and 85% of the population is within a 15-minute drive of one, store stats.
How many Costcos are there in Canada??
Yes, we have to test the battery and have it fail to warranty it. No, the store owner doesn’t cover the cost of replacing the battery, the corporation office credits us for the warranties.
The testers used to evaluate batteries are NOT cheap, simple testers - they are $$ and test the ability of the battery to hold a charge, it it won’t hold the rated CA, it fails.
CT uses the COSTAR system across all stores; if the battery was sold on one of these invoices, which it SHOULD be, we can find it.
Yeah, there are somewhat cheaper batteries, but CT has a big name to protect by selling quality products…100+ years in business days we know what we are doing, wouldn’t you think?
Cheers!

 

[1BadManVan]

I’m a parts Manager for a small CT store. The advantage of getting a CT battery is there are 500 stores in Canada, and 85% of the population is within a 15-minute drive of one, store stats.
How many Costcos are there in Canada??
Yes, we have to test the battery and have it fail to warranty it. No, the store owner doesn’t cover the cost of replacing the battery, the corporation office credits us for the warranties.
The testers used to evaluate batteries are NOT cheap, simple testers - they are $$ and test the ability of the battery to hold a charge, it it won’t hold the rated CA, it fails.
CT uses the COSTAR system across all stores; if the battery was sold on one of these invoices, which it SHOULD be, we can find it.
Yeah, there are somewhat cheaper batteries, but CT has a big name to protect by selling quality products…100+ years in business days we know what we are doing, wouldn’t you think?
Cheers!

good to hear this, im looking at replacing the battery in our jeep and was looking into the moto master eliminator agm battery for it. I have a Canadian Tire 15 minutes from me on either side of me so easy to get to lol. Also a bit cheaper than the energizer one Costco is selling and both have a 5 year warranty

 

[Sedin26]

Canadian Tires are everywhere but the problem I consistently run into is that its hard getting any help and then the warranty process is painful.

It’s so easy at Costco and worth the extra drive for something I rarely need to buy. If I’m travelling and have to buy from somewhere else in the event of a failure then so be it.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Thanks for the responses. I think I might give the Costco battery a shot, despite it not having the dual post setup. My only hesitation is that I am not overly close to Costco, so it will be inconvenient if I need to make a warranty claim.

Is it still Johnson controls that makes these batteries?

Haha, you mean Clarios, owned Brookfield, which happens to be a Canadian company.

 

[Number_35]

good to hear this, im looking at replacing the battery in our jeep and was looking into the moto master eliminator agm battery for it. I have a Canadian Tire 15 minutes from me on either side of me so easy to get to lol. Also a bit cheaper than the energizer one Costco is selling and both have a 5 year warranty

Last winter I had a Motomaster AGM battery fail at about 5-1/2 years. Not terrible (in fact, quite good compared to a conventional replacement battery), but disappointing compared to the two Optima AGMs I had bought previously.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Everstarts have been good to me. Plus plenty of Walmarts……

Another issue is that Walmart has both batteries with caps and maintenance free batteries. It’s still luck of the draw. My 36R has caps. A 35 is maintenance free.

 

[daves87rs]

Yep, very true….

 

[Ranger83]

We bought a Costco battery that failed during warranty. They gave me a cash refund!

 

[f355spider]

We bought a Costco battery that failed during warranty. They gave me a cash refund!

That is how it worked up until mid 2023 in the USA. Now it is a "prorated" warranty where you get a portion of the unused warranty refunded. Its a weak warranty.

Costco Canada still gives a full refund during the warranty period.