High cost of car batteries

[ET16]

Costco is often the best value.

 

[leroyd92]

Battery's here in the desert live maybe 3 years. O'Reilly's 2 year batteries are $130 and 3 years are $160 It sucks, but I guess we deal with it

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by leroyd92

Battery's here in the desert live maybe 3 years. O'Reilly's 2 year batteries are $130 and 3 years are $160 It sucks, but I guess we deal with it

That's why I run AGM batteries. They last 2x as long out here.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by bbhero

Originally Posted by Chris142

I'm kinda spoiled since I get stuff at our shop cost. The deka intimidator cost me $112. The champion batteries we stock cost me $69. I don't know who makes those. But if it makes everyone happy I trickle charger each one every month.

Very smart to charge the batteries once a month.

I don't knowlingly sell junk. They have to be 9 months old before I can trade them for new ones.

 

[marine65]

You can get a rebuilt car battery in the Denver area for $24.99 with a 1 year guarantee .

 

[Rmay635703]

Originally Posted by marine65

You can get a rebuilt car battery in the Denver area for $24.99 with a 1 year guarantee .

Not rebuilt but you can get recons for that same price from battery mart (new battery with a fixed terminal or blems)

 

[Linctex]

Originally Posted by marine65

You can get a rebuilt car battery in the Denver area for $24.99 with a 1 year guarantee .

??? What do they do with it?

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Originally Posted by CT8

conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy conspiracy

"shadowy entity of great power--the government." If it wasn't for the conspiracy angle, most hoopla associated with 9/11, JFK assassination,Roswell, hundred mile to the gallon carburetor would have died a normal death.

 

[Nyogtha]

There is no primary lead smelting capacity remaining in the US due to environmental regulations. We export lead ore concentrate to be refined in other countries. Only secondary (recycled) lead refining exists in the US now, and yet we even export some used lead acid batteries for recyling.

 

[bbhero]

Originally Posted by Chris142

Originally Posted by bbhero

Originally Posted by Chris142

I'm kinda spoiled since I get stuff at our shop cost. The deka intimidator cost me $112. The champion batteries we stock cost me $69. I don't know who makes those. But if it makes everyone happy I trickle charger each one every month.

Very smart to charge the batteries once a month.

I don't knowlingly sell junk. They have to be 9 months old before I can trade them for new ones.

Well that's a very good thing... And what I was thinking was how smart you are to do what you are doing. Not everyone is has sharp has you are in this

 

[Eric Smith]

High? Cost about the same as one tire... Paid $110ish for the Escape battery and I didn't think it was high. The Dakota is the same price and I'll be changing it this weekend.

 

[rubberchicken]

Originally Posted by Nyogtha

There is no primary lead smelting capacity remaining in the US due to environmental regulations. We export lead ore concentrate to be refined in other countries. Only secondary (recycled) lead refining exists in the US now, and yet we even export some used lead acid batteries for recyling.

This sounds like a national security issue: what is the US going to do if a war breaks out, and we need lots of lead for ammo ? And if we do not secure our lead supply, the Russians could plant bugs in the lead and spy on our warfighters.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by rubberchicken

Surprisingly quite a few batteries used in small applications are coming from Vietnam. The 12 v 7 amp batteries I got about 2 years ago were about $12 each, but now run about $18.

APC is sourcing their VRLAs and small format AGMs from Vietnam, and I think more motorcycle batteries are coming from there as well. Korea is now the world's largest lead smelter and not suprisingly to keep costs down, Hyundai has been bringing over Korean batteries for their plants in the US. JCI(or whatever it will be called) does have a plant in Korea using the old Delco sealed top cover design.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by rubberchicken

This sounds like a national security issue: what is the US going to do if a war breaks out, and we need lots of lead for ammo ? And if we do not secure our lead supply, the Russians could plant bugs in the lead and spy on our warfighters.

Lead serves as a [censored] good Faraday cage - there's good reason why it's still used to protect you from excessive x-ray exposure in the dentist's chair. Back when film photography was still relevant, camera shops sold lead-lined bags to project high-speed film from the X-ray exposure of then-current bomb detection equipment at the airport. Not to mention the Koreans are also involved in munitions - PMC ammo is made in Korea, and Samsung/Hanhwa are major military contractors.

 

[gotnogunk]

We all have "best" batteries, but most WalMart's are cheaper, and a pretty good battery with a good warranty, and they are on every street corner when it goes bad.

 

[marine65]

Originally Posted by nthach

Originally Posted by rubberchicken

Surprisingly quite a few batteries used in small applications are coming from Vietnam. The 12 v 7 amp batteries I got about 2 years ago were about $12 each, but now run about $18.

APC is sourcing their VRLAs and small format AGMs from Vietnam, and I think more motorcycle batteries are coming from there as well. Korea is now the world's largest lead smelter and not suprisingly to keep costs down, Hyundai has been bringing over Korean batteries for their plants in the US. JCI(or whatever it will be called) does have a plant in Korea using the old Delco sealed top cover design.

My 2010 Elantra had a Hyundai branded battery. It was still just fine at 7 years old. But I decided to replace it last summer before winter started. You know that batteries are programed to fail on a work morning when it's 10 degrees out. I got a great deal(forgot the cost) on a Champion battery from Pep boys.

 

[bbhero]

I bet the price was somewhere between $135-150 dollars... With their coupon it is really a great deal. 4 yr free replacement warranty too.