Is this how battery warranties usually work?

[maximus]

Originally Posted By: BHopkins
If he was buying a new battery, he would need to pay full price for it. Then he would have been fully entitled to a full warranty.

But he did not. He paid a pro-rated warranty replacement price - a fraction of the full battery price. At that price he was not buying a battery with a warranty, but a replacement for the failed battery, for which the warranty in it's original terms is still in effect.



You're thinking about it backwards. He purchased a new battery. It was just discounted because the previous one didn't last the advertised period.(prorate=discount after free replacement period). When you purchase a new product aka give money for merchandise, that product comes with a new warranty. This is how it's done at AutoZone where I used to work and every other parts house.

When I buy tires at Discount Tire, sometimes I get mileage credit if the old ones didn't last the advertised warranty, but the new tires come with a full warranty.


To summarize: prorated period means you simply get a discount on the purchase price of a new battery instead of a free replacement.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
it's different policies based on vendor.

costco will treat all warranties as a return and new purchase so the clock always starts over.

I think sears will treat full replacement as an exchange so the clock keeps going. but prorated as credit towards a new (full price) purchase so the clock starts over on that scenario

your Walmart description is the least friendly as it keeps the clock on both full replacement and prorated scenarios.

A prorated (or full within a specified period) replacement warranty is typically a discount off the current price of an equivalent battery. That may be a benefit if the price goes up, although the new battery may not reset the replacement warranty. Then the buyer hopes that the replacement battery lasts a long time and the warranty isn't an issue.

Costco is different, and as you said they process the warranty as a refund. That can be good or bad. I guess the bad is that it might not cover the entire price if the cost goes up, but on the other hand Costco has possibly the cheapest prices on any car batteries. And of course the replacement is optional, and the warranty would reset if you choose to buy from them again. However, their warranty is completely different now - just a 42 month full replacement but no more prorated warranty. Another thing is that they're not an auto parts store and have no way of testing a battery and just trust that the buyer says there's an issue.

I did recently replace my Costco Kirkland Signature battery after over 7 years just this weekend. It was actually looking pretty nasty with that foamy/crusty acid leakage but it was still working. It was starting fine until one day I was listening to the radio for over an hour (waiting for someone) and by then it didn't start. I whipped out my portable jump starter from my trunk, and after a few tries (including the not recommended placing of the negative clamp directly on the battery) it started. From that point on I was getting a weak start (slowly turning over but starting). I thought maybe a bunch of short trips was not fully charging the battery, so I hooked it up to a Schumacher 3/12A charger, which quickly said it was starting at over 80% charge. I know it's not that accurate to start with, but it was fully charged at 3A in less than an hour, so the charge level probably wasn't the issue. The start was still pretty weak, but at least not the starter clicking, indicating a really weak battery unable to turn anything.

So back to the replacement - I went to Costco and bought a new Group 35 (Interstate branded) battery for $73.99 and tax. I actually had my factory battery, that had been sitting in my garage for those 7+ years after I replaced it. I hadn't returned it for the core deposit nor did I drop it off at a recycling center. I still needed to drive my car home (even with a weak battery) and figured I could avoid the core return if I brought it along. They still made me pay for the entire price and the core deposit. Then they refunded the core deposit immediately when I handed over my used factory battery. It seemed rather odd, but that's the way they work.

So I got home and topped off the new battery with the charger before installing it. For some reason it said it was at 73% (even with a date code from last month) although it was full and in float mode in less than 25 minutes at 3A. And that definitely took care of the weak start issue. I figured I'd take the old KS battery back to Costco even if there was barely any battery warranty left. So I brought it over to customer service and after handing over my membership card, the returns employee looked up the purchase, and I ended up getting almost $16 back. Not bad. I think it was bought maybe 87 months ago, which means I got back 10% of the $56 purchase price, a sales tax refund for that amount, and $9 back for the core deposit that I never cashed in (I guess they could look that up too). I found a photo of the warranty prorating:

Mostly I was hoping that somehow I could get a core return deposit back since I wasn't going to buy another battery.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: DeafBrad
It makes sense to prorate the warranty on the replacement battery. It would be possible to perpetually get new batteries after the original purchase price. It is like people who live in a hard water area buying a coffee pot, and returning it for a new one after it plugs up. After the second plugs up, return it for a new one, etc, etc.

Some people do that. You can read the way that some have treated the Costco replacement policy by just claiming the battery is weak before the full replacement term (used to be 36 months) is up. I'd think they'd be looking up the records and noticing a pattern, but who knows. They don't test the batteries.

I suppose some terms are more like a warranty part replacement for a new (or used) car warranty. The replaced part itself is generally only warranted until the end of the new car warranty. However, a post-warranty service with new parts often comes with the parts warranted for a term of maybe one or two years.

Or you could have some odd terms like the battery replacement policy on an Apple notebook computer. My battery got fried through some strange incident (from some abnormally high current draw while playing a game) where all the battery information stored onboard got scrambled. The diagnostics were saying that it had negative battery capacity and to replace now. Then periodically it was again say it was normal and then to replace again. It had been well out of the original warranty for years. I brought it to a store and was given two options - to buy a new retail battery for $139 which came with a one year warranty, or where I could get a special battery warranty replacement for $99. For the latter I had to give them the old battery, it would only come with a 90 day replacement warranty, and I wouldn't be able to do that again if that battery suffered the same fate. It also came in a brown cardboard box instead of Apple's retail packaging. For the new retail one, I could conceivably get a special replacement (the $99 one) if it went on the fritz again. I just wanted this thing to work and the $99 replacement has served me well considering I bought the computer over 8 years ago.

 

[The_Jeff]

The point of a warranty is to make you whole, legally. For three years you're made whole, free. But you shouldn't benefit, in their mind, just be made right, so the replacement is restricted.

 

[Andrew1972]

Yes and tires.

Warranty is nothing more then a tool to make you more comfortable with purchase and is built into the price.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted By: maximus
Originally Posted By: BHopkins
If he was buying a new battery, he would need to pay full price for it. Then he would have been fully entitled to a full warranty.

But he did not. He paid a pro-rated warranty replacement price - a fraction of the full battery price. At that price he was not buying a battery with a warranty, but a replacement for the failed battery, for which the warranty in it's original terms is still in effect.

You're thinking about it backwards. He purchased a new battery. It was just discounted because the previous one didn't last the advertised period.(prorate=discount after free replacement period). When you purchase a new product aka give money for merchandise, that product comes with a new warranty. This is how it's done at AutoZone where I used to work and every other parts house.

When I buy tires at Discount Tire, sometimes I get mileage credit if the old ones didn't last the advertised warranty, but the new tires come with a full warranty.

To summarize: prorated period means you simply get a discount on the purchase price of a new battery instead of a free replacement.

This is how it 'should' work imo. And as noted how it has also worked for me at Discount Tire

I received a treadwear prorated adjustment on a set of Yokos that were worn well before the warrantied tread life period. That amount went was applied to the new set of tires installed and I did not lose ANY of the new tire warranty. So as far as tires ime, not the same as the OP's battery.

Perhaps this (OP's) is how battery proration works at some places, but imo that makes the prorated period amount pretty useless.

 

[Nate1979]

If you look at Advanced Auto, they list their battery warranty clearly online for example. It clearly says that during the free replacement period that the warranty period is not extended. But for the credit from replacement during the prorated part of the warranty it goes toward the purchase of a new battery and makes no mention of affecting the warranty of the new battery. You would have to look up the specific warranty of where you are purchasing to know for sure.