Walmart EVERSTART MAXX Group 75 battery with 9/23 sticker on it. Good or Avoid?

[69GTX]

My local WM has several of these Group 75 (side post) batteries on discount or closeout ($110 vs the regular $139).
My first choice was to get another AC Delco Professional / Gold as the last one just got me 9 yrs.
on a 42 month warranty. But, it doesn't appear that battery is still sold as such by any retailers near me for under $200.
A lesser AC Delco line is now offered with an 18 month warranty.

WM Everstart MAXX Serial number has EP for the leading letters. East Penn? Store stickers "9/23" are a bit
concerning if these have sat uncharged for 5 months. Warranty is listed at 3 yrs....which I believe is a FULL
replacement if they fail early. Are they worth the risk? This particular store has no automotive repair
center that could verify the battery condition upon sale. Opinions?

 

[ripcord]

I wouldn't go for it.

 

[Lubener]

Avoid it. Another WM might have the same thing with a 2/24 tag on it.

 

[Snagglefoot]

At my Walmart, the clock starts the day of the sale receipt. As for the 5 month delay, someone at the store places the sticker on it. It could be that a 1/24 is just as old, but was sitting in a Wharehouse before it got delivered to the store. These things are not like fresh picked field tomatoes.

A battery sitting in an air conditioned store doesn’t deteriorate like one at 110 F under the hood in west Texas. I would go for it, unless you’ll lose sleep over it,

 

[Tdbo]

Depends what $29. is worth to you.
As has already been stated, warranty starts on the date of purchase.
So, you will basically get the full warranty out of the battery, anyway.
Price has been adjusted to reflect and/or compensate for any dustbunny colonies that may have parked atop the device.
I'd say go for it. Much more pressing issues in the world to fret about.
Besides, your wallet will thank you.

 

[eljefino]

Batteries don't rot as quickly just sitting on the shelf with a full charge. Once you start cycling them then the chemistry activates that ultimately kills them. But what's the equivalent "months of use" to "six months of disuse"? I couldn't tell ya...

But my dad bought a new battery for his Ford Escort that sat on his basement floor for FIVE YEARS then he gave it to me. I fit it to my Hyundai Accent and it worked fine...

If you buy it, throw it on a charger first before installation.

 

[cptbarkey]

I buy nothing but Walmart batteries and they work fine for me. Pretty sure I have that exact unit in my truck but I don't obsess about batteries much.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Serial starting EP is in fact East Penn.

AC Delco doesn't make batteries - a AC Delco labeled battery will be Clarios (Johnson Controls), East Penn, or Interstate. Thats pretty much your 3 broad market choices at this point.

I would buy it. Obviously if you can get a newer one at another store that would be better, but your still going to have full warranty either way.

 

[zzyzzx]

The Walmarts near you actually have Group 75 batteries in stock???

 

[Sayjac]

My first thought if I was interested, I'd put my Ancel battery tester on it. That said, I'd speculate 'worst case,' it would come up as just needing a charge and could read good to go. Afaik, the 3 year full replacement clock doesn't start until purchase. I think I'd go for it.

 

[drtyler]

Those stickers get replaced as well sometimes. Don’t read too much into which one is on the battery.

 

[Davejam]

I would avoid it, unless failure is ok.
Check voltage, ~12.7 would be fully charged for lead acid.
It is probably much lower than that and the longer it sits at low voltage the more it has lost capacity.

 

[69GTX]

The Walmarts near you actually have Group 75 batteries in stock???

Yes indeed. 3 of them. All with at 9/23 sticker. No other group 75's available. The other models they have on the shelf
all have 1/24 or newer stickers on the batteries.....none of those showing a discounted price.

O'Reilly's lists the AC Delco Gold Gp75 (42 mo warranty) in their inventory.....at $229.99. So that's a no go. Other on line
battery retail "shops" that don't actually own a big chain of stores lists for as low as $149 ("Battery Sales.com" Miami, FL).
Not even sure how to get one as they either don't ship or shipping cost would make them unaffordable.

Leaning towards the Walmart $110 Everstart MAXX right now. I agree the 36 month "replacement" warranty helps.
I only "obsess" over batteries when it comes time to replace them....then forget about them for 5-9 yrs. The battery world
seems to have a changed a bit since I last "obsessed" about it back in May 2015.

Thanks for all the inputs so far.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

It's totaled.

 

[69GTX]

I would avoid it, unless failure is ok.
Check voltage, ~12.7 would be fully charged for lead acid.
It is probably much lower than that and the longer it sits at low voltage the more it has lost capacity.

I bought a Gp 65 AcDelco 4 days ago for my daily driver.....it was coming up on 9 yrs in May and starting to falter a bit
after the car sat for a few days in the cold. The Auto Parts store where I got it told me it's fully charged and ready to go....and that
they keep their inventory "charged" up. No need for me to charge it. Funny thing though, I got it home and slapped the charger on it before installing it in the car and it started out at around 10 amp charge rate......took about 45 min to get it to fully charged. Don't know what that equates too....but it would seem to be at least a month of sitting, maybe more. I didn't check voltages though. I did check voltage after it had been out for a run.....and sat in the car over-night...... was 12.65 v.

 

[zzyzzx]

WalMarts near me almost never have a group 75. I've been wanting to find a WalMart with both a group 75 and a group 86 so I can compare the two to make sure I can substitute an 86 for my 75 when I want to replace my battery cables to completely convert to top post.

 

[benjy]

you can check battery sizing on line, full dimensions etc!!

 

[zzyzzx]

you can check battery sizing on line, full dimensions etc!!

I know, but there is something about doing an actual comparison in person.

 

[ripcord]

I just walked past the batteries at the local Walmarts and saw another ripping battery deal. $83 for a year and a half old group 25 value plus.

 

[icare_dou]

My local WM has several of these Group 75 (side post) batteries on discount or closeout ($110 vs the regular $139).
My first choice was to get another AC Delco Professional / Gold as the last one just got me 9 yrs.
on a 42 month warranty. But, it doesn't appear that battery is still sold as such by any retailers near me for under $200.
A lesser AC Delco line is now offered with an 18 month warranty.

WM Everstart MAXX Serial number has EP for the leading letters. East Penn? Store stickers "9/23" are a bit
concerning if these have sat uncharged for 5 months. Warranty is listed at 3 yrs....which I believe is a FULL
replacement if they fail early. Are they worth the risk? This particular store has no automotive repair
center that could verify the battery condition upon sale. Opinions?

Home Depot beats Walmart's regular pricing and offers a 3 year warrenty. The carry limited selection of auto supplies such as batteries (by exit). I have purchased 3 of their batteries now and have had no issue. They also stock popular but limited selection of oil, filters, coolant, additives, etc. If they have what you want they are the low price leader in my area.