Would you buy a used battery?
- Thread starter joegreen
- Start date
- Status
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Nope. There is usually a reason they aren't in a car. Buddy owns a towing company and has to salvage them from wrecks (and drain the gas and oil) before they go to the dismantler or auction. Abandoned cars are not usually well cared for and wrecked cars, well, they've been jarred pretty hard usually. He won't trust them, and he has tried, so I won't either.
Not when Walmart has their cheap $50 Valuepower batteries 
I would for my beater with a 2.5 mile commute.. But it's a beater so don't go by me
I don't think they're $50 anymore, it's more like $65. That's inflation. Or just the cost of lead.Not when Walmart has their cheap $50 Valuepower batteries
https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStar...ttery-Group-Size-24F-12-Volt-585-CCA/47308797
...
Last edited:
Nope, still $54.88 for any VP battery in stores. I don't know what's up with the website, as running a search for the VP 24f yields nothing
You're mostly paying for the difference in warranty length - 1 year vs 3 years
Only in a car your going to sell. Or a beater. I think it's illegal to put a new battery in a real beater.
In a pinch without steady income yes. Trading/Selling the car definitely Car dealers do this constantly. Otherwise no. $50 is a lot of money to throw away potentially.
I'm off in a little while to Wal-Mart to purchase a Group 65, 850 CCA Everstart for $130.00. Autozone wanted $209.00 for something similar in a Duralast. Both have the same warranty. I'm going install a Battery Tender with it because my truck doesn't get driven a lot.
Buyers should verify in store-- I've seen them $65 online but $55 in store with more selection
Any store that's going to sell you a $50 battery, I'm sure will give you a 5 year ,5 minute warranty on it. Which ever comes first.,,
Given my luck with Exide, I think if I could find a NEWER EP used battery, under a year or two, that tested OK, I would buy that over an Exide (incl. Rural King, many WM Value Powers, etc.). Exide is just that bad!
I’m lucky to have a Family Farm & Home nearby, selling Deka Ultimate batteries cheap ($99-129.99).
Call me a conspiracy theorist 'cause I believe this is certainly a possibility. In my opinion, you pay for the longer warranty and it's just a game of odds and who will "win", the customer or Walmart. People have the Value batteries last years while a MAXX can die in a year. In the end, do I really care ? Generally not...
Owen Lucas
$100 Site Donor 2023
- Joined
- Sep 5, 2021
- Messages
- 4,813
If it's a Japanese made Panasonic that was not in a wrecked vehicle then yes. I had one last 10 years in my Scion, only topped it up one time. Can't buy them here in the US unless someone has a connection, not even at the dealer. I guess it doesn't make sense to ship car batteries over from Japan.
that's still not bad
And also, it's $55 in my local Walmarts. Sometimes, online prices are different than in-store prices.
- Status
