[Dr. Dyno]

Took a 38 month old dead battery into Walmart last night. Since it had a 3-year free replacement/ 5-year total warranty and was only 2 months over the three years I figured I'd get near full credit towards a new one. NOT TRUE! I only got 37% toward a the new battery. Here's the shocking truth about how that works. A 5-year battery loses 1/60 of it's replacement value each month. So at 36 months it's actually down to 24/60 or 40% of it's value but since the 3-year free replacement still applies, it's credited at 100%. That all goes away on the 37th month leaving 23/60 or 38%. Moral: get your battery replaced IN the 100% period or suffer what appears an unfair decreased credit.

 

[desinia]

This is the way any battery warranty works. In this case, they figure that just about all of their batteries will last three years. If you redeem the prorated portion after that, they've still got you as a battery customer. The thing to watch out for is that on a lot of these warranties, if you get a NEW battery on the warranty, either the original warranty period is still in effect or they consider it completely finished after you get a replacement. I happen to know that the Walmart warranty paper spells out the terms in plain words but you usually have to ask for the papers first. Any seller should be able to explain what the terms are when you buy one.

 

[RTexasF]

Sounds pretty standard to me.

Moral: get your battery replaced IN the 100% period or suffer what appears an unfair decreased credit.

Obviously it has to go bad within that period. They won't just hand over a new one every 36 months.

 

[Blogson]

Yep, that's usually how a prorated warranty works after the free replacement period has expired. The terms should be included in the fine print part of the warranty (magnifying glass required!).

 

[vanib]

Can I ask for a new battery if the present CCA is now below the advertised CCA?

Say I purchased a battery with 750 CCA for my RAV that needs 550 CCA. After 3 years, the battery test shows 600 CCA.
Can I can a new battery for that? or should the RAV not start at all to warrant a new battery?

FYI, my i4 RAV was starting with no issue even when the old battery was reading 340 CCA!!!

 

[Dr. Dyno]

Some Walmarts run the battery thru a series of tests before they will replace it. I'm not sure what the pass/fail criteria are but my local store simply replaces it w/o any testing. In yesterday's case the battery was inside a vented box in my truck camper so except for the 9/12 sticker on top it looked brand new. I put it on charge overnight and all cells stayed in the red on my hydrometer so it was dead dead. Too bad I missed the date by two months since I'm sure it was dead then too.

 

[Dr. Dyno]

The shocking aspect when you walk in for a new battery at 37 months is finding out that the prorated part of Walmart's 3-year full replacement + 2 years prorated warranty started 3 years ago not after the 3 years. That drops the value at 37 months from an anticipated 96% to an actual 38%.

BTW, I just checked the batteries in my RAV4 and 1999 F-250. This month, 11/15 they are dated 8/12 and 9/12, just over the 3 years, so hopefully they'll live another two when their value will be zero.

 

[desinia]

The shocking aspect when you walk in for a new battery at 37 months is finding out that the prorated part of Walmart's 3-year full replacement + 2 years prorated warranty started 3 years ago not after the 3 years. That drops the value at 37 months from an anticipated 96% to an actual 38%.

BTW, I just checked the batteries in my RAV4 and 1999 F-250. This month, 11/15 they are dated 8/12 and 9/12, just over the 3 years, so hopefully they'll live another two when their value will be zero.

Try to look at it this way. You're getting a 5 year prorated warranty with the first 3 years free replacement. Hmmm... Now that I think about it, that's probably exactly how it's worded on the actual warranty paper.

 

[Dr. Dyno]

Try to look at it this way. You're getting a 5 year prorated warranty with the first 3 years free replacement. Hmmm... Now that I think about it, that's probably exactly how it's worded on the actual warranty paper.

What warranty paper? I've bought a dozen batteries from Walmart and can't remember ever seeing one.

 

[Blogson]

What warranty paper? I've bought a dozen batteries from Walmart and can't remember ever seeing one.

Yep - The battery usually has verbiage on the case, for example "84 months, 4 years free replacement", but to obtain the details one usually has to go to the internet and wade through a lot of irrelevant info. The selling shop may if the buyer is fortunate have something posted such as "4 years free replacement, 84 months pro-rated warranty," with no further explanation. The only battery I have bought which had full warranty disclosure on and inside the box was a Power-Sonic motorcycle battery.

 

[desinia]

The warranty papers are in a pile, probably under the counter. You should ask for one or at least have them explain what the warranty is when you buy one.

 

[Dr. Dyno]

The warranty papers are in a pile, probably under the counter. You should ask for one or at least have them explain what the warranty is when you buy one.

I'd say I'm beyond needing a paper or an explanation now! :crying :wall

 

[RAVN4RED]

Took a 38 month old dead battery into Walmart last night. Since it had a 3-year free replacement/ 5-year total warranty and was only 2 months over the three years I figured I'd get near full credit towards a new one. NOT TRUE! I only got 37% toward a the new battery. Here's the shocking truth about how that works. A 5-year battery loses 1/60 of it's replacement value each month. So at 36 months it's actually down to 24/60 or 40% of it's value but since the 3-year free replacement still applies, it's credited at 100%. That all goes away on the 37th month leaving 23/60 or 38%. Moral: get your battery replaced IN the 100% period or suffer what appears an unfair decreased credit.

Got me thinking about my RAV4 battery, so did some fun with numbers. I did get a warranty paper for my Les Schwab (west coast chain) Johnson Controls battery. The free replacement period was only 24 months, but the prorated warranty is 84 months. So I risked shorter term failure, but I fare better over the long haul.

I lose 1/84 replacement value each month. At the half-way point of 42 months, I would get 50% toward a new battery. My OEM battery lasted 43 months, so it might be a good bet. I'm at 37 months now on my replacement, will see if this one beats that.

So my moral: consider longer term on the proration side of things for slightly better payback. (Note: I did pay upfront cost of $105--probably higher than Walmart--thus my 'depreciation' is $1.25/month over the 84 months. If turns out to be a higher quality battery and lasts longer, so much the better.)