The ancient battery in the MR2 finally gave up the ghost, so I am buying a new one and notice that all stores offer a free battery installation. If your battery is dead, how do you get the car there for the install? Do they come to your house?
Has anyone every replaced a working battery?
Sure. When I've had batteries die in the past, I could usually jump start the car and it would be fine. They wouldn't hold a charge, so they'd be good for maybe one start shortly after shutting the car off.
I can't tell you the number of times I've done this over the years. The battery needs replacing, but it still works to some degree.
I think I lived with a dead battery in my CRX for about four months in college. I'd park somewhere I could easily push it out of and just bump started it. Being a CRX, an elderly grandmother could push it hard enough to bump start it. 
Where I live there's a cultural divide. Essentially we have rich folks and poor folks and not a lot of in-between folks. Actually, the poor folks would be doing pretty well if they could make whatever they're making but go someplace with a less punishing cost-of-living index.
Enough socio-economics...
My point is, based on observations as a person who works on and makes cars:
The people who have don't touch their cars. At. All. In my zip code when the German luxury car/SUV/hybrid fails to start they call the dealer who's very pleased to bill them for a tow, battery, and whatever add-ons they can. And, because these people are in the 6-figure median income, their time is much more expensive than the dealer's bill, so they're happy to pay.
The people who don't live near where they've put all the Pep Boys/Advance/Autozone stores. How 'bout that?. Also, these are the only people who fix their own cars. Jumper cables are in ready supply as are friends and associates with newer batteries.
I used to always get mine at the Sears Auto store. Die Hard was made by Exide and it was a quality product. Then I got a run a bad batteries for my Tacoma - they were giving up after about a year and the charging system and cables were perfect. Sears, to their credit - and there's not much credit due when discussing Sears, ever - kept replacing them. The last one is a couple years in and holding. The one in the M3 I've killed through non-use. It's due and I'll probably get one at Vato-Zone.
pinchvalve wrote: Has anyone every replaced a working battery?
Once, in the current Scion right after I bought it. I was having the oil changed at the garage next door & he called me to say he tested the battery, it was getting pretty weak. This was December and not very cold yet. He asked if I'd be interested in a replacement while he had it.
I said the chance to change a battery BEFORE it left me stranded somewhere for a change? You bet.
My brother and I each got one of these for Christmas way back in our undergrad days. When I got the thing I couldn't imagine me ever really needing it, then a year or so later I needed a new battery and broke college kid me, just used his jump box as needed for at least 4 months, before I bit the bullet and got a new battery.
I put a new battery in the 850 last December, my Duracrap was only about 18 months old, after having been replaced under a proration warranty, so instead of using my warranty for another Duracrap from Autozone, I had my friends/coworkers in the parts department get me a new Napa Legend at cost. I upgraded too, from the size 47 battery all the US cars got to a larger 48 battery most colder climates got.
I couldn't count the hundreds of batteries we replaced under warranty proration and full, when I was a service writer at a Nissan dealer. A lot were good batteries, but our testers were the ones Nissan told us to use, and they were not load tests. So yeah I've seen countless "good" batteries replaced. Granted Nissan upgraded the CCAs on all replacement batteries across all of the car lines last summer, so the problem did diminish some after one of the "new" batteries was installed.
I am perplexed by this concept of not having multiple cars........
yamaha wrote: I am perplexed by this concept of not having multiple cars........
Me too! As I was shuffling around cars in the driveway last night I thought how "right" it felt to have more cars than registered drivers in the house.
yamaha wrote: I am perplexed by this concept of not having multiple RUNNING cars........
FTFY
I've only had to replace one, usually don't keep the car that long.
The best was the Delco in my E36 M3fire, pretty sure that was the second battery the POS car ever had. I think it was something like 8 years old when I sold the car. I even froze it solid once, leaving a door cracked in the middle of January. Thawed it out and charged up fine.
slefain wrote:yamaha wrote: I am perplexed by this concept of not having multiple cars........Me too! As I was shuffling around cars in the driveway last night I thought how "right" it felt to have more cars than registered drivers in the house.
'Til you have to move the wagon to get the Miata out of the way so you can get the Tacoma back to jump start the M3 so you can move it into the back yard so you can load the truck and get the race car on the trailer.
And loading the truck is a pain 'cause the project car in the garage is in the way. And all of them except the race car, which you just spent every spare hour since the last race making perfect, are shining examples of deferred maintenance.
After I win this here season championship, I have about 4 months of evenings and weekends booked just for fleet maintenance.
I'm very seriously considering ditching almost everything for an FF 818 kit. It would take the place of the race car/Sprite/Miata/M3, and I'd end up w/ money in the bank, a ton of time and space.
Kenny_McCormic wrote:yamaha wrote: I am perplexed by this concept of not having multiple RUNNING cars........FTFY I've only had to replace one, usually don't keep the car that long. The best was the Delco in my E36 M3fire, pretty sure that was the second battery the POS car ever had. I think it was something like 8 years old when I sold the car. I even froze it solid once, leaving a door cracked in the middle of January. Thawed it out and charged up fine.
Out of my 6 vehicles, 4 work......granted, if the fukus goes down in the winter, I'm screwed. 
because the IHC isn't going to be in any shape to make the trip until I find a universal heater for it.
motomoron wrote: 'Til you have to move the wagon to get the Miata out of the way so you can get the Tacoma back to jump start the M3 so you can move it into the back yard so you can load the truck and get the race car on the trailer.
That's not too many cars -- that's not enough space. :)
When people ask me why I have four cars, I tell them it's because I don't have room to park five.
In reply to codrus:
I could probably park 30+ on just my driveway.....
bigdaddylee82 wrote:
I just left one of those connected to the battery in the trunk of my miata for a month or so till I could go replace the sealed battery. Pop the trunk, flip it on, start the car, hop out and flip it off. leaving it connected while it was running kept the internal battery charged on it. Granted it killed the jump box in short order, but it did the trick for the time being. (it only lasted about 6 months after that round of abuse.)
I was all pissed that I had to replace the napa battery in my wrx. Looked at it, and it was 7 years old. I guess that's good enough, and bought another napa. Charged it, drove it to napa, and changed it in their parking lot.
motomoron wrote: I'm very seriously considering ditching almost everything for an Exocet Spec A kit. It would take the place of the race car/Sprite/Miata/M3, and I'd end up w/ money in the bank, a ton of time and space.
FTFY
In reply to bigdaddylee82:
Nissan puts crap batteries in their cars with a crap warranty. Same or worse than valucrap from autozone. Mine went out when the xterra was just over a year old, and was told they'd cover 50% of a replacement under prorate since it had been past the "free" replacement at 1yr.
When my Acura battery crapped the bed, it was a no questions asked free replacement thanks for coming in, can I get you a cup of coffee?
Last Friday, I was out of town w/my RX8 for work and after packing up the car at the hotel I turned the key and all I got was click-click-click. Noticed the day before the starter was dragging but figured I had a week or so before the battery died completely. Wrong, just over-night. The hotel maintenance guy jump started my car with the hotel van and I drove down the street to the closest auto parts store and bought a battery. Didn't have the tools with me so they replaced it for me. Drove home uneventful.
One of the early jobs I had when I first retired from the military and was a full-time college student was at an auto parts store. Seems I was the only guy willing to go out of the A/C so I installed a lot of batteries. People with big car stereos and amps kept coming back to buy batteries. Tried sending some to an electric shop in town that would boost the alternator output but some of them didn't have the skills to remove the alternator to have it upgraded. So they kept buying batteries.
the only cars that i've ever owned that i would let one of those minimum wage counter guys install a battery on would be my 93 and 94 Luminas... it would probably take them a half hour just to find the battery..
I delivered pizzas for almost a year with no battery...in a flat state.
*mildly innebriated state.
yamaha wrote: In reply to codrus: I could probably park 30+ on just my driveway.....
Yeah, that's the problem with the SF bay area. 3 bedrooms and 1200 square feet costs the best part of a million bucks. :(
In reply to Strizzo:
I agree, about the crap battery, the warranty is dependent on the year model. All '11 and newer are 100% covered by Nissan Corp. for the full 3y/36k miles. However, anything prior to that is prorated after the first year up to the 3y/36k miles. The replacement battery though has a much better warranty, it's 2 years free, gradual proration up to 84 months, no mileage limitation.
I had a lot of customers get a free battery or sometimes two or three, after the replacement they purchased crapped out. That was never a fun conversation.
I had brand new Sentras come in for their first service, and leave with a new battery.
It took them long enough, but Nissan finally did something about it, late summer '12 new replacement batteries, new part number, higher CCAs. Granted we replaced a handful of them as well, but nothing like the previous ones.
In reply to bigdaddylee82:
i have a 2010 xterra...
If I still had my ex-wife's Stratus I would gladly pay to have the battery installed. It's behind the bumper, and the drivers front wheel has to come off to get to it.
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