240D Battery Suggestions - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

KAdams4458 · #16 11-22-2010, 01:26 AM

Wal-Mart here carried Exide stuff, or did around a year ago. I don't know what else to say. I see that they must have sold some JC units according to the article, and now sell 100% JC units, but as I have already stated, that announcement predates my last trip to look at Wal-Mart batteries. At the time, everything on the shelf that I saw was an Exide.I paid very close attention to the batteries because I was there due to an Internet rumour that they were selling JC batteries, but they were not. Maybe they were in other parts of the country.

I must admit that I did not consider the possibility until now that they were selling batteries from both JC and Exide, and which store got what brand may have been determined by locality.

Back then, I shopped them for a Kia battery, primarily just to get a price and warranty terms so that I could demonstrate to my wife that the lowest price is not always the best value. I already knew then that Wal-Mart was not a place I wanted to buy a battery. *Ahem!* Wal-Mart always has the lowest price, but rarely, in my experience, do they ever have the best value.

Anyway, Wal-Mart can suck an egg. Three times I have bought a battery from them that needed to be warrantied, and three times they screwed me on the warranty. I don't much like those odds, and I think that's all it's going to take for me to learn my lesson. The last time it was explained to me, getting a fresh warranty battery there means you are on your own with no warranty from then on out. It didn't read that way to me, but that's what the store manager told me. That manager and I could not agree on what the fine print said, because we couldn't seem to meet in the same reality. (He wouldn't leave La-La Land, and for that matter, would never even read the print, as he was convinced that he knew exactly what it said word for word, though he refused to recite it.) The Security guys that followed me out had no opinion on the matter.

If it says anything, the Wal-mart locations here do not even stock group 49 batteries, so they are not an option for the 300D. Even if they did - and maybe it's regional - they want a receipt to perform a battery warranty exchange. No receipt, no warranty. I had heard it differently, too, but when it comes down to actually needing a battery replaced, they want to see it. Have a receipt that has turned either completely white or completely black? Again, no warranty. Maybe some Wal-Marts still know what customer service is, but I'd put money on finding a stray unicorn in my yard tomorrow before I'd put money on finding a Wal-Mart where customers aren't lied to.

No, I'd rather pay Autozone the $134.99 for the fresh battery with an 8 year warranty that I can make use of with nothing more than my phone number. No receipts. No Paternity tests. No hassle. No having to stand in line at Wal-Mart behind some lady that smells like an ashtray with seven kids, each of which is from a different "baby daddy," while she tries to return something for cash that she shoplifted half an hour ago and still have enough time to make it home in time to record Jerry Springer. (True story, and no, I don't think the police cared how badly she needed to press record on the VCR!)

I was glad to pay Autozone a premium for their DuraLast Gold battery For my little Saturn several years ago, my wife's Kia last year, my Mercedes three years ago, and again just recently when my warranted battery in the Mercedes sprung a leak for no apparent reason. (Five minutes in and out for a warranty replacement!) I know that if I have a battery go bad, when I get a new one, my 8 year warranty resets, and always will no matter how many times it may be replaced under warranty by Autozone. I know that even though I will occasionally encounter idiots manning the counter at Autozone, I will still get what I need, and I know that my batteries will be fresh. You get what you pay for.

Wal-Mart is good for entertainment, though.

Any of you guys checked out the peopleofwalmart site?