one less reason to shop at K-mart
 

Not like I enjoy going there, but I needed a new battery for my lawn tractor and they were the only place in town who carried one in that size.
So they were selling Die Hards, and I bought one.
5 months later it ended up with a dead cell.
When I returned it with the receipt, the cashier informed me Kmart does not honor Die Hard warranties, and she was clueless as to what to do next.

I called the 800 number on the side of the dead battery, and was informed I would have to go to the nearest Sears Auto Center (15 miles up the road in Capitola) to get the warranty honored.

The young lady there was very helpful, though at a loss as to why Kmart pulled that trick. I walked out with a new battery.

The new Die Hard no longer has the 1-800 number on the battery's label, so if you are stuck in the same situation I was, you won't know where to call.

Now check this press release our from prnewswire.com:


HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- In another visible example
of the integration between Sears and Kmart, Sears Holdings Corp.
(Nasdaq: SHLD) today announced the introduction of DieHard batteries in nearly
1,400 Kmart stores nationwide. DieHard batteries are already sold in 870
Sears full-line stores, Sears Auto Centers and through a limited number of
Sears Hardware, Sears Dealer and Orchard Supply Hardware stores. With the
rollout to Kmart, the DieHard brand is now available at more than 2,500
locations in the U.S.
"DieHard batteries, legendary for their performance, are America's most
preferred auto battery," said Rick Sawyer, vice president of Sears Automotive.
"The expansion of the DieHard brand to Kmart stores makes it even more
convenient for customers to shop for an auto battery. Now consumers can
select from the complete assortment of DieHard batteries in a self-service
shopping environment in Kmart stores," Sawyer said. Pricing at Kmart stores will be consistent with the everyday low pricing of DieHard batteries found at Sears and Sears Auto Centers.


Sears Adds DieHard(R) Batteries to Nearly 1,400 Kmart Stores Nationwide -- re> HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ --


So, Mr. Sawyer, thanks for nothing. K-mart is generating sales off the credentials of the Die Hard brand with no liability assumed in case of product failure.

It's Interstate or AZ from here on out.

It amazes me kmart is even around anymore

The sad thing is that before K Marts merger with Sears they sold Delco batteries. IMHO Delco batteries, at least in the past, were CLEARLY the best batteries money could buy. There is now NO supplier of Delco batteries in our small town.

IMHO the merger of Sears with KMart seemed to bring the worst traits of both stores TO both stores.

My $0.02,

Kmart really has fallen.

Remember the camera accessories they used to sell? some of it was pretty good, and there was a time you could even buy plywood & some lumber there in the mid '70s.

There used to be a K-Mart a few blocks from here. It was really handy to have around. I could usually find what I needed easily. Quick in and out. Parking lot not near as hazardous as the typical Wal Mart lot. Then all of the K-Marts around here closed up.

I hadn't been in a K-Mart in years. Then, last June, I happened upon a K-Mart in New Mexico, so I popped in just for the heck of it. It was totally a junk store. Third rate merchandise, and not much of it. Oh well .....

Sears has gone downhill too, but not near as bad as K-Mart. I must say, Sears is still pretty good at parts availability for my old Craftsman lawn equipment and stuff.

As far as batteries go, I stopped buying Die Hards years ago because they were made by Exide. I avoid those at all costs. Not sure who makes Die Hards now, but I noticed that some of them are hecho in Mexico.

It amazes me that Sears is still around.

For Mercedes Benzes I like Mercedes Benz batteries best.

For other cars I like Interstate.

Don't think I've ever been in a K-Mart.

Dont worry, you are not missing much ! Over here they are only good for Chinese junk. Their auto section keeps getting smaller.

Because there aren't any? ;)

I know I've driven by some somewhere but all of the ones that were close by are long gone.

Same here, there probably isn't a K-Mart within 500 miles of here.

But, for some reason, they still advertise on TV all the time .......

But they're not as good as the stuff Johnson Controls makes, by a longshot!

No kidding. I thought they went out of business already. I haven't seen one of their stores in years. Between Walmart and Target, I don't see how they survive.

Each Lead-Acid battery comes with a Material Safety Data Sheet, also known as a MSDS, and it will list, in code, the name of the company that produced the battery.

But this will tell only a part of the story, because the level of quality will vary from one private brand to another.

I have had poor results with batteries from WalMart and good results with batteries from AutoZone, and yet in my part of the world both brands are made by the same company. However, the difference in the level of quality is obvious.

For this reason I tend to buy based on service and quality. If a WalMart battery fails it is incumbent upon myself to remove it and carry it in for replacement. With AutoZone they come out to the car, test it, and install it.

As for K-Mart I have not been in one in over 15 years, so I don't feel qualified to speak on the subject except to say that I have not been in one in over 15 years. Perhaps that should tell you something of my opinion on them.

See, there's the issue. All it says it that it makes it easier to SHOP for the battery...not to return it. ;) :P


That does indeed suck.

K-Mart's decline kind of reminds me of Montgomery Wards (how much did I just date myself with *that* reference??). I recall MW having pretty much everything you'd want, in fact they issued my first credit card, and plumbing the depths of my tool box will reveal some of their tools (you have to go deep for the SAE stuff, ha ha). But they turned downhill and just picked up speed. K-Mart was never as good as MW at it's worst, though.

I thought K-Mart exiting bankruptcy and buying Sears was one of the oddest things I'd ever heard.

Ah, well, they can't all be Amazon, right? :rolleyes: