last week panic set in over a dead battery in the mighty hyundai. i had to get my mother to the doctor which involved driving 40 km to pick her up and another 37 km to the doctor and i didn't have much time to spare. luckily i found a neighbor kind enough to give me a quick jump start. i was on the freeway for about 90 minutes so the battery got a good charge but fear had set in and it was time to get a new battery. i'm pretty sure that it would have been deader than a door nail on the first frosty morning.
of course i couldn't find the receipt for the dead battery to figure out the purchase date and whether or not it was still under warranty so the hunt for a new battery was on. for as long as i can remember all the replacement batteries i've purchased have been sears diehard but checking on-line there were several sites that said diehard batteries had gone down in quality so i turned to the expert, BILLY C COOK. AKA, THE KING bbc is the smartest guy i know when it comes to all things mechanical and he recommended a battery made by "johnson controls" so the search was on for a battery made by johnson controls. well it's small world, it turned out that johnson controls makes some diehard batteries so i was back to diehard.
i called the shop where i had bought the battery and told them i had lost the receipt. surprise, surprise, they told me i didn't need the receipt because they had a record on the computer and the battery still had a pro rated warranty. there was a 3 year replacement deal and after that there was a 100 month pro rated warranty so i basically got the new battery for half price. this morning the battery was replaced, i be happy and the mighty hyundai has her groove back.
my buddy is a big moorcroft collector and has been telling me how beautiful they are so i dipped my toe into the water and picked up an ashtray.
in other news, our election is less than a week away so here is an inspirational message from jim lahey, supervisor of the sunny vale trailer park, a true patriotic canadian:
me, rip and new battery love you sons of bitches.
17 comments:
For a long, long time I bought Die Hards, but a growing unhappiness with Sears in general finally led me to Knechts, and I've been happy with their batteries. Sears simply isn't what it used to be, and once they stopped selling paint that was the final straw. Besides, tools consisted of most of my purchases, and the only time I need another tool anymore is when one of the old power tools dies, and I found that others make better tools than Craftsman for about the same price.
yeah, the sears near our house closed their automotive shop and the whole store has moved towards fashion and away from hardware etc. i'll always have a place in my heart for good old sears. i bought a craftsman lawnmower last year and it's running like a top but i got an impact driver for a gift and had to buy the drill bits and screwdriver heads from amazon. sears hardware had basically nothing.
i'm still using my craftsman socket sets after 40 years.
I've never bought a diehard, figured they where over priced for what they are but your sale being on a computer was a good deal for you. Computers are great devices at times. I haven't had a battery fail early for years, just lucky I guess.
I wish I could fix my vehicle trouble with a battery...Coffee is on
Billy P:
I figure any battery you get will be acceptable for a while. To me they always seem hit-and-miss for long term anyway. I bought a cheap battery out of expediency from some place out in the boondocks that lasted 7 years, and an "expensive" battery that has died after 2.
If you get a chance, it would be nice to see a picture of the ashtray you mentioned on my blog.
PipeTobacco
king - do you keep a charger on it? i know a few people that always have their batteries hooked up to a trickle charger.
dora - today a battery, who knows what will break tomorrow.
pipe - behold the ashtray!
'Johnson controls' make batteries? I would have guessed they made condoms.
If a new battery goes flat because you leave the lights on, will it still be in good condition after you charge it up again?
Heheheh. At first glance I thought Pipe was cracking johnson jokes, but it makes more sense coming from our simian friend.
No I don't use a trickle charger, I drive some daily so that keeps the battery charged.
" a new battery goes flat because you leave the lights on, will it still be in good condition after you charge it up again?"
Depends on its age and how many discharge cycles it has been through, it is all a crap shoot. A friend here has a pickup with an intermittent draw on it that we haven't tracked down yet, it is hell on the battery. On the plus side if you kill it every two years they keep giving you a new battery, just don't tell them about the draw.
gb - luckily newer cars make all sorts of noises if you forget to turn the lights off. years ago it was a frequent occurrence when i had the lights on for foggy weather and forgot.
thims - yes, if pipe has a sense of humor, he keeps it to himself.
king - the diehard would have been free if it had croaked a year earlier but the dealer would have probably charged some sort of installation fee.
We used to be Sears people because my Grandpa worked there as a repair man until he retired and we would have been disowned otherwise. We didn't have a problem with it because Sears made some good stuff but Grandpa passed away some years ago and subsequently the quality of Sears stuff went downhill. Coincidence? Maybe. Anyway we avoid Sears because, well, you know. Take care buddy, and glad things worked out for you.
sorry about grandpa. it's not only sears, it seems like all the department stores have gone down the crapper. on-line and dollar stores are now ruling the roost.
That guy looks like he spits a lot when he drunkenly talks too close to me at the bar. I'll vote for the other guy. So long as he shares this guy's drinking policies.
Last thing I bought at Sears was a riding mower, cuz they gave me a year interest free to pay it off.
ken - hi ho, hi ho. it's off to vote i go.
king - i'm guessing you didn't take the mower to texas. did you give it to the hippies?
These hippies?
I sold the mower to a friend...
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