Buying Seconds

How do you feel about buying seconds; scratch and dent; refurbished items ????

I needed a new battery for my pickup.
Was on the fence if I wanted a orginal flooded or a AGM battery.
Then a friend told me about a place in town that sells blemished batteries.
So I went for a look see.
Its a DEKA flooded battery.
I checked it before I left store and it shows 12.61 volts.
Other than 2ND branded into the top and no stickers on the case I do not see anything wrong with it.
The recite says refurbished so I am unsure if it is a second or refurbished.
But for the $55 out the door cost I figure if it last 18 months it will cost the same as a new battery that last 5 years.

I usually seek out and buy scratch and dent appliances also.
 

cvphoto79265.jpg
 
My local Interstate store used to sell blemished batteries for $50. I bought a few and never had an issue. As a matter of fact, I never even noticed a defect on them.
 
I won't buy any battery without taking my trusty tester with me. This is what my
cvphoto79267.jpg

XT5 AGM battery measured when car was new.

It also has a very accurate voltmeter.

I would walk away from a 12.1 v battery.

I'll only buy new batteries because I hate changing batteries and hate getting stranded.
George
 
Seconds are batteries that only have appearance defects. They are internally identical to retail batteries. The biggest difference is the difference in warranty. A retail battery usually has a 5 or more year warranty with free replacement for a period of time from a year to two or three years. Seconds are usually warranted for a much shorter period of time if at all.

I would see no reason to avoid a second. I see from your picture that you appear to be getting a group 94 battery. That battery retails for around $200 and up around where I live. A second for $55 is about a 70% discount from retail. Even if you buy another one every 2 years, you are still way ahead money wise than a retail battery.

Personally, when my battery went bad 3 years ago, I grabbed a used one for about $32.00 from the local U-Pull-It junkyard. So far, so good!
 
George, when it comes to automobile lead/acid batteries, there is a LOT more to them than voltage. Voltage only tells you the state of charge. How about load testing? Specific gravity of the electrolyte (flooded batteries)? I have seen batteries (in my lawn tractor) that read 13.5 volts on a meter, but as soon as I hit the starter, nothing.
 
I have not seen those 2nd in my area ? If there are I'd be interested. But then we have a rural king and their batteries are around that price depending on what size you want ?
I used to be able to buy blem tires but I don't think they are around anymore either ? Never had an issue with them though.
 
I have no problem with it.

I used to do good on "blem" tires, but I don't see them anymore.

The range in our kitchen has a scratch on one side, and the dealer took $100 off the price. With the range installed between two cabinets you don't see the sides anyway.
 
Ive had Deere and Motorcraft batteries last ten years,theyre not that much more expensive than the junk that doesnt last for three.Money well spent in my opinion.
 
I do. Most of three time you have to look hard to pickup the damage on some of them.

Vito
 
Generally speaking, I don't mind price cut in exchange for blemishes. Examples include a washing machine with a scratch on the door window bought off the floor forb1_2 price and full warranty. Also, I have several Dewalt tools bought at cut price as refurbished; again with full boat warranty. I don't believe I'd buy meat that way so caveats apply.
 
You're only kidding yourself if you think that the brand name on the sticker or the dealer you bought it from really makes a difference.

There are only THREE battery manufacturers in the USA. Deka, East Penn, and Johnson Controls. ANY battery you buy will be made by one of those companies no matter whose name is on the wrapper.
 
I don't believe the meter in Geos picture is reading voltage. That meter's primary purpose is to test load current. The voltmeter is an added feature. That meter will read heavy currents, such as what a starter will need during an engine start.
I agree that a voltage reading of just the battery by itself (disconnected from the vehicle) doesn't tell you much. But a voltage measured at the battery with it connected and the vehicle running is useful.
 
(quoted from post at 19:47:01 02/22/21) You're only kidding yourself if you think that the brand name on the sticker or the dealer you bought it from really makes a difference.

There are only THREE battery manufacturers in the USA. Deka, East Penn, and Johnson Controls. ANY battery you buy will be made by one of those companies no matter whose name is on the wrapper.

Deka is a East Penn made battery.
Exide should be one of the three making
 
I can buy Excide seconds for $35 here. Come with a 90 day warranty. I've had good luck with them. They are not really blemished batteries but are those that have sat on the shelve to long and are returned. I've been in the Excide building here and they have a shelve full of different labels that they slap on the new ones.
 
(quoted from post at 13:23:50 02/22/21) How do you feel about buying seconds; scratch and dent; refurbished items ????

I needed a new battery for my pickup.
Was on the fence if I wanted a orginal flooded or a AGM battery.
Then a friend told me about a place in town that sells blemished batteries.
So I went for a look see.
Its a DEKA flooded battery.
I checked it before I left store and it shows 12.61 volts.
Other than 2ND branded into the top and no stickers on the case I do not see anything wrong with it.
The recite says refurbished so I am unsure if it is a second or refurbished.
But for the $55 out the door cost I figure if it last 18 months it will cost the same as a new battery that last 5 years.

I usually seek out and buy scratch and dent appliances also.

I used to buy the seconds/blems by the skid from my supplier, I had maybe 1 out of 20 that were duds.
For what I was paying for them I was money ahead if 5 out of 20 held up.
 

There are imports they may be made under those names tho... I see them often...

The major players operating in the Saudi Arabian Lead Acid Battery Market are Exide Technologies, ATLASBX Co. Ltd., GS Yuasa Corporation, Nipress PT, Leoch International Technology Ltd., CSB Battery Co. Ltd., Crown Battery Manufacturing Company, Johnson Controls International plc, Middle East Battery Company (MEBCO), C&D Technologies, MEA and others.
 

From ACDelco. I question some batteries off the truck were at 12.4 volts this was the reply... I have never had an issue from one off the truck at 12.4 I will say since I beached about it they are all at least 12.6 are more : )

When They sent me this I said old Geo and his P.O.S tester would pitch a hissy fit : )






mvphoto70558.jpg

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I have ran into 100's of seconds, blems and reconditioned battery's I hope I am never poor enoufh its all I could afford... I have never seen one that was up to par... You get what you pay for... I had rather have a good used battery than one that's more than likely set on a shelf for several years and sulfated then sold off as a blem/second...

When I am in need of a battery for a tractor of mine that sets most of the time I check the cores on the battery truck are run to a parts store and check their cores. More than 50% of the cores check good : )

The science of checking a battery is a lost art those P.O.S. conductance testers have dumb down the world... nnalert has kilt as many battery's as the virus this summer I had several cars a week in the issue was it was parked for weeks and not ran...
 
It's a crap shoot, you might get lucky, you might get burned.

I've bought 2nd's and used batteries, had mixed results.

One of the best batteries I ever had was supposedly a routine replacement because of age. It was a heavy duty truck battery I used on my camper. It basically sat plugged into life support, but it lasted about 10 years.

And I have gotten duds.

The first thing I look for is the date. If it is a year or less, I would think it has some life left in it. If it's getting old, don't expect much.

The good used/blems battery place closed several years ago.

The used battery place I now deal with is in a bad part of town. Good batteries (probably the stolen ones) are gone quick.

The blems are not much cheaper than Walmart.
 
When a equipment manufacturer orders a quarter million batteries,they spec and get what they want,some spec very high,such as Deere and Motorcraft.Thats not dreaming,thats reality.You get what you pay for,cheap gets pretty expensive once you buy the same thing for the second or third time.
 
Hobo. You hit the nail on the head about checking batteries.
When I went down the street , leaving IH and going to Deere , I
asked. Where is the load tester.

Well they got one then . I use all tests I feel necessary. Even
a hydrometer sometimes. About five different tests may be
necessary and not all are two minute tests.
 
Blem tires went away when whitewalls and 'red line' tires were no longer made. They were actually blemishes on the surface; any other blemish could have safety issues.
 
If I were a high end manager in a battery manufacturing plant, I would not be too willing to produce crummy batteries regardless of the spec. There are some things that you just can't cheat on. Quality comes to mind.

If you put your name on it, whether it is in public or internally to a customer, if you make lousy stuff, it will come home to roost. Would you want to put your name on something that is substandard?
 
I used to buy reconditioned Sears batteries from a private battery shop. They had a better warranty than Sears. They are no longer in business. I now buy all my batteries from Costco. I ilke their warranty.
Dave B
 

There is nothing wrong with using chemically restored or surfaced batteries in your equipment. Most lead acid batteries will require reconditioning in 2-3 years from purchase due to the sulfonation process. This is a pretty simple process, but it is nice to have the reference materials on hand. With reconditioning on a regular basis you can extend the average life to 8-10 years. The reconditioning course is $50 and proved useful for all types of household
batteries
 

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