Why People Buy a Restored Battery?
The first thing that attracts a person to consider buying a restored battery is the PRICE. An NS70 battery for larger SUVs and Diesel vehicles sells for $75 at the battery clinic. You will pay close to $300 at a battery retailer. A savings of more than $200.
Imagine the queue at a service station when they announce a discount of 5 cents a litre. Many spend $1.00 driving down to the service station to save possibly $3.00!
Are people queuing up to buy restored batteries?
The answer is yes and no. Yes we are seeing more people come to the battery clinic and we sometimes get a queue of about 3 to 4 people waiting to be served, but not like what you would see at the service station selling cheap petrol. There are many different categories of customers.
1) Customers on a Tight Budget
The car is a necessity and when you need a battery it is a grudge purchase. These customers are very happy when they find us and save themselves $100 or more. It is hard to save $10 out of their budget and a saving of $100 or more is a fortune.
2) Customers Who are Skeptical and Unsure
These customers can afford a new battery at $300 or more but would love to save themselves $200 or more. At the back of their minds is the fear that they may be stuck on the road in the middle of nowhere or look silly if the battery fails after a month. Some are embarrassed to be seen buying a restored battery.
They inquire on how our process work and about our warranty. After we explain that our procedure reverses the process of sulfation and restores the battery back to it’s original state when new, minus the amount of active material that had fallen off to the bottom of the battery, they are prepared to give it a try.
If our batteries don’t work our 6 months replacement warranty for automotive batteries would have put us out of business. If you purchase a restored battery the first thing you blame if the car don’t start is the battery. If you purchase a new battery the first thing you blame is the car.
3) Customers Who Buy New Batteries Only
These customers would happily pay for new batteries but are persuaded to buy restored batteries because they want to support the environmental aspect of smart battery recycling.
Most people who start using restored batteries will continue to do so and often introduce others to our product and services.
Do New Batteries Fail?
Contrary to what people think we need people purchasing new batteries. Without them we won’t have a business as they are the source of our restored batteries. Some applications require new batteries. However new batteries can fail. Sulfation starts the moment the battery leaves the charging factory. Quality control is through batch sampling and not 100% check. Faulty workmanship do occur though it is often hard to prove.
Battery cost have increase tremendously over the years because of the price of the raw materials. To keep prices down manufacturers introduce budget batteries. ( Notice how their normal battery range don’t change. The budget range gets an economical looking plain label – but are called POWER SUPER ULTRA STANDARD HEAVY DUTY ETC!! If these are heavy duty should their normal range be SUPER HEAVY DUTY?)
Manufacturers compromise by reducing the amount of active paste they apply to the plates. ( Paste can account for 1/3 the battery weight)
They can also reduce the number of plates or the height of the plates. ( Small batteries have 7 – 9 plates, Medium batteries have 9 – 11, Large batteries have 11 – 13, and XL batteries have 15 – 17 plates)
Do Restored Batteries Fail?
Sure they do usually because an incorrect size or low CCA battery was used. We check the battery’s CCA with our battery meter before we install it in a vehicle. Our failure rate is less than 1 %.
A battery fails because it is sulfated but it could also be the result of an electrical fault or faulty alternator not charging the battery adequately. In most cases an electrical leakage developed which caused the battery to fail in the first place.
We place our warranty sticker on the battery so that you don’t have to worry about keeping the receipt. Battery retailers will require you to produce your receipt as proof of purchase and let’s face it – how many of us keep our receipts diligently.
