Halfords 3-year battery warranty is a joke.

[gc123]

i use motor factors ,internet etc but i still hold my trade card with halfords because when you need the part its usually at the local shop or transferable from another store , hell they will even hold it at the other store if i want to fetch it. bought many batteries from all over the place and touch wood have never had major problems with any of them.
yes some staff are , lets say dense at times but i guess dealing with the public all the time has that effect. got me out of the pooh many times at 5 oclock on a saturday night , even with what i would expect main dealer only parts.

 

[AWPC]

Not defending Halfords at all here as my local branch are awful for refunds! but car batteries do go flat fast if not used regular. They also decay so without regular use you might go through 1 every other year unless its used regular in a vehicle & charging properly.

Never buy 1 just to not use it that's going to be a problem straight away as it will decay faster! Just the way the technology works. Worth buying a premium brand platinum level or whatever the marketing term is as they provide higher starting amps & extra capacity vs a std battery I believe.

 

[Cyber-Mav]

Higher amps from same size battery usually means thinner and higher count of plates to increase surface area, the lower capacity batteries in same physical size have better deep discharge characteristics.
Efb or agm is good and worth investing in a solar panel to put in window to keep battery charged up if car not used often or for short trips

 

[telewebby]

I also bought a halfords battery with 5 year warranty, it lasted 3 years
they wont exchange saying it isn't faulty - but it doesnt bloody work. it wont charge at all.

apparently its my fault for
a) either doing too many short journeys - Quite Valid Reason short journeys wont put enough charge back in. what journeys/time of day is the car being used
b) not enough long journeys or long journeys not long enough - Quite Valid Reason depends how long the journeys are times of day electrical load on the car etc
c) not using the car because of covid ( its used daily) - Quite Valid Reason batteries dont like sitting - a fully charged battery on a modern car will last around 1.5/2 months if car is left unused and locked
and lastly d) well something on the car must have drained the battery past the point of no return.

I'm declaring war on halfords.

Alex

 

[Vanquish-Storm]

Alex

It’s not fit for purpose then

 

[ShivP]

Try a different branch or bang in a credit card chargeback

You can't simply 'go to trading standards' - it doesn't work like that

 

[telewebby]

It’s not fit for purpose then

or not being used correctly which wouldnt deem it a manufacturing defect

Alex

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Holy thread revival.

 

[Bug One]

This reminds me of the talk about Maplin before they went under.

How can you expect a store full of employees waiting to help you, to be able to sell a product cheaper than you can find online? Of course it costs more. But that's the price of the convenience of being able to drive there and just pick it up, talk to someone about the product etc.

 

[Haze]

Buy rubbish get rubbish, not sure what you expected....

 

[Rids]

or not being used correctly which wouldnt deem it a manufacturing defect

Alex

and unless they can prove that the customer has used it in a way that invalidates the warranty, they should replace it.

All the conjecture about not enough long journeys, too many short journeys, not using it because of COVID, etc, is irrelevant unless they have proof of this.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

I don’t know if it’s the same for car batteries, but many years ago, my late father asked his Champion rep why Halfords could sell their Champion spark plugs for close to what it cost him to buy the same plugs at trade price. He guessed it was because he purchased 150-200 spark plugs a year and Halfords order 100,000s at a time.

The rep looked around to ensure that no customers were around and quietly announced that the ones Halfords order are made down to a lower price using cheaper materials. The ones my father purchased were made to a higher standard.

 

[gc123]

I don’t know if it’s the same for car batteries, but many years ago, my late father asked his Champion rep why Halfords could sell their Champion spark plugs for close to what it cost him to buy the same plugs at trade price. He guessed it was because he purchased 150-200 spark plugs a year and Halfords order 100,000s at a time.

The rep looked around to ensure that no customers were around and quietly announced that the ones Halfords order are made down to a lower price using cheaper materials. The ones my father purchased were made to a higher standard.

hmm, not sure that works , in business its the amount they buy . if your saying that champion had a production line that used cheaper materials for halfords i would suspect they would use it to produce all of them cheaper and so make more profit from everyone.

i used to buy cobra alarms yep that long ago and was a main dealer for them but it was always the point of the more you buy the cheaper they were and even main dealers couldnt keep up with the box movers . buy in bulk and ship them out direct to customers for diy fit even the cat 1s suffered, we try and play by the rules and only fit them whilst others just sold them with blank certificates got to the point where it wasnt viable any longer and cobra uk went by the way... went the same in most industries, windcreens,recovery etc i suspect theres more folk on here with similar tales always large companies trying to squeeze the little guys and independents out then after a time eventually the big guys dont make enough to survive and they go.

(soap box being put away now sorry)

 

[Vanquish-Storm]

or not being used correctly which wouldnt deem it a manufacturing defect

Alex

I would hazard a guess it is being used like the majority of drivers would use it.

 

[bm1]

Do not buy a car battery from Halfords! A layman's way of thinking would rightly be if you invest in a Halfords battery, it will start the car at least for the duration of the warranty, if not you could simply return it, you would even expect to charge it yourself periodically but when it fails to start your car and it even fails a Halfords battery drop test, (a test that tests the batteries internals as if it’s under starting load) they will still blame you for making short journeys or not driving the car enough (they don’t tell you this when you purchase the battery) and therefore makes their warranty WORTHLESS! You’ve been warned.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Holy thread revival posting bot.

 

[The Running Man]

Do not buy a car battery from Halfords! A layman's way of thinking would rightly be if you invest in a Halfords battery, it will start the car at least for the duration of the warranty, if not you could simply return it, you would even expect to charge it yourself periodically but when it fails to start your car and it even fails a Halfords battery drop test, (a test that tests the batteries internals as if it’s under starting load) they will still blame you for making short journeys or not driving the car enough (they don’t tell you this when you purchase the battery) and therefore makes their warranty WORTHLESS! You’ve been warned.

The order is that I suspect that you will get the same reason no matter where you buy it...

Where offers good returns on batteries same day walk in?

 

[gc123]

Do not buy a car battery from Halfords! A layman's way of thinking would rightly be if you invest in a Halfords battery, it will start the car at least for the duration of the warranty, if not you could simply return it, you would even expect to charge it yourself periodically but when it fails to start your car and it even fails a Halfords battery drop test, (a test that tests the batteries internals as if it’s under starting load) they will still blame you for making short journeys or not driving the car enough (they don’t tell you this when you purchase the battery) and therefore makes their warranty WORTHLESS! You’ve been warned.[/QUOTE

 

[Django x2]

[hugs bosch battery with 5 year warranty]

it amazes me how people are consistently surprised when they get done over by halfords, they have been playing this game for years, a friend of mine works for them they will receive a battery put it on the charger then immediately test the voltage to gain a higher result before the surface charge dissipates.

his branch doesnt even know how or have the equipment to test cell health and current.

Don't be fooled. Although the battery itself might be better, the warranty is far from good. 5 year warranty failure, battery dies in year 4 month 6, replacement battery is only covered for 6 months (not 5 years).

 

[gc123]

Do not buy a car battery from Halfords! A layman's way of thinking would rightly be if you invest in a Halfords battery, it will start the car at least for the duration of the warranty, if not you could simply return it, you would even expect to charge it yourself periodically but when it fails to start your car and it even fails a Halfords battery drop test, (a test that tests the batteries internals as if it’s under starting load) they will still blame you for making short journeys or not driving the car enough (they don’t tell you this when you purchase the battery) and therefore makes their warranty WORTHLESS! You’ve been warned.

hehe got told by honda a while ago my wifes frv battery kept going flat because i didnt do long enough journeys...... she told me to find the cause was a faulty relay in the fusebox sticking on and draining it probably my fault for being lazy) but seeing as honda had the vehicle for 2 days and didnt spot the melted top of the relay .....