A Great Battery Buy - 1st posted on Tear Jerkers

[AZ_Desert_Rat]

Hi all,
I thought I would share a very recent experience with you AND maybe it will help you.
I needed to replace the battery in my Cruiser, it was old and one cell failed to charge anymore.

Sooo, I started looking for replacement batteries and after several stops, I ended up at AutoZone ... their batteries have always lasted for me.

I asked about their (Duralast) group 31 Deep Cycle Battery. I was told they were closing out on that $137 battery and only had two left. After asking the manager, "WHAT IS THE BEST PRICE YOU CAN GIVE ME?", he said he could sell them at $50 each, needless to say, I bought both of them ($100) and will upgrade the Cruiser with two Group 31's for an upcoming dry camping trip.

As a point of interest ... on any higher dollar item, I ALWAYS ask, "WHAT IS THE BEST PRICE YOU CAN GIVE ME?" Every place I spoke with offered a better price of 5-10% less than the posted price, of course the 60+% off was the better deal.

I don't know, but if AutoZone is closing out the group 31 all over, there may be more of these 950 amp batteries out there. Good luck folks...

[ukewarrior]

Would you mind posting a picture of the battery and the sku from the store?

[AZ_Desert_Rat]

Would you mind posting a picture of the battery and the sku from the store?

Hi ukewarrior (What's the personal on your end, I'm John or just JC).
Not much the see... it's a 13x6-7/16" Heavy Duty, Deep Cycle Battery with just two top-mounted threaded posts ... no clamp posts. and here is the link to to the battery - model/part# 31-950 Duralast deep cycle ...

http://www.autozone.com/1/products/1861 ... 1-950.html

BTW, It was my understanding that Autozone is closing out on the 31-900 and/or the 31-950 battery. I am sure that the price I was quoted was not a normal sale price and it is also possible these batteries had been on the shelf for too long as the warranty reflected a reduction in time and value ... and just maybe... I was the cheap pigeon that got stuck with old stock ... who knows, one battery did seem to take a long time to reach full charge (I may take them both back for a load check before I install them). I was just sharing an experience and food for thought ... and hope the batteries hold up. Either way, I would not want someone to get fired over selling me a couple of batteries ...


In 50+ years of my working career, I have been in sales, management, reporting, and, ... and in business, I hate phone calls almost as bad as e-mail and if at all possible, I ALWAYS do my final deals in person ... I am also an old fart and sometimes that helps, but not always ...

The main point is to discreetly ask the store/shop manager for the best price and hope you can get a little better deal ... all stores/shops have a margin that they are permitted to work with and sometimes you can get a better deal and sometimes not ... BUT one must ALWAYS remember to be aware of great deals...