Red Planet - could you talk to your people about the quality of the OEM batteries ?

Let's face it - the Delco batteries suck . :(

My '99 SS lost it's battery to the positive terminal post leaking internally, which in turn leaked on the car.

My wife's '02 Saturn L300 - same thing.

My co-worker's '00 C1500 - same thing - in fact, I helped him change it in the parking lot during lunch.

Buddies '01 Z71 - you guessed it.

I know that manufacturer's must save money in initial component purchases to make $'s , but think of the cost in terms of warranty & intangibles such as customer satisfaction.

To attempt to quantify this:



Suppose that GM's cost per battery in a new build is $ 15.00 ea.

Now, let's assume that 2 vehicles are build, and of those 1/2 (50%) go bad.

If warranty service pays $35.00 for hour labor, and then the cost of the replacement battery which we will assume is still $15.00 , then ...

The averaged cost per battery is now $50.00 + $15.00/2 = $ 32.50.



The way I see it, you would come out ahead in the big picture by paying more per battery initially but cutting warranty costs.

Yes, I freely admit that this is a greatly simplified example.

But if someone had never before purchased a GM vehicle & ran into things like this it conceivably could make them wary of the vehicle quality as a whole - whether or not this is accurate.

Please do not take this as a flame - merely a "suggestion for improvement" .
:)

Thank you !

Britt Tooke

Sorry to hear about your problems. :(

I'll be interested in hearing if other's have the same problems... I have never once had to replace a from-the-factory battery in any car I've owned (and they have all been GM)...

I completly agree with what you are saying but, for the most part car makers now days don't care about quality. They'd rather make the all might dollar up front instead of have loyal customers. I heard one time through the grape vine (not sure how accurate this could be) that for GM to build a top end suburban it may cost at the most $15k and they sell them for nearly $50k. I have a long drawn out disscusion about this but I want get into it on here, but basiclly if they were to lower the prices dramaticlly they would be more people buying them, I know I would and they would be less junkers out there on the road making it overall safer, but who cares about safty right?

Originally posted by lkellyharley
I completly agree with what you are saying but, for the most part car makers now days don't care about quality. They'd rather make the all might dollar up front instead of have loyal customers.

I'd say that might have been true at one point, but I think it is very false today.

Yes, all automotive companies are out to make money (why else be in business?) , but they have realized that improved quality means return customers as well as new customers... which means more money in the long run.

Happened to to my wife's 99 GTP.

Seems it's a common problem.

The positive terminal bolt seems to be a bit too long or the hole too shallow, and tightened, pulls the post out of the battery slightly and the leaking acid corrodes and leaks....:rolleyes:

I've never had troubles with any Delco battery, whether it came with a new car or was a replacement. I seem to recall most surveys rank Delco batteries near the very top compared to their competitors.

That's strange, I finally replaced the factory battery in my Z/28 about six months ago. I figured after 8 years it was probably due... plus it was getting a little hard to start. :p

I completely disaagree.
I've worked in the repair and parts industry for 13 years.
OE batteries consistently perform extremely well. Most people do not replace their original battery untill the 5th, 6th, or 7th year of ownership.
On the contrary, I've found aftermarket batteries to be sub-par. They don't last nearly as long and we always saw them come back for some problem within the 1st or 2nd years.

I've always found Delco batteries to be among the best. I even will spend extra to get a Delco replacement. Well worth the cost.

Originally posted by HuJass
I completely disaagree.
I've worked in the repair and parts industry for 13 years.
OE batteries consistently perform extremely well. Most people do not replace their original battery untill the 5th, 6th, or 7th year of ownership.
On the contrary, I've found aftermarket batteries to be sub-par. They don't last nearly as long and we always saw them come back for some problem within the 1st or 2nd years.

I've always found Delco batteries to be among the best. I even will spend extra to get a Delco replacement. Well worth the cost.

Some Japanese makes used to have lousy OE batteries. Mazda is one name that comes to mind. However, my family has never had a GM car where the battery didn't last nearly a decade. Unless something has changed recently, I wouldn't fault Delco batteries.