Why nobody talks about buying used car batteries from the scrapyard

Last month I grabbed a 3-year-old battery from a local scrapyard in Cleveland for $15. Threw it on my tester and it held 80% capacity just fine. But here's the thing: I had to clean off acid corrosion and swap the terminals myself, took about 20 minutes. Works perfect in my old F150 now, saved $150 over a new one. Has anyone else tried this or am I just cheap?

3 comments

3 Comments

joel_jones11d ago

Why gamble with a car battery when new ones have warranties? @linda_dixon49 is totally right about the terminal issue - I've seen those cheap clamps give out at the worst possible time.

emma_flores12d ago

Wait, you really got a battery that old for just fifteen bucks? That's a steal... I've been thinking about trying the same thing but was a little nervous about getting a dud. Honestly, cleaning it up and swapping terminals sounds like a fair trade for saving that much money, especially if the tester shows it's still good. My old car eats batteries like candy so I might have to give this a shot. It's nice to hear from someone who's actually done it and made it work.

linda_dixon4912d ago

Swapped terminals yourself? Or had a shop do it. I'm curious because that connection has to be perfect or you'll get voltage drops and weird starting issues. Did you use one of those $10 terminal clamps or buy the good brass ones? I ask because I've seen cheap terminals crack after a few months in the heat. That fifteen dollar battery can turn into a headache fast if the connection isn't solid.