AutoZone - Cheaper Not Always Better
05-21-2009, 08:31 AM
Sunday I was driving home when I my car shut off leaving me on the side of the road. Luckily I wasn't too far from home and was able to get the car back to my house. The problem was clearly electrical so I had the battery tested and it tested bad. I replaced the battery and while the car started it still wasn't charging the battery. I called around to get prices on an alternator. The dealer wanted $559 for a replacement and the rest of the places wanted between $200 and $350. Autozone however, wanted $155 for one. I was on that like flies on shit!
I get the alternator home and put it in. Normally this is a pretty easy job, but it's a real pain in the ass on my car. I start the car to fine that the battery light now goes on and off. When I test the voltage I fond out that its all over the place. I start to wonder if there is more to the charging system in this car than I thought. Everything that I've learned about cars told me that the problem was a bad alternator again.
I did a little research on the alternators that AutoZone sells. Duralast is the company that remanufactures their electrical parts. They are apparently known for being faulty right out of the box. So much for their "Built to last" commercials. One more than one occasion I've read about people testing their alternators out and they have about a 50% failure rate right out of the box. They give you a lifetime warranty which is nice if you feel like spending hours under the hood of your car.
The story ends like this: I went to NAPA and paid $250 for a rebuilt alternator and the thing worked as soon as I put it in.
I get the alternator home and put it in. Normally this is a pretty easy job, but it's a real pain in the ass on my car. I start the car to fine that the battery light now goes on and off. When I test the voltage I fond out that its all over the place. I start to wonder if there is more to the charging system in this car than I thought. Everything that I've learned about cars told me that the problem was a bad alternator again.
I did a little research on the alternators that AutoZone sells. Duralast is the company that remanufactures their electrical parts. They are apparently known for being faulty right out of the box. So much for their "Built to last" commercials. One more than one occasion I've read about people testing their alternators out and they have about a 50% failure rate right out of the box. They give you a lifetime warranty which is nice if you feel like spending hours under the hood of your car.
The story ends like this: I went to NAPA and paid $250 for a rebuilt alternator and the thing worked as soon as I put it in.