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$149 for new OEM 12V battery

Discussion in 'Prius v Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by Gracie of the Blue Ridge, Nov 29, 2023.

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  1. Gracie of the Blue Ridge

    Gracie of the Blue Ridge Junior Member

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    I couldn't get this to post Black Friday, but maybe prices still in effect, or will have sales at other times.

    This is my"consumer report" on how to save $100 on your battery. It's time consuming, but these days I have more time than money, so you might not want or be able to do every step, but it still might help you if you do some of it.

    Note these prices are specific to my Prius V & location, don't include core charges, taxes, but can be used for price comparisons.

    1. First I compared retailers & OEM, # years in warranty, then price/warranty yrs. When I divides price by warranty years, no retailer can come close to Toyota's price. It's by far the most economical buy. ("Results may vary" depending on localities. )
    Toyota. Truestart. $159/8 yrs = $20/yr
    Autozone Duralast $259/3 yrs = $84/yr
    Walmart. $189/2 yrs = $94/yr
    Advance Diehard $291/3yrs = $97/yr
    Autozone Optima. $312/3 yrs = $104/yr
    Better yet, with a little research, my OEM cash price beat Walmart-- with a probable 5 extra years of battery life

    2. If you possibly can, compare several dealerships, because I saved $100 doing so, getting for $149+ taxes, installation and possible core charges

    3. Each Toyota dealership offered different sales, including on-line prices; online prices differed from at-dealership prices; and not all dealerships honor online prices. Also, some dealerships discount installation rather than batteries, some vice-versa, some both.
    And if that wasn't confusing enough, some dealers added more discounts at online checkout.
    So yes, confusing, a lot of work checking each dealerships at-store and online prices (through check out), then calling for at-dealership prices and installation, but saving $100 was worth it for me.

    4. Dealerships could only quote me their at-store prices, not online prices, so I had to look them up separately. In every case I found the online price better than at the dealership, especially when I went through the checkout process and found more unadvertised discounts added in.

    5. The Online prices varied by dealerships in my area up to $40, but online beat at dealership prices every time. All offered free shipping--but not to my location, so had to pick up, so consider your gas prices and time.

    6. I didn't research whether dealership's installation price varies by whether the battery is purchased at that dealership or online. If you know, maybe you can comment. But my guess is no.

    7. I then checked whether the warranty is to Be, or not Be honored if a third party installed the battery.There seems to be some question about whether the warranty would be honored if a third party installed it.
    Generally, it would be honored, unless it was installed incorrectly-so that gives Toyota some eighle room. So it's a choice you will have to make on your own.
    My thought is, if the dealership price is not much higher than your mechanic, or you don't have total confidence in their abilites (if your partner doesn't have that trust in your abilities ) AND if you can afford dealership prices, go to a dealership.

    5. Dealership installation prices in my area varied by over $100 from $40 to $154!! (before taxes, if any--my state taxes all services.)
    The $40 and $47 prices may have been incorrect, as this battery is in the back of my wagon, and a real pain to access.
    But even if I add the middling installation price of $113 to the $159 battery price, the per year cost of this battery is $39/yr, still way better than other retailers.

    6. Below are my local online prices. You should also check local sales prices, and if they will honor online prices if you do installation there. Final reflects price after all the discounts only seen at the online check-out.

    1 $197 Labor ?$40. Total $237
    No install $149 +taxes
    2. $197 Labor. ?$47 Total $269
    3.$206 Labor $113 Total. $319
    4. $201 Labor $147. Total $349
    5. $203 Labor $154. Total. $357

    If you don't need a battery now, or missed the sales, maybe keep this handy for next year.
     
    #1 Gracie of the Blue Ridge, Nov 29, 2023
    bisco likes this.
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    great work! did you ever buy one?
     
    #2 bisco, Nov 29, 2023
  3. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    You can get free install at many auto supplies or do it yourself. It really isn’t that hard to access if you still have voltage. Otherwise you jump the car from the front and open the hatch.

    Nevertheless you got a good price. Buying it online from the dealer knocks off some of the margin as if you were an independent mechanic. Most dealer parts have quite a markup especially in the $500 or less range. Often 100% from their cost.
     
    #3 rjparker, Nov 29, 2023
  4. gggGary

    gggGary gggGary

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    When we killed a battery in the 2012 V by leaving headlights on I replaced it with a garden tractor battery. About $30, that was 4 years ago. It's still strong. Just yesterday while working on a bad headlight bulb I accidentally left the headlights on, an hour later, no problem car booted and ran fine..
     
    #4 gggGary, Dec 9, 2023
    bisco likes this.
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Battery warranties don’t interest me. I buy them, take care of them, make them last.
     
    #5 Mendel Leisk, Dec 9, 2023
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  6. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    I routinely get 10+ years out of a common flooded lead acid battery w/accessible ports. I'll chose those over an AGM any-day - unless it's going into the passenger compartment. You really don't have a choice at that point.
     
    #6 BiomedO1, Dec 9, 2023
  7. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    Interesting. I take the middle route between the extremes of you with your $30 flooded battery, and gullible suckers who pay several hundred dollars for supposedly Prius-specific batteries. A general-purpose deep-cycle AGM the same physical size as your lawn-tractor battery was $65 when I bought and installed it nearly 9 years ago. I connected it to vent any gasses through the original vent tubing. It's still going. Just in case it fails, I bought a similar replacement a couple of years ago, but haven't needed it yet.
     
    #7 CR94, Dec 12, 2023
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  8. Glenninmb

    Glenninmb Junior Member

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    #8 Glenninmb, Mar 9, 2024
  9. Glenninmb

    Glenninmb Junior Member

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    The agm deep cycle battery you bought can you please share where you got it or maybe even the part number. Here in Canada they want close to 300.00 for one. Thanks!
     
    #9 Glenninmb, Mar 9, 2024
  10. CR94

    CR94 Senior Member

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    In case your question is addressed to me...
    Shortly after I wrote post #7 above. I replaced my nearly 9 year old battery with the similar newer one I mentioned keeping as a back-up, probably prematurely. There's not much difference in resting voltage after the car has been parked a few days. I bought the newer one a couple(?) of years ago for a little over $70 at Harbor Freight, and topped up its charge occasionally.
    That's the only AGM battery Harbor Freight sells. From other sources, it's the U1 size designation, which has the same case dimensions as a typical cheap non-AGM 12-volt lawnmower or garden tractor battery. To secure a U1 in a Prius requires a spacer or two, and possibly terminal adapters ---although I made the existing cable clamps work without store-bought adapters.
     
    #10 CR94, Mar 10, 2024
  11. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    SaskBattery is the best I found, window shopping yesterday. Canadian Tire has had one, but the price has climbed to about $250~260 (CDN), and out of stock the last few months. Anyway, my look see yesterday:

    Prius Not Driven for over 12 months - is 12V battery salvagable? | PriusChat
     
    #11 Mendel Leisk, Mar 10, 2024
  12. gggGary

    gggGary gggGary

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    Oops left one of the map lights on in the 2012V for 24 hours, my Farm and fleet garden tractor battery went low enough to not initiate the start sequence. Since I added a short SAE cord accessible under the rear carpet when I put that battery in, I plugged in a charger and in 2 minutes was good to go. I did put it on the 12 volt charger overnight.
    Didi you know that if you shut off the car but don't get out, the headlights stay on til the 12 volt battery dies? couple months ago I had to have my wife come to where i had taken a nap in the driver seat, with a motorcycle battery and an SAE cord, less than a minute and i was good to go other than wifely snide comments.
    Welp gotta go shovel some snow.
     
    #12 gggGary, Mar 22, 2024
  13. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    "Good to go" might in fact be a short reprieve; batteries don't necessarily bounce back to as-new health after deep drains. One of those electronic load-testers might be good to add to your arsenal; Solar BA9 is one.
     
    #13 Mendel Leisk, Mar 22, 2024
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