Asked across the counter, most days.
Written the way we answer them, including the two where the answer is no.
- 01
What will you give me for my old one?
An ordinary car battery is $0.29 a pound and weighs about 40 lb, so eleven or twelve dollars. The full table is on the prices page and every line on it carries the date it was set — Monday 10 August 2026. Lead moves weekly and we would rather print the date than have the argument.
- 02
Do I have to buy something to sell you a battery?
No. Bring one in, get paid, leave. We also test anything for free whether or not you are buying, and we will tell you when your battery is fine and the problem is your alternator.
- 03
What is a core charge, and do you charge one?
A core charge is a deposit added to a new battery, refunded when you bring the old one back. We do not charge one, because we would rather buy your old battery off you at the published rate — which on most cars is more than a core deposit would have been.
- 04
Is a reconditioned battery any good?
For most cars, yes, and the honest answer is that it is a second-hand part. Every one carries the cold-cranking amps it actually made on test, in marker on the case — not the number off the label. We do not sell anything under 70% of its rated CCA. Six months exchange, and about one in fourteen comes back.
- 05
How much of what you buy gets reconditioned?
About 18 percent. Last month we bought 412 and 74 passed the test. The rest went to a permitted smelter on a manifest. Anybody who tells you they recondition most of what they take in is selling you something.
- 06
Will you come and collect?
Free over ten units, anywhere within about an hour of Indianapolis. Under ten, bring them in. Forklift cells and solar banks we collect from four units and we bring the pallet and the straps.
- 07
Do you take swollen or leaking ones?
No, and that is not us being difficult. Acid in the back of your car is a problem and a spill in the yard is a bigger one. The county hazardous waste day takes them free four Saturdays a year and we will tell you the next date.
- 08
Do you buy lithium?
No. Different chemistry, different fire risk, and we are not permitted for it. Two local handlers are, we keep both numbers by the phone, and we will give you either without being asked twice.