RAC Battery scam?

gilbert_and_sullivan

goonarmy wrote: »

Any of these websites you lot have found bring it to you at a location you dictate at an hour of your choosing come rain come shine?
The true mse way would be to maintain your battery by doing regular checks and possibly investing in a slow charger and buying a cheap battery prior to the existing batteries failure. No scam occurred.

Get ones hands dirty by doing a little preventative maintenance?

Listen to the sounds the car makes and when something shows signs of slowing/failing take action before it dies?

You're expecting a bit...:cool:

OddballJamie

Biffer wrote: »

The problem is, Halfords with their inflated prices are already skewing people's perception of what a battery is really worth. The RAC are just building on that.

Check the prices at Eurocarparts to see the difference.

As I mentioned earlier, ECP are at it as well. Special discounts for click and collect upto 30% cheaper than just walking in the door and asking for a part.

motorguy

andygb wrote: »

I agree with the OP it is profiteering, and for all the people who rightly criticise KwikFit for adopting the same tactics - please show a little balance and fairness.
This is the battery direct from Exide.
http://www.exideuk.com/excell-202se-eb440-204-p.asp

I would expect the RAC to get the battery far cheaper than that, and opart of the RAC membership fee covers the fitting of parts which they supply.

Yes, approx £60 delivered.

I agree - its up there with KwikFit in terms of profiteering - except the RAC are exploiting you when you are vulnerable too.

Horizon81

It's on the steep side for sure but you didn't have a gun to your head at the time. Next time maybe try a different break down company. My friend has breakdown cover via Diamond Insurance and they send out a local car recovery firm each time, depending on where you break down of course. Funnily enough she had a new battery earlier this year and the guy charged £50 and I struggled to find one much cheaper anywhere else.

AA/RAC = big corporation = big con.

gilbert_and_sullivan

OddballJamie wrote: »

As I mentioned earlier, ECP are at it as well. Special discounts for click and collect upto 30% cheaper than just walking in the door and asking for a part.

Quite right, always worth checking on their sister site carparts4less too, usually free del and they turn up very quickly.

I bought a set of alloys from ECP some years ago, bargain end of range set for my winter tyres, went to collect them and the branch tried to charge me nearly twice as much, seemed quite surprised when i showed them the online order which they fulfilled with no probs, click and collect might well have been in its infancy then to be fair.

kevin0410

gilbert_and_sullivan wrote: »

Quite right, always worth checking on their sister site carparts4less too, usually free del and they turn up very quickly.

I bought a set of alloys from ECP some years ago, bargain end of range set for my winter tyres, went to collect them and the branch tried to charge me nearly twice as much, seemed quite surprised when i showed them the online order which they fulfilled with no probs, click and collect might well have been in its infancy then to be fair.

Agree with this, just this week used carparts4less for a bosch s5 027 battery with 5 year guarantee for £65 delivered (used £5 off code)

Westmead_Fan

op, was the battery the 202se Exide one???

if it was on there website £62.40 all in delivered in couple of day ONLY!!!!

if the rac charged £30 extra to fit from the £96.99 they charged you means the battery was £66.99. what is it you are complaining about getting battery fitted there & then to get you back on the road, seems fair to me.

people who think battery's cost £50 need to do there research, most battery's at that price are either cheap nasty ones or 2nd ones lol

OddballJamie

Westmead_Fan wrote: »

op, was the battery the 202se Exide one???

if it was on there website £62.40 all in delivered in couple of day ONLY!!!!

Which website did you see it on?

Richard53

A shop near me used to carry a line of cheap umbrellas, which they sold at £2.99 or so. One day there was a massive rainstorm. The shop owner immediately put all of his stock out in a basket outside the front door, priced them at £10 and sold out in a matter of minutes. Buyers get to keep dry, shopkeeper turns a profit, everyone's happy.

I suspect the OP has paid something close to the top retail price for his battery and could have got much better value if he had bought in a leisurely way at another time. But that doesn't make it a scam. In theory, we all check our cars/bikes regularly, and relace things like brake pads, tyres and batteries at a time that suits us, making full use of the internet to get the best value. But if we are caught out and absolutely must have something right now, then we accept that we will pay for the convenience. For under £100, the RAC turned up, supplied and fitted a battery and sent him on his way. I'd be gritting my teeth too, but I would kicking my own butt for my lack of foresight, not the RAC's for profiteering.

colino

Every purchase from an AA/RAC patrol is a "distress" purchase, so that's OK to horse up the price for their "members"?"