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AAA battery replacement scam?

Nov5Mrs.Nov5Mrs.
in Parenting

Since you might be in this situation sometime, I thought this was worth sharing.

AAA roadside assistance is horrible. Long story short: I needed a jump, they told me I needed a new battery and they could do it. Said he could charge it and I could drive it to the mehcanic, but after that it would die again and keep dying. I had them replace it out of convenience. Car repairs are so hard with kids, this seemed like an easy solution. Turns out my husband said my old battery was under warranty(doh!). AAA would not refund me, but gave me my old battery back. My mechanic said he might be able to get us something for the old battery. Imagine our surpise when he called to say the old battery works just FINE! It's now been running in my car for over 3 weeks. A refund check should be in the mail and I've cancelled my AAA membership.

My advice- if they tell you that you need a new battery, just bring it to your mechanic!

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Re: AAA battery replacement scam?

  • Leila'sMommyLeila'sMommy

    AAA is actually awesome. We've had them for years and they're a lifesaver.

    You learned a valuable lesson, always get a second opinion. You could have waited until you got to the mechanic to have the battery re-tested and checked for existing warranty.

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  • Nov5Mrs.Nov5Mrs.
    Yeah, I could have checked for the existing warranty. I do think they were within their rights to refuse to refund me the first time. The point is, that they told me that my battery needed to be replaced and it didn't. That unethical and environmentally irresponsible. I now have roadside assistance through state farm.
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  • ArnegardArnegard member
    We've had AAA for years.  Of course, nothing opens before noon on Sundays here in ND, so DH was on his own when he hit a deer at 5 am on a Sunday last year.  Yes, they refunded him the towing bill, but it sucked at the moment.
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  • AngelaSueAngelaSue
    imageNov5Mrs.:

    Since you might be in this situation sometime, I thought this was worth sharing.

    AAA roadside assistance is horrible. Long story short: I needed a jump, they told me I needed a new battery and they could do it. Said he could charge it and I could drive it to the mehcanic, but after that it would die again and keep dying. I had them replace it out of convenience. Car repairs are so hard with kids, this seemed like an easy solution. Turns out my husband said my old battery was under warranty(doh!). AAA would not refund me, but gave me my old battery back. My mechanic said he might be able to get us something for the old battery. Imagine our surpise when he called to say the old battery works just FINE! It's now been running in my car for over 3 weeks. A refund check should be in the mail and I've cancelled my AAA membership.

    My advice- if they tell you that you need a new battery, just bring it to your mechanic!

     I'm sorry that you had a bad experience with a AAA provider. AAA contracts out providers for their roadside assistance to different towing companies, just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean every provider of AAA's is horrible. My husbands family owned (will be in business for 60 years in January) auto shop/towing company has been a provider for AAA pretty much since my husbands grandfather opened his business in 1952 and they have won several awards from AAA for being outstanding providers. Not all providers are out to make money or scam people on battery replacements, etc. FWIW, most towing companies are also mechanics, granted some are just drivers, etc.

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  • jettagurljettagurl member

    I wouldn't go to the lengths to say this is a scam.  And I know little about car repair, but does your mechanic NEVER make a mistake?  

    It could have been a very honest mistake, by a knowledgeable person, or a not-so-honest person looking to make a buck.  

    Regardless of which of the above was your situation, AAA is making it right with you - what more do you want from them?  

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  • lona.hunn@gmail.comlona.hunn@gmail.com

    18 months ago I left something on in my car and when I went to start it, the battery was dead. AAA came out in about 20 min and jumped. The employee also stated my battery wasn't going to last. It's been starting every day since w/o fail..

    I chalked it up to young and inexperienced. However, I've never had a problem with AAA..

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