My girlfriend had a puncture in her Mitsubishi L200. Right in the centre of the tread. Couldn’t be mended apparently… I’ve never ever heard a garage say that a repair is possible, always a new tyre…..but anyway, that’s another story…

While they changed the tyre they did a ‘winter check’. Apparently they have to do that these days. They said that she needed a new battery as a couple of the cells were a bit iffy and could potentially fail on her one morning.

They also happened to have an offer on at this time, 25% off batteries until the end of January.
Can’t say I’m not more than a little suspicious…. 🙄

What’s the best way to test it myself?
Cheers.

Where in the country are you? If it’s anywhere near Thirsk you can borrow my teater?

Wait until the car doesn’t start; buy a new one.

My favourite diagnosis that would lead to more work for the garage was the report that said the gas in my aircon needed to be replaced.

“Due to bacteria building up in the gas”

Right

Teater? 😳
In Warwickshire..

ScottChegg – Member
Wait until the car doesn’t start; buy a new one.

Kind of what I suggested, but they play on your worries. She reckons it’s a gender thing but I think they do it with anyone.
It could of course be genuine, but I’d like to see myself.

Go down there, watch them battery test it and bring the result ticket straight off the machine to you. Best I can suggest other than getting hold of a tester or a second opinion.

and id suggest that if its a blue and yellow sign outside regardless of their “specials” the last place you should buy a battery is there …..

if its a blue and yellow sign

Nah, stopped going to them monkeys long ago.. 🙂

Check the cells are fully topped up with de-ionised water.
If she doesnt have problems turning it over I wouldnt worry about it.

as above, if it cranks over well enough don’t worry. most battery testers will err on the side of ‘it’s fecked mate’. the one in my van was declared knackered by the aa about 4 years ago after i left it parked for a week with the interior light on. it’s a little slow to crank when it’s really cold.

Is this a Kwik Fit type garage by any chance?

If it’s starting OK then don’t worry about the battery. Put a multimeter across the terminals and check the it is holding around 12v with the engine off and around 13-14 volts with it running. Turning the lights and heated screens on should see it drop and when switched off return normal.

As for the unrepairable tyre in the centre of the tread then it must be a big hole that they can’t fill with a bung. Side wall punctured then they aren’t safely repairable.

craigxxl – Member
Is this a Kwik Fit type garage by any chance?

Yeah, a place that just does tyres and brakes etc, but not KF.

Thanks for the tips. I’ll get me multimeter on it (that I don’t really have a clue how to use… 😳 )

Yeh, test youself if in doubt, borrow or buy a meter, you can get really cheap ones.

Flogging batteries is easy money for garages this time of year, plays on people fears of braking down.

Put a multimeter across the terminals and check the it is holding around 12v with the engine off and around 13-14 volts with it running.

Car battery @ 12.0 volts is dead flat. A charged battery is around 12.5-12.6 volts

Car batteries

A useful thing to have, is a jumpstarter/old battery on a trickle charger. The main thing about a failed battery is just that it’s a pain in the arse, especially if you park somewhere that makes jumpstarting tricky (I’m nose in, down a slope…). If you’ve got that insurance option then you don’t need to be twitchy about flat batteries.