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Advance Auto Parts review: warranty fraud 10

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9:35 pm EDT
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I purchased a Autocraft Titanium battery from them a year ago. This comes with a 3yr free replacement warranty. I took it to them today because it was dead. They happily came out and tested it, and told me the computer said it had a bad cell. They said before they can replace it they need me to leave it with them for 2hrs so they can charge it and retest it. They gave me a loner battery for the time being. I came back and they tested my battery again. The computer said it had a bad cell. Then they preceeded to tell me that they just changed their return policy on batteries 2 months ago and no longer take batteries back without a original reciept of purchase. First of all they are the only retailers of this particular battery in the entire county. Most reciepts today are thermal and don't last very long before they fade out. It was very obvious that my battery was not very old. This is fraud. I recommend that people find another auto parts store to deal with. I will not be shopping there ever agian.

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10 comments
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Starion87
Fort Myers, US
Jun 29, 2018 9:56 pm EDT

They wiped me off their computers also. I've been using them for YEARS at several locations because they don't always have what I need in a given store. I'm now told that each store has it's own system and none can find my purchase record from a starter I got & put in from them in fall 2017. Less than a year & it's crap - left me stranded.
I KNOW I got if from them because I changed it IN THEIR PARKING LOT!
They did say they could test it and if bad, the code on it will show it came from them and they'll replace which is good. I'm still out a tow, a couple Ubers and a rental car for a day to avoid the shop fee & waiting til Monday to have it done. I need my car to work this weekend or lost wages also factor in. What a sham to sell crap starter then hassle me by deleting me off their records. Fingers crossed they give me another one so I can start the car hopefully for the next 8 months.

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Terry Hallman
, US
Sep 02, 2016 7:41 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

An update on the lifetime warranty alternator from Advance Auto Parts.
After I added a post on Facebook about the incident I received a PM from another employee with a little more PR than the inexperienced guys & encountered the night before.
I was told to bring the alternator in the next day & he would honor the warranty.
Happily I now have the replacement alternator.
Sometimes I guess it's better to talk to someone who cares about their job & company instead of someone who's just there for a paycheck.
Thanks Advance for honoring the warranty on the alternator, I really appreciate it very much.

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Terry Hallman
, US
Aug 30, 2016 8:11 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

My experience with ADVANCE AUTO PARTS Sumiton Alabama.
A few years ago I purchased a lifetime warranty gold band alternator for my pickup.
My lifetime warranty alternator stopped charging.
I took it to the Advance which I purchased it from & asked if they had a replacement.
I was told that every 4 or 5 years they wipe the computers clean so they have no record of it so I could not get it replaced.
I responded by asking him, "So this means there is no such thing as a lifetime warranty at Advance Auto Parts".
They pulled my name up on the computer & showed me & sure enough there was no record of me purchasing my alternator there.
He asked if I had my receipt, It was in my glove box but as we all know the ink fades from these receipts very quickly & it was just a white slip of paper.
He said, "Im sorry but i don't make the rules". I said I know but if this is the case you've lost all of my business.
He said I could come back in a couple of days & the general manager would be there & talk to him. I need my truck repaired tonight not in a couple of days.
To sum it all up I'm just furious about this & warn every body do not spend the extra money to buy a lifetime warranty part because it doesn't exist.
I'm not letting this go. Anyone else ever had this happen to them?
Where should I go to properly log a complaint?

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Mr. Knight
, US
Aug 03, 2016 12:49 pm EDT

I bought an Autocraft Gold battery for my wife's vehicle in 2014. It came with a 3 year replacement warranty. On July 30 2016 she got up to go to work and her vehicle would not start so I had to take her to work. After I came back home I checked her vehicle and it looked to me like the battery had died so I jumped her vehicle and drove to the store that I bought it from to get a replacement.
I figured they would verify that I bought it there and give me the replacement then I would go on with the rest of my day. Not that simple.
The guy behind the counter, Giovanni, tested the battery and the result was that the battery was dead. He then ran a test to see if the alternator was bad and that result was negative so it definitely was the battery. Instead of replacing the battery he informs me that their policy requires them to charge my battery for 24 hours and retest it to make sure the battery was dead. I told him that I thought 24 hours was pretty long to charge a battery and that I did not want to be without the vehicle for 24 hours and if I had known that this was the policy beforehand I would have never bought the battery from them. He said that he was not keeping my vehicle for 24 hours he was only keeping the battery for 24 hours. I asked him to explain to me how the vehicle was going to run without a battery. I reiterated that I did not want to be without the vehicle for 24 hours so could he give me a replacement so that I can keep the vehicle and if the existing battery does keep a charge after 24 hours then I would return the new battery and take the old one but if the old battery failed again then I would already have a replacement and our transaction would be complete. He would not go for that. So I then asked if they had someone that could take me home since I can’t drive home now. He said that my wife could come and get me. I had to remind him that I dropped her off at work and I drove her vehicle there. She is at work with no transportation and my vehicle is at home. He said that they couldn't help me get home. At this point I am not happy with the situation or the customer service so I gave them my name and phone number so that they could call me the next day to let me know the test result. As I was about to leave Giovanni said that he would call me later that day with the result. I said later that day was not 24 hours. I said he knows but they can tell within an hour if the battery will fail. I told him not to call me until my 24 hours is up. I want to make sure the policy is followed and I proceeded to walk home.
The next day Giovanni called me to let me know that the battery failed and I can come back to get the replacement battery. I took my son with me so that he could drive my vehicle back. Giovanni was busy when we got there so a different employee attempted to help us. I say attempted because he could not find my battery in their system anymore so he was not sure what to do after that. Finally, Giovanni was free so he checked for my battery in the system. It turns out that the company no longer carries the battery that I had. Probably because other customers had the same issue that I had with it dying prematurely. Now they don't even sell a 3 year warranty battery for this vehicle at all. The longest is 2 years. I told him that I'll take the 2 year battery. It took him a long time to get the system to allow an exchange because my battery was not in the system anymore but it got it to the point where it would but then he turns the screen to show me that the replacement battery cost more than my original and he wanted me to pay the difference. I told him that I was not going to pay him anything because my battery was still under warranty. After trying several times of trying to get the system to register a zero amount for me to pay he could not do it so he told me to just take the battery. Then I noticed on the screen that the battery he was giving me had a purchase date in 2014 and that it was already outside of its warranty limit. I asked him if the 2014 date was when they received the battery and he said yes. I asked him if the warranty period starts on the date they receive the battery or the date they sell the battery. He said it is when they receive it. So this battery has been sitting on the shelf for 2 years and now the warranty has expired. So now I am not only not getting a replacement for the battery I originally bought but the replacement I am getting has no warranty because it sat on the shelf for 2 years. I asked Giovanni if he could call a different store to see if they had a new battery that still has a warranty and if they didn't want to deliver it I will go and get it myself and he said he could not do that. I told him to just put the battery in so that I can leave. He asked me to go and open the hood and that he would come out and put the battery in. I went out and opened the hood and then I went back inside. He was helping another customer when I went back in so I waited for him to finish with that customer. After he finished with that customer he called for the next customer. At this point there are about 10 to 12 customers in the store. I stopped the customer from going to the counter and told Giovanni that he needs to put my battery in. He said that he has customers waiting. I told him that I am a customer and I have been waiting since the day before and I need my battery. I said that I can put the battery in myself or wait until he finishes with his customers. I told him that he is not waiting on anyone else until he puts the battery in my vehicle and I can leave the store and he will never see my face again because this will be the last time I buy anything from this company again. He came from behind the counter and put my battery in. This was the worst experience I have ever had at any auto parts store.

Jim fox
Jim fox
, US
May 19, 2016 8:07 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I bought a battery for a lawn mower in January and I live in NY so I moved my mower to the back of my shed with this mower and in April battery did not work and I was told that it was out of warranty but ask to see management and he discovered that the expiration date was expired prior to my purchase so on that note getting a new battery I thought a fluke and asked for another battery for a second mower and both are no good and no warenty on the replacement bought April 15 and both no good on may 17 replacement or not walking out of a store with two new batteries they should replace both and if they don't work they should not sell batteries with a sorry to say but a short life span and at least stand behind the fact warranty or not I went out of their store with two new batteries that did not last 45 days and I have spent thousands on outo parts and over this I will never buy from them again

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csusi
Largo, US
Feb 09, 2014 6:04 pm EST

I have a Autocraft Titanium battery it died I called advanced and they don't have them anymore it turned to Gold now, I don't have Receipt, I have no warranty, They said I'm not in the system anymore so I don't exist. Great so now it's more money I don't have.

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John Xanadu
Sugar Land, US
Jul 26, 2013 12:30 am EDT

I agree that Advance has the most ### warranty policy in the market of automotive retail. I speak from within as I am a slave for that company. By slave, I am emphasizing that I work so damn hard for very little money and get mistreated. I have customers who bought parts that claimed to "LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY" which the company means that it does have a "LIFETIME WARRANTY" but on "LIMITED" amounts you can exchange/return the item. Anyway them want to exchange the part because it was defective and since it had "LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY" they can exchange it but the ### of it is, if the original purchase date for the part is over 2 years old, the store's computer purchase history for that customer automatically purges itself so that no proof of purchase exist. I had hell trying to help a customer exchange a part that was 3 years old. There was no history for that part so I asked my "managers" who I feel are worthless and should be flipping burgers rather than be managing an auto parts store to help me. The only they can help me is let me call corporate. Corportate couldn't help me worth a ### so I had an upset customer and I feel that he will NO LONGER shop at our store anymore. We barely have any customer volume and we barely sell. The ### of it is that most team members "scheduled workhours" are contingent upon how many dollars sold from the company. If sales are low, team members can work only 15-20 hours a week. If high, they can work 25-30 for part time members and 32-40 for full time members. I am a full-time member but I only get 32 hours MAX.

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Roundlakejim
, US
Oct 30, 2012 6:36 pm EDT

It is difficult to keep all the receipts in a safe place. But I buy most of major auto parts through the Advance Auto Parts web site these days. So all my online purchases were stored in my account with Advance Auto Parts. I can print them out anytime I want. I think AAP is much better in serving their customers these days. I saved a lot of $$$ by using the discount codes. I just picked up a Gold Autocraft battery today. Orig. price $110. Used A124 to save $40. The total comes out $70+tax. There is a $25 AMX card rebate with AAP-10020 for Gold Autocraft battery (expire 12/31/2012). That will bring it down to $45 + tax. 3 years free replacment+ 4 year pro rated warranty. Can't beat it. Give it a try. Good luck.

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JAYSTIME(Sherwood, AR)
Sherwood, US
Feb 01, 2010 4:36 pm EST

This thing about the Battery is a common thing they changed the policy on us with out letting us know. Go to the BBB and your local Attorny Generals Office. I was told by the district manager Ryan that he was just goin to give me my money back and be done with me. He was very RUDE and I hope this is not a how a company that I have been spending my money with for over ten years is treating me. I have been trying to contact someone from the upper management and all my calls have not been returned. PLEASE BEWARE OF ADVANCED AUTO AND RYAN IN THE LITTLE ROCK ARKANSAS AREA Youa will have a big hassale if you buy batteries from Advanced BEWARE

If anyone has any contact info for upper management Please email me layd_back_kat@yahoo.com

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C. Harper
, US
Dec 31, 2009 1:16 pm EST

I purchased an alternator from Advanced Auto in 2008 . The alternator went bad in 2009. I did not have the original receipt however I did have the bank transaction. The store would not help me. Icalled the corporate office and got the run around. I will never purchased anything from Advanced Auto again.

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