Euro car parts selling old batteries?

[harrylime]

Having just ordered a new Bosch car Battery from Europarts, I turned up at the Barnsley branch to collect it, The Battery was behind the counter and looked anything but new, and when I examined it (something the assistant seemed reluctant for me to do)I I could see that the label was dated 2018 (the month was not legible). As it is now 6th September it is likely that the Battery is at least 9 months old. I am aware of what extended discharge periods can do to a Battery so I refused to accept it. They produced another Battery (from which the same label had mysteriously been removed). When I buy a Battery I want a relatively new Battery, I'm funny like that. I wanted to buy it from Eurocarparts for simplicity of returning it in the event of a fault, but mu trust in them has been severely dented. It's an 04 27 with 4 year warranty and seemed a decent buy at around £88

 

[Herbie]

The self-discharge rate when it's just standing on the shelf is very low, so I very much doubt it would have been discharged to any noticeable degree, and certainly not to any detrimental level.

It can indeed take quite a while for a Battery to move through the supply chain from factory to retail but they suffer no harm during this time and I would have taken it no problem, trust with ECP intact.

[scudney]

Wouldn't surprise me no overly a fan of ECP anyway,heard a few stories about them without going into details and my local independent garage don't use them either 

[GrahamG]

I would not have accepted it either. A Battery that could have been from January 2018. One advantage of buying from a major distributor is a large throughput of stock so that you benefit from fresh inventory.

I once phoned Exide when I found one of their top line batteries for sale cheap on line [£85] to ask if there was a way of establishing the manufacturing date. There was not but the girl assured me the seller was the online arm of a major outlet and she advised that because of the number of batteries shipped to them each month it would not be 'old'.

Was completely happy with it and it is still in the car 4 years later. 

[harrylime]

I agree Graham, and one of the reasons I ried to buy from ECP was my assumption that they are a major player and probably sell a lot of batteries. Perhaps this Battery is an oddball size. It does not come up when I search on ECP under my registration number, as fitting my car, but the outputs of 630A and 70aH and dimensions seem to be spot on.

[MLW]

18 months old is like 'fresh' tyres. You want it reasonably factory fresh. I always charge a new Battery anyway, as it has to start in the car in tip-top condition.

You could always ask for a fresh one ordered today and ready for pick up say in 3 days time. If they say we can't do that, ask to speak to the manager/or go elsewhere where they value your business. I must say I have always found Euro Car Parts very good, but this does look a bit 'lazy' on their part.