Man tries to return a car battery at Walmart — then learns something that saved him $170

One of the things that people consider before shopping from a retail chain is the return policy. Car batteries dying can be a hassle for motorists, and if they aren't covered under warranty, things could get costly. However, a mechanic named Matthew (@matthew_garage) came across a generous policy at Walmart that could help customers save hundreds of dollars.

In a viral video, the creator shared his recent experience with a dead, three-year-old battery that was purchased from Walmart. In the opening of his video, Matthew shared that he had been using the battery in his truck since December 2022, and according to the policy, the warranty was due to expire in a day. Thus, with the battery sitting in the truck for some time in the cold weather, Matthew suspected that it was dead. "I charged it. It still kinda sounded like it was slow, so I went ahead and brought it in because, again, I only had until tomorrow," he explained.

He then added that he took the battery to the store and told the employees about the issue. He shared that the process was simple, and the workers hooked it up to a machine and asked him to wait. "I spent some time, shopped a little, and then they gave me a call," Matthew said. Unsurprisingly, the workers told the creator that the battery was dead. However, since there was still a day left for the warranty to expire, the store gave Matthew a free replacement with no questions asked. "They don't ask any questions. They just said it was bad. Grabbed me a new one off the shelf, and now, hopefully, I'm good for a while," he said.

The creator further added that he didn't buy the battery firsthand, and neither did he know who bought it. Thus, he had no receipts or proof of purchase, but Walmart dutifully replaced his battery. "The only thing is that the warranty won't carry over, that's the only bad thing. But, I saved $170!" Matthew added in the end. In his caption, he appreciated the store writing, "Shoutout @Walmart for hooking it up," Matthew wrote in the caption.

In the U.S., most battery warranties come in two forms. The first offers free replacement, and the other offers a prorated replacement. In the first option, the vendor replaces the defective battery with a new one during the warranty period, while in the second type, the customer has to pay a fee based on the battery's age and sticker price, as per Capital One. Thus, it seems like Matthew had the free replacement coverage on his battery.

Viewers in the comments lauded the retailer's generous policy as well, and one user shared that another customer had a similar close call, but they were too late. “Lol, I just had a customer today whose battery went bad 3 days after his warranty expired. He also bought in December 2022,” @cameron_552 wrote. 

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