I don’t understand dealer battery installation

Don’t understand dealer install. I have installed my battery myself twice with new one purchased from a local farm supply store for $20 or more less than other stores. Haven’t had any problems.

that’s ok , we don’t understand your question.

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Did your dealership charge you more than you expected for a replacement battery?

Not understanding means what? Offhand, this comes across as a complaint comparing a dealer install price compared to a DIY install.
If that is the case then of course the dealer is higher. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Over 30 years ago a large fish hook got buried in my left thumb and buried deep. I removed it (with a lot of difficulty and pain) but it was far cheaper than an ER visit…

Dealer parts cost more

Dealer labor is also more expensive

No mystery here

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I think what he’s asking is why someone would have a dealer install a new battery into their car, as opposed to buying one from a McParts store and installing it themself. The answer, of course, is that some cars are super-easy to replace the battery in, but many are not. Some require special calibration, battery learning, or battery registration, which requires the use of a professional scan tool.

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If you have a BMW, best let the dealer do it. Others make sure you know your radio code or have a memory saver. It’s not 1962 anymore.

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Some people don’t do anything themselves, including asking questions in fora such as these.

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I also don’t understand your thought. Is this a simple plea for some kind of praise or recognition? Do you want a medal or something? So you’ve replaced a few batteries, congratulations. Big deal.

“This is the first time crazydave1948 has posted — let’s welcome them to our community”

Why welcome this nonsense? I’d rather encourage them to use a different forum.

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Have a 2017 Acadia limited with remote start, regular shop said they had to get the battery from the dealer, then program it for remote start, so I just went to the dealer to make sure it was done right.

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Some people don’t even want to open the hood. I have a neighbor that uses the dealer for everything. I offered to show her how to check the oil, and she didn’t like that idea at all. I suggested her son, and didn’t like that idea either.

If you use a 12V memory saver, you can avoid a lot of headaches

Such as radio presets, seat memory, readiness monitors, etc.

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My father wouldn’t do anything, not even check the oil. In the good old days the guy at the gas station would check the oil and clean the windshield while filling the tank.

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I told this forum about this guy I use to work with who would lease a vehicle every other year and would do ZERO maintenance. Not an oil change…nothing. Wouldn’t even spend time to remove the junk that was piling up in the back. He’d only go to full service gas stations because he was too lazy (and obese) to get out of his car to pump. Toward the end of of his lease the vehicles would start burning oil. He usually put about 30k miles on during the lease.

If your car (you don’t say what it is) is a 1963 Rolls Knardly, (it rolls but can hardly run), there is no need to have the dealer install your battery. However, if it’s a newer car, there are several reasons why this might be necessary.

As noted below, with everything digital on newer cars, if you just disconnect the battery to change it you’ll lose all your radio presets, and possible other settings (my car has a menu of quite a few settings - some or all might be lost without proper attention). Dealers have tools to save these settings.

Also, at least on my car, the battery has a battery sensor attached. This sensor reads certain information and tells the computer that certain functions can now be used. For instance, my car has the stop/start function. It does not work unless engine temperature has reached a certain level, or if the heating/air conditioning is functioning at a certain level (I suppose so these functions get enough juice from the charging system). The dealer may need to install this battery because they have to have something to do so the sensor interfaces with the rest of the electrical system (a total guess on my part; I’m not particularly mechanically inclined).

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Years ago I heard a commentary on Weekend all things considered by a guy who worked as a dispatcher for a cab company in San Francisco. They called one of the drivers ‘doughnut’ because he ate pastries all day. When he got too fat to fit behind the wheel they took out his seat. When he got too fat after that he had to quit.

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We had a mailman once who barely fit in the mail truck. His gut hung over the wheel. He was a young man who left our route. I saw him a couple years later (at least half of him). He knew he was getting too big so he took a walking route and in 2 years lost over 200lbs.

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Why did you want to check her son’s oil? :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

When I was a kid, there was a black '57 Plymouth that could occasionally be seen driving around town with the driver’s back against the door, rather than against the seat. The local legend was that the guy was so fat, he was no longer able to squeeze behind the steering wheel, but that he could manage to shoehorn himself into the car by sitting sideways.

I can’t imagine how he was able to work the pedals, so maybe he had hand controls. In any event, apparently his driving position was legal because the cops seemed to look the other way, rather than intervening.

Some years ago had a friend that had a walking route and for some reason the USPS did a time study on the route. They anticipated a 3 foot pace and so many paces per hour etc. Right out of the old time study book. He was in great shape, tall and thin, but had a hard time meeting their rugged expectations.