My understanding and experience is that once a battery has been drained down 25% or more the alternator will no longer be sufficient to recharge the battery to a full charge. You need to put it on a charger to bring it back up to a full charge.

 

I ran my battery down... ( too much sittin in the car and listening to the radio at work... or, because i had left my GPS plugged in over the cold weekend and no driving, either way), I was at work at a welding shop when this happened, radio just went off... I tried to start the engine, nothing, but all lights on dash would come back on .. even the radio. One of the guys in the welding shop tried to boost jump me off with one of the Fork Lifts and a ratty set of jumper cables connected to the Front post under the hood... NO LUCK... I then took every thing out of the back... got access to the Battery, and tried to jump from there.... we actually had to keep the cables connected for about 10 minutes before we got enough to turn the engine over..... but after that all was fine... radio played, power steering, no problems since.....

 

That sounds very scientifical and all, but, how could you know your battery was down 25%. If you get a jump, would that mean you were only 24.9999% down?
That`s ok, this thread started out talking about getting a HHR, then having problems, then getting rid of the veh. , now all we have left is the battery, go figure...

 

They were supposed to put a new battery in it that day. When we took it back, the story was changed. The finance guy told me that they never did put a new batt in, they just charged it for an hr and a half.

Ah well... I just didn't want to trust it and also there might have been a reason that this car was only 12990!



Thanks to all for the suggestions on where to look for an HHR or "Gomez". I have found a couple here in the Chi area that I will go see over this weekend. I will be asking them about the battery, the fuses being seated and all that good stuff. 2 of them are GM Certified vehicles.

Unfortunately, Carmax has one that is in Las Vegas with only 10K on it for 16995. Since I knew I will still be charged for transfer fees, taxes, title, etc, it will be almost like buying a new one.

I hope to have Gomez by Saturday!!! Wish me luck

 

Thanks for the update. Sounds like things are moving along and you'll be driving proud again soon!

 

Funny how in my jurisdiction these things get prosecuted all the time. I know this because I have to defend people who do this stuff. Even if the check is issued on sufficient funds, cancellation after issuance of the note can rise to passing a bad check that is still punishable in many criminal jurisdictions. If Citibank wasn't going to honor the check because the dealer didn't send in the appropriate stips, then no, he wasn't in any danger of being prosecuted. I'm just saying if you wrote a personal check for a car and then went to the bank and just cancelled the check, that dealership is probably going to be filing a police report.

Also, the thing that you guys are forgetting about these batteries is that these cars sit around for weeks and may get started 20 or so times just to move 20 or so feet. That coupled with sitting around just eats up batteries. When I was selling cars we'd be jumping and replacing batteries just about every other test drive during the winter. It doesn't mean the car's bad, just that the car sat for too long and was started too often without enough time for the battery to get charged back up, and possibly permanently damaged.

 

hhrcrafty...

Appears to be a matter of semantics. I'm not trying to be argumentative but, doesn't your last statement "fit" exactly what I said originally?

"Not necessarily".

"....in some jurisdictions...."

Also, IN SOME JURISDICTIONS, there is a legal difference between a "stop payment" and a "cancelled check". IN MOST JURISDICTIONS any activity resulting from a "stop payment" is a civil action.....kind of like a "post dated" check. Insufficient funds and cancelled check activity is the criminal side resulting in, depending on the amount, a potential felony or misdemeanor charge.

 

Snoops...c'mon man, let's not go into semantics here--it's been a loooong week.

 

Hi all,

Well again a not so good weekend.

I did see another HHR today that was certified but it had 2 dents on it. They were offering it for 14,595 which isn't bad but the fact that they wouldn't fix the two dents, and by them saying it wasn't an issue made me a little leery. Also, their unwillingness to check fuses, the ECM, and the battery made me a little uneasy.

I guess If I want a perfect one, or almost perfect I better buy new; but, my check will not cover a brand new one without a down payment.

Call me crazy but it seems like the dealer did not want to sell it. We offered 13.5K for it even with the dents and a reflecter broken in back. He wouldn't budge so we walked.

Ah well, maybe black is not meant to be my color...

I thought 3rd time would be a charm...

still searching for Gomez, that won't break my very small bank...

 

You did the right thing by walking. Even if they were justified in their price, there should be some wiggle room. when they expect you to do all the wiggling, its time to walk. Just be patient, if you want to show them you know what you're doing, next time, YOU raise the hood and check the fuses. They'll be shocked especially if they are all loose like most are.

Good hunting!!