Car battery "core charge" scam

[Leo Enticknap]

It's going to be very hard not to get political on this rant, so here goes.

In November 2020, I bought a car battery from my local Pep Boys. Four and a half years and 142,384 miles later later, the battery is done. After replacing it (which I needed to do as soon as possible after it died, so from a different vendor), I went back to that place, with the original receipt, to get a refund on the $18 "core charge" (jargon meaning a deposit you have to pay when buying the battery, in order to encourage you to return it at EOL to be recycled). This location is no longer a parts store, I was told, just an oil change, smog check, and tire installation shop now, and so they can't refund me. Could I go to another Pep Boys location, I asked? Sorry, no: Pep Boys is a franchise operation, so other branches are separate businesses, and so cannot refund the charge. Can you recycle the battery anyways, I asked? No, but I can throw it in the trash for you if you like, he replied!

This strikes me as yet another "green new scam" operation, similar to the CRV racket that California runs, whereby you are supposed to get a few pennies back on bottles and cans that you return for recycling; but in reality, finding anywhere that will accept them is so difficult and requires such a long drive that obtaining that money is to all intents and purposes impossible. So basically, it's just another tax that the politicians gobble up.

By the same token, if the requirement to refund these "core charges" is easily circumvented by auto parts store chains operating as franchises, which go out of business and then reappear under different names regularly, then only a tiny proportion of these charges will ever be refunded. I'd be fascinated to know whether the parts stores pocket this money or have to hand it over to the state (and then presumably claim it back from the state if and when they refund a customer), but it's really a moot point: it is effectively not a refundable deposit at all, but just an extra sales tax disguised to look like one.

And to cap it all, the guy at this place cheerfully admitted that they don't actually recycle car batteries at all: they just toss 'em in the landfill, presumably along with the worn-out tires and used oil they swap out, and all the other hazardous waste that their operation likely generates!

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Pep Boys pretty much sucks. There was one across the street from where I first worked in Salt Lake City. Part of the company I worked for installed 2-way radios in Taxi's and trucks. And man the bad stuff they had to say about Pep Boys. Also, I would think it's illegal to toss a battery in the garbage in California.

[Leo Enticknap]

This is the state that tried to outlaw cows farting on environmental grounds, so I'm sure you're right. The problem is that the experience I just had will likely encourage others simply to toss their hazardous waste into the regular garbage and risk the consequences. That failed attempt to get my refund on the drive home after work is half an hour of my life I'll never get back, and I'd bet that there are thousands of Californians to whom the same thing has happened, and who won't bother to try again next time.

Still, I might be a little more lucky. When this battery died, it was at a gas station next door to the Honda dealership (ironically, the one that the car itself came from). I used my jump starter to get it going, and then drove directly into to that dealership to buy a new battery (and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that their price - $193 including the core charge - was competitive with what the big box auto parts stores are asking). As the dealership has been in business at least since my wife moved to Loma Linda as a child in the 1980s, I might stand a better chance of getting the core charge back on this battery in 4-5 years' time!

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

Yes, battery prices have gone through the roof! But, even here in Tennessee there is a law that says batteries have to be recycled. If a dealer won't take the battery in, then there are state operated recycle drop off locations in most towns. The one closest to me is also close to a Home Depot.

[Randy Stankey]

I don't know how they do things in the People's Republic of California but, in Pennsyltucky, the core charge isn't charged if you bring back the old battery when you buy the new one.

So... when you walk into the parts store, you plunk your dead battery up, on the counter, they sell you a new battery for $100 and add the core charge of $25. They take your old battery and toss it into a pile, out behind the dumpster and, on the same invoice, give you a refund of $25. If you didn't bring a battery with you, they wouldn't subtract the $25. If you want your $25 back, you have to bring a dead battery to the store within a certain time period. (30 days? II don't remember...)

Also, in PA, the core charge is because the seller is required to recycle things that they sell. If you sell motor oil, you are required by law to accept used motor oil for recycling. Batteries or any parts or products that contain potentially toxic materials. The seller is allowed to add the core charge in order to cover their costs of collecting and storing those materials.

The store isn't necessarily scamming you. They are covering their costs of collecting and storing certain items that have been deemed to be potentially toxic or environmentally hazardous. Yes, they do make money selling those used batteries to a recycler but, if you don't bring them a used battery, they have to charge you for their expenses.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

In Tennessee, we are charged for the core when we buy the new battery. Good incentive to return the core...

[Leo Enticknap]

...in Pennsyltucky, the core charge isn't charged if you bring back the old battery when you buy the new one.

The problem with that is that unless you actually swap out the battery in the lot of the store (in which case you have to bring a socket set and terminal protecting goo with you, drive home with dirty hands, etc.), that's impossible, because once you disconnect your old battery, there is no battery in your car and therefore it won't go anywhere. I did ask them when I bought that battery back in 2020 if there was any time limit in returning it for the core charge, and was told no, whenever you like, as long as you still have the original receipt. So the receipt sat in my car docs file for the last four and a half years. What I didn't anticipate was that the store would close down during that time, and that I could not return it to another store in the same chain.

I'm not opposed to recycling nasty stuff in principle, only to the dishonesty of being made to pay what is claimed to be a refundable deposit, but which in reality is just another tax, because of the practical difficulties in actually getting that deposit back again. If, in situations like this, you could (for example) return your battery to the nearest DMV office and they refund you, that would make it OK. But in this situation I wouldn't be surprised if thousands of batteries end up in landfill, because someone tried to get that deposit back once, had the experience I did, and then didn't bother to try again next time.

[Randy Stankey]

There are four auto parts stores in my part of town. There's AutoZone, Advance Auto and O'Reilly, all within hollering distance of each other. There's a NAPA store about a mile down the road. Every one of them will install your new battery, right in the lot.

Just drive up, show them your car and tell them you want a battery. They'll look your car up on the computer, get a battery from the back room and, fifteen minutes later, you'll be on your way.

If you'd rather do it yourself, they'll loan you the wrench and sell you a bottle of Go-Jo Hand Cleaner. Just drop the battery off, inside, when you're done. There's a rubber skid on the floor, just inside the door, just for the purpose. If you go to the NAPA store, they'll probably have an open bottle of Go-Jo that you can use for free.

But, then, again, this here's Pennsyltucky. Some things are just diff-rent 'round here.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

I should have mentioned in my post above that Auto Zone will also install your new battery for $20. same as the core charge. I just prefer to change my own.

[Stefan Scholz]

The problem with that is that unless you actually swap out the battery in the lot of the store (in which case you have to bring a socket set and terminal protecting goo with you, drive home with dirty hands, etc.), that's impossible, because once you disconnect your old battery, there is no battery in your car and therefore it won't go anywhere. I did ask them when I bought that battery back in 2020 if there was any time limit in returning it for the core charge, and was told no, whenever you like, as long as you still have the original receipt. So the receipt sat in my car docs file for the last four and a half years. What I didn't anticipate was that the store would close down during that time, and that I could not return it to another store in the same chain.

I'm not opposed to recycling nasty stuff in principle, only to the dishonesty of being made to pay what is claimed to be a refundable deposit, but which in reality is just another tax, because of the practical difficulties in actually getting that deposit back again. If, in situations like this, you could (for example) return your battery to the nearest DMV office and they refund you, that would make it OK. But in this situation I wouldn't be surprised if thousands of batteries end up in landfill, because someone tried to get that deposit back once, had the experience I did, and then didn't bother to try again next time.

Same here in Berlin.
You can actually drop off an old battery, and you're not charged the "core"tax.
Try to bring in any old battery without purchasing a new one, the certainly won't refund the charge once paid, eventually at another shop or dealership, even if you're presenting them 4 or 6 year old receipt indicating the purchase.
Ordering on-line you are also "entitled" to pay the fine, and the online store might be as generous as to refund it for an old battery that you're shipping them on your own expense. A bad deal, with an item as heavy as 70 lbs.
There are state recycle plants strategically located which accept "hazardous stuff" for free, at least for private individuals bringing in low quantities. They do not refund the charge.
It seems to work with disposable soda or beer cans, bottles. Any outlet selling these drinks must accept empty containers for recycling and must refund the full charge paid anywhere. There is a gvmt controlled system behind.
But for car batteries? It looks like, this is just another sales tax added. Taking other lead acid storage batteries into account (emergency power, industrial motor start, etc) there's no core charge here. Just on those intended for vehicle use.

[Mike Blakesley]

In November 2020, I bought a car battery from my local Pep Boys. Four and a half years and 142,384 miles later later, the battery is done. After replacing it (which I needed to do as soon as possible after it died, so from a different vendor), I went back to that place, with the original receipt, to get a refund on the $18 "core charge" (jargon meaning a deposit you have to pay when buying the battery, in order to encourage you to return it at EOL to be recycled). This location is no longer a parts store, I was told, just an oil change, smog check, and tire installation shop now, and so they can't refund me. Could I go to another Pep Boys location, I asked? Sorry, no: Pep Boys is a franchise operation, so other branches are separate businesses, and so cannot refund the charge. Can you recycle the battery anyways, I asked? No, but I can throw it in the trash for you if you like, he replied!

Actual auto parts store owner here. (I do that by day, and run a theater by night.)

Okay, first of all: When you buy a battery and are charged the core fee, you're expected to bring in your old battery when you buy your new one, or soon after you install it -- not four years later. The battery you had in the car when you bought the Pep Boys one is the one you should have taken in.

If a location is no longer a parts store, and if they don't sell batteries anymore, then they have no mechanism to send back old ones, so that part is understandable. Although in the interest of customer service, since you had a receipt from that store, I probably would have given you the core refund.

The real strangeness is in the other Pep Boys locations refusing to take your battery as a core. Unless they are under a strict limit saying their core returns have to match their sales, they should be able to send your core back and get paid for it. HOWEVER, it's possible that their computer system might not allow for the return of a core where the new battery was not purchased from them. Ours pops up a "warning" when that happens, but you can click past it.

The most amazing part of all of this is everyone's willingness to just throw old batteries in a landfill. Here in Montana that's not allowed at all. We send back all cores to our warehouse and they send them out to a regional facility for recycling. If a customer has a couple old batteries that they want to get rid of, we'll take those too (within reason - you can't bring us a pickup-load), but we don't pay out a core charge unless a battery was bought from us. We figure we're doing the customer a favor by taking a couple old batteries off his hands, and we get paid a little money for doing that, and everyone's happy.

I don't understand the recent phenomenon of auto parts stores doing battery swaps for free. First of all, there are plenty of shops who do that as part of their business, so we don't want to take that away from them (and why should we?) Second, a lot of these new cars are a huge pain to change a battery in. So we just don't do it. We do have quite a few customers who will change their own battery right in the parking lot, but that's relatively rare compared with the number of batteries we sell.

[Ed Gordon]

I buy my batteries at Costco. Most Costco's don't do the installation of the new battery, although they say some "select" stores might do installs. Costco issues you a coupon to receive a refund of the core charge. As I recall, the coupon expires after a few weeks.

My local O'Reilly's will do simple battery installs. They will also take old batteries and give you a $10 O'Reilly's gift card.

My local county dump also accepts old batteries for recycling free of charge.