Hello from rainy Alberta.
I have a bit of information that I thought worth passing on to my
friends here.
As you know, I bought a new scooter 3 years ago, and have really
racked up the miles up on it. Well this year I wasn't as fortunate as
previous years, and found my Group 24 batteries ( these are the very
large ones ) were completely wore out,and would not hold a charge for
any reasonable length of time.
I called the distributor for ShopRider,( which is the manufacturer of
my scooter ) to get a price on a new set of batteries. I was informed
that these group 24 Batteries were $285.00 each. This scooter
requires 2 of these batteries, which is a very large chunk of change
to shell out at one time. Well after I got my heart re-started again,
I expressed my shock that they could expect people with
disabilities,who are usually on a limited income, to be able to
purchase these batteries.
He let me know,in no uncertain terms, that this was the price, and I
would never be able to find them cheaper anywhere else.
Well to make a long story short ( or am I too late for that already?)
I called around to many shops that advertise battery re-builds.
I found a shop that re-builds these batteries to like new condition,
and they also come with a 1 year guarantee like the O.E.M's for
batteries offer, but these batteries were a huge sum of $39.95 each.
I put 2 of these on hold for me to pick up, and let Brad know ( the
owner of the shop ) that I would be there with bells on to pick them
up today. He even assured me that I wouldn't have to lift a finger
when I came in, as they have some fairly big guys to do this for me.
For this I offered him one big fat kiss, which he very quickly turned
down....lol.
So, on a more serious note, if you need batteries for your Wheelchair
or Scooter, look in the yellow pages to find a battery re-builder,
and give them a call about purchasing re-built batteries. I did just
that and saved myself over $500.00. This was certainly worth the
effort to make a phone call, and $500.00 will almost pay for 2 tanks
of gas for my wifes Grand Cherokee.
This is just a thought, or tip, that may help you save some money in
the future. I hope it helps everyone, but if only 1 person avoids
getting ripped off on batteries, then it was well worth the time it
took me to type up this post.
Looking forward to seeing you all later this evening.
Jack