Not just automotive. The industrial ones have gone up the same percentage. And they are building them cheaper too. The plates used to come up to about 1/2" from the top of the case. Now you are lucky if it is 1.5" from the top.
I looked back at an order at Advance Auto from Dec 2018. Battery was $120. Same battery is now $230. Fuck me.
From what I've heard, the electrolyte solution they are using sucks now. As far as the price goes, I'd chock that up to our good buddy Elon and his ilk buying up all the rare earth metals for EV batteries. Remember when all the auto parts stores offered SEVEN YEAR batteries for like $99? My friend who worked at O'Reilly's said that it wasn't uncommon to see some last even longer than that back then (mid '00s). We didn't know how good we had it back then.
I don't think your common lead acid battery uses a lot of rare earth metals. I had a battery with a two year warranty that I bought in the 2010's that lasted eight or nine years. I need more of those.
The original battery in my truck lasted 7.5yrs and 4.5yrs later it still has that replacement battery. Now the Honda Fit my wife had when we started dating, I had to put a new battery in it every other year or less. It didn't matter brand, it ate batteries.
My favorite were the Toyota Coaster vans we had in Qatar. Brand new, if you ran the AC, radio, and lights it would kill the battery as the alternator didn't provide enough power to run all the onboard electrical systems.
I’m looking at a car and got the vehicle history report. Since we have some car guys I’m wondering what may be going on with the registration/miles for it? Delivered in 91 to the dealership. Sold at some auto auction in 95 and registered to the first owner thereafter? Odd 5 year gap. Someone at the dealership drive it? Salvaged or something that wouldn’t show up on a report ? I don’t know what to make of it.
Could've been a Demonstrator car? If it's a popular make, they use it for people to take test drives, instead of putting 10-15 miles on every car, they let customers drive that one. Then, it becomes a loaner car, then the dealer's wife drives it, etc.
Certainly is a unique permutation of the car I could easily see it being a test model. Do dealership sell these demo cars at auction? Wouldn’t they just discount and sell it at the dealer?
Somebody else may be able to answer that - but I feel like I asked a friend of mine who works at a dealer that same question a few years ago, and I don't think they're allowed to sell it after it has 10k miles on it or something? Like it's never been titled, so it's "new" but then it can't possibly be new since it has 10k miles . . . I don't know.
In the 80s my parents bought a prior demo car. From what I remember, it was sold as used due to the milage. One of the dealers back home used to yearly advertise cars they donated for the local regatta parade as "these cars are new, but we have to sell as used due to being used in the parade."
So this happened. Any suggestions on what this will cost? I thought about touching it up first and seeing how bad it is. Most of that is paint, so cleaning it off wasn't so bad. 2023 Tacoma, if it matters. I do not give a fuck about the plastic fender flares.
You might be able to use acetone to remove the paint. It won't help with scratches and the dent though. You might also be able to remove the wheel liner, reach up there and push some of the dent out. Or a really strong suction cup. Either of those ways may "oil can" though. You pop it out and then the slightest pressure and it pops back in and makes the sound like squeezing an old style oil can. To have it done correctly: R&I (remove and reinstall) Tool box R&I RT Bed Cap R&I RT Tail Lamp R&I Bumper R&I Bed R&I Flare (reuse) REPL (Replace) the stupid orange and blue clips that ALWAYS break taking the flare off REPL Flare seal R&I Wheel Liner RPR Dent REFN Bedside REPL Sprayable Rock guard TINT Color Denib and Finesse Hazardous Waste Rates vary wildly, but in Northern California, that's about a $3,000-$3,500 job Edit - Just saw that it's a 2023. Any back up sensors, camera, blind spot system etc might need to be recalibrated. Also can't see if there are any decals on the bedside. Tacoma, PreRunner, 4x4 etc
Clean paint off with WD-40, then rubbing compound. Reduce dent with can of compressed air and hair dryer. $11. - not an expert
A friend of mine had great success with a mobile dent guy. He smoothed out the dent and made the scratch way less noticeable with some waxing and buffing. It was like $250 and totally worth it. Wasn’t perfect, but it was a hell of a lot better for not spending $4k for perfect.