I just purchased and installed an Optima Yellow Top this past weekend. While I was aware of the bargains to be found online, I opted to buy it at a local Advance Auto Parts, for the following reasons: 1. I would not have been available when it was delivered. 2. I did not want to deal with an online return, if necessary. 3. I wanted to have it tested before I purchased it. 4. I wanted to get one with the most recent manufacture date. (The Advance store closest to me had one in stock, but it was manufactured in February 2013. I called another Advance store a little further away, and they had one dated January 2014, which is the one I purchased.) So, my questions are: 1. Did you purchase your Yellow Top online or locally? 2. If purchased locally, did you have it tested first? 3. For all purchases, what was the build date? 4. What was the delta between the build date and the purchase date? BTW - Don't forget that Optima is running a promotion this month (ending April 30th) - A free Optima battery maintainer ( my choice) or half off of an Optima battery charger. Get 'em while they're hot!
I'm surprised you found an Optima at Advanced. Last I heard, they were not going to carry the battery anymore.....did you get it on closeout?
Beats me - It was in stock. I hadn't heard about them not carrying it anymore, although it would make sense since it probably doesn't fly off of the shelves, as evidenced by the one with a February 2013 build date.
One of our other members had problem after problem with the optima, ended up going back for another warranty replacement at Advanced but they told him the product was discontinued and they had to give him a refund. I would think the slow movement resulted in poor batteries that kept requiring replacement.
None of the stores in Houston (Advanced) are stocking them any more either. I checked with them locally. Ron
I ordered mine online here. Before doing so, I phoned the online distributor and asked essentially all the questions that you did. Everything was answered to my satisfaction and went ahead. Mine was just weeks old, fresher dated than anything I could find in local stock. Tested it myself and it exceeded specs aside from the voltage being at 12.7... it was air temp -40 with -50 windchills when my battery shipped to me from central Canada. I charged it up to over 13 volts in a few hours. No 'core' charge... so I had my OEM battery in the garage if the unlikely happened and I needed free shipping back or exchange at a local retailer. I charged up the OEM and put a monthly reminder in my iPhone to test/recharge as needed. In time it will no doubt go to recycling, but for now I've got a spare for whatever use... haven't done that solar thing yet. Roland
Summer HEAT kills 'sealed' batteries (water evaporation) here in AZ, so I am interested in "real life" information about Absorbed Gas Mat (AGM) batteries, such as the Optima Yellow Top.
