Firestone Forever battery
07-05-2012, 10:48 AM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Firestone Forever battery
Well, Firestone lost some more money on me
. You see (for the youngsters) back in 1979, Firestone (and JC Penny and I think Sears) offered what they called a "Forever" battery - meaning it had a lifetime replacement for the vehicle it was originally bought for. My replacements were in 1985, 1989, 1992 and 1996, and on this past Tuesday. There would have been more after 1996 but I put another battery in the '69 in 2002 and then parked it since 2008. I need a battery for my '67 so I'll put the recent Advance Auto battery I now have in the '69 in the '67 and put the "Interstate" battery I got from Firestone in the '69 (to keep things legal
).
I had the good sense to contact the District office of Firestone to get things started with a local store since in my prior experience it became a "big deal" to get the guy behind the counter up to speed on what is going on
. First thing the counter man said this time was "
Is this car still in existance?" I then producted my registration and this went along smoothly being he was provided with an info sheet from the District Office on how to enter the transaction so I got my battery again for nadda.
On anothern note, I fired up the ZZ4 for the 1st time on Tuesday. I went thru the exercise of another full engine prime (on 2 turns of the crank) even thought I did one fairly recently - I figured after 4 years on the car (so far), another couple of hours doesn't matter.
. You see (for the youngsters) back in 1979, Firestone (and JC Penny and I think Sears) offered what they called a "Forever" battery - meaning it had a lifetime replacement for the vehicle it was originally bought for. My replacements were in 1985, 1989, 1992 and 1996, and on this past Tuesday. There would have been more after 1996 but I put another battery in the '69 in 2002 and then parked it since 2008. I need a battery for my '67 so I'll put the recent Advance Auto battery I now have in the '69 in the '67 and put the "Interstate" battery I got from Firestone in the '69 (to keep things legal).I had the good sense to contact the District office of Firestone to get things started with a local store since in my prior experience it became a "big deal" to get the guy behind the counter up to speed on what is going on
. First thing the counter man said this time was " Is this car still in existance?" I then producted my registration and this went along smoothly being he was provided with an info sheet from the District Office on how to enter the transaction so I got my battery again for nadda.On anothern note, I fired up the ZZ4 for the 1st time on Tuesday. I went thru the exercise of another full engine prime (on 2 turns of the crank) even thought I did one fairly recently - I figured after 4 years on the car (so far), another couple of hours doesn't matter.
Last edited by TWINRAY; 07-05-2012 at 10:51 AM.
07-05-2012, 06:32 PM
#3
Le Mans Master
There are frequent fliers, and then there are people like Steven Rothstein and Jacques Vroom.
Both men bought tickets that gave them unlimited first-class travel for life on American Airlines. It was almost like owning a fleet of private jets.
Passes in hand, Rothstein and Vroom flew for business. They flew for pleasure. They flew just because they liked being on planes. They bypassed long lines, booked backup itineraries in case the weather turned, and never worried about cancellation fees. Flight crews memorized their names and favorite meals.
Each had paid American more than $350,000 for an unlimited AAirpass and a companion ticket that allowed them to take someone along on their adventures. Both agree it was the best purchase they ever made, one that completely redefined their lives.
"I can't even remember when I cracked 10 million," said Vroom, 67, a big, amiable Texan, who at last count had logged nearly four times as many. Rothstein, 61, has notched more than 30 million miles.
But all the miles they and 64 other unlimited AAirpass holders racked up went far beyond what American had expected. As its finances began deteriorating a few years ago, the carrier took a hard look at the AAirpass program.
Heavy users, including Vroom and Rothstein, were costing it millions of dollars in revenue, the airline concluded.
The AAirpass system had rules. A special "revenue integrity unit" was assigned to find out whether any of these rules had been broken, and whether the passes that were now such a drag on profits could be revoked.
Both men bought tickets that gave them unlimited first-class travel for life on American Airlines. It was almost like owning a fleet of private jets.
Passes in hand, Rothstein and Vroom flew for business. They flew for pleasure. They flew just because they liked being on planes. They bypassed long lines, booked backup itineraries in case the weather turned, and never worried about cancellation fees. Flight crews memorized their names and favorite meals.
Each had paid American more than $350,000 for an unlimited AAirpass and a companion ticket that allowed them to take someone along on their adventures. Both agree it was the best purchase they ever made, one that completely redefined their lives.
"I can't even remember when I cracked 10 million," said Vroom, 67, a big, amiable Texan, who at last count had logged nearly four times as many. Rothstein, 61, has notched more than 30 million miles.
But all the miles they and 64 other unlimited AAirpass holders racked up went far beyond what American had expected. As its finances began deteriorating a few years ago, the carrier took a hard look at the AAirpass program.
Heavy users, including Vroom and Rothstein, were costing it millions of dollars in revenue, the airline concluded.
The AAirpass system had rules. A special "revenue integrity unit" was assigned to find out whether any of these rules had been broken, and whether the passes that were now such a drag on profits could be revoked.
07-03-2019, 05:41 PM
#5
How does a 24 month battery get replaced free after being purchased 7 years ago or is this not the first battery replacement since 2012?
07-03-2019, 07:24 PM
#6
Le Mans Master
Member Since: Sep 2001
Location: Unreconstructed, South Carolina
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... then they just give OP the cheapest battery on hand ... in hopes he gets tired of coming in for shortened replacement cycle ... or his car or he croaks.
07-03-2019, 07:47 PM
#7
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
The battery you see is the new replacement battery. On the tender to get it up to full charge before install. I think very few companies nowadays sell a battery that is prorated at failure. I normally buy Costco battery which now are Interstate with a 3 year free replacement. 3 years one day, you get nothing except your core charge refunded.
07-03-2019, 08:05 PM
#8
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Just a WAG ... Firestone doesn't have a battery labelled "Forever" (maybe never did?) ... That's why OP has to get "clearance" from the brass ...
... then they just give OP the cheapest battery on hand ... in hopes he gets tired of coming in for shortened replacement cycle ... or his car or he croaks.
... then they just give OP the cheapest battery on hand ... in hopes he gets tired of coming in for shortened replacement cycle ... or his car or he croaks.
November 1992, the 4th replacement August 1996, the 5th in July 2012 and the 6th earlier this week. I did have a failure in 2002 but didn't do through Firestone and just bought a Costco #34 because I needed it right away. I had the dead battery in the garage and used it on the 2012 replacement. And as far as the cheapest battery, this latest #34 was priced at $129.95 on the invoice, credited out to zero. I found out LONG ago to call FS Customer service instead of just going into a Firestone shop and nobody knows about a guarantee 40 years ago. In fact, the rep on the phone after I explained it to her said' "So you think you are getting free replacements all the time?' I politely said, you're damn right as long as I'm still alive, still have the 1969 Corvette as listed on my original invoice, and as long as Firestone is in business. LOL. I heard a rumor that the JC Penny Forever battery resulted in JC Penny no longer doing auto repair, I don't know if that is true or not.
