New Battery for FREE !

[3738]

I bought a JC Penny Forever battery back in 1976 for ~ $100.00. Guaranteed for as long as you still owned the car it was put in originally.

When the original battery died, JC Penny replaced that battery for free until they eliminated their auto department.

JC Penny "hired" Firestone to handle the free replacements from then on, and I got a free replacement Firestone battery every time the old one died.

Eventually, Firestone quit selling Firestone batteries and offered Interstate batteries as my free replacements.

Today, after 8 years, my free Interstate battery needed replacing. The procedure had changed to get another free replacement. You go to Firestone, purchase a 75 month battery, take your Firestone receipt to JC Penny with your original paperwork and proof of ownership of the car the original JC Penny Forever battery was in and JC Penny gives you cash for the price of the Interstate battery purchased from Firestone and that battery is guaranteed to be replaced for free, as long as I still own the same car all this started with back in 1976, which is my first car, a 1970 Camaro I bought in 1972.

According to my math, my cost to have a good battery in my Camaro comes out to $2.78/ year over the past 36 years, and that price goes down for every year I keep my Camaro.

[klicker]

Nice story.... I'm liking even more that you have owned your early Camaro that long! (One of my cars is a 67 Camaro cnvt owned for 24 years)

[Fe26]

Now THAT's a good deal.

[Fibber Mcgee]

I bet they didn't know what they were in for when they sold you that battery.

[Cecil/WV]

[
According to my math, my cost to have a good battery in my Camaro comes out to $2.78/ year over the past 36 years, and that price goes down for every year I keep my Camaro.[/QUOTE]

Now that's a good incentive for keeping a car.

I had a friend several years ago who owned a '60 Lincoln Continental with dual exhaust and his wife drove it 1 mile to work each day and the exhaust would go bad in less than a year. He had a Sears lifetime exhaust put on and after a few years of free replacement, they refused to honor the agreement any more. Good for Penny's for holding up their deal!!

[Vic Piano]

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My father did something similar with Midas Muffler, he had mufflers, etc. installed on his '66 Lincoln Continental Convertible in the early '70 and got free replacements up into the '90's. The last "free" set is still on the car.

[jimvette59]

I have a Firestone Forever battery in my 59 Corvette since the mid 60s and they still honer it, although they are made by Interstate today.

[Shadetree]

It is amazing how far they have progressed with batteries. I have a 2004 Mercury with the original battery. I just replaced one in my van that was 7 years old, Walmart Special.

They just don't make `em like they used to, thank goodness!

[B-O-B]

I had MIDAS mufflers & exhaust pipes on a truck I had with their MM (think Disney here)warranty. Everytime I got a replacement there was additional expenses for clamps,nuts, bolts & labor. It would have been less expensive to purchase from a local muffler shop. I'll pass on Midas & their warrantys. To top it all off I had to make an appointment & drive 60 or so miles to get to a Midas dealer.
My roadster has been in my possession for 12 yrs & 85,000 miles & the flomaster 40s & pipes are still like new. They were on the car when I purchased it so I have no clue as to how old they might be.

[Charlie Stephens]

The guys that change cars every couple of years (and this is what they are counting on) paid for your battery.

Charlie Stephens

[Jason in TX]

I bet they could do a commercial on you or something about customer service. You should write to their PR department with that story.

[3738]

I also have Lifetime spark plug wires, Lifetime Mieneke mufflers (they still stick you for pipes/clamps/etc when they replace the muffler), Lifetime Bendix brake pads, Lifetime Power Train Warranty on my 09 PT, even Lifetime work jeans to name a few...

[ford38v8]

Back in '66, I got me a lifetime wife. She's slowed down considerably, and doesn't clean out the gutters anymore, but I've got no plans to trade her in yet.

[J Franklin]

I had a lifetime auto transmission rebuild from AAMCO and they rebuilt it once more and then changed a torque converter again in my 1966 Mustang. I think I got my money's worth. bought the car for $150. and sold it many miles and years later for $2,400.

[georgewarren]

I had duals with "Turbo" mufflers installed on my 64 Fairlane by a local shop, around 1980 or so. Still sounds great and no leaks so far!

[2ndgeer]

That sounds like the story that Michael Lamm related back in the Special Interest Autos days. Of course, maybe you ARE Michael Lamm! Loved all your work, especially your contributions (road tests of vintage cars) to Rod and Custom more than 40 years ago!!
By the way I had a 1960 Falcon with a "lifetime" Midas muffler. After the third replacement (27 years into ownership) the cost of all the brackets and pipes they "hot wrenched" off cancelled the "savings" contributions