Bought a reman alternator in 2017 from a local auto parts store. The receipt says "CarQuest CQ of Chi-Skokie IL" I can't remember what the physical branding on the store was at the time, I vaguely remember a mismatch (i.e. the store signage may have been Advance Auto parts)
Fast forward to today: alternator has crapped out. The receipt says nothing about what the warranty is/was, but lifetime is pretty common.
The store is currently branded as an Advance Auto parts. It looks like in 2013/2014, Carquest was bought by Advance, which implies that the store probably was an Advance at the time of my purchase in 2017
Any ideas on how to figure out if 1.) did this alternator had a lifetime warranty when I bought it? 2.) will Advance honor it?
P/N on the alternator is ERE 11058A which doesn't seem to be the current P/N for and alternator for my car ar the Advance Auto website. (I thought I might be able to figure out the warranty terms by looking up the p/n)
I can just waddle over to the store and try my luck, but I don't want to be "that guy" if the alternator had a 90 day warranty and/or Advanced and Carquest are totally separate entities. I'm hoping one of you good folks will have had experience with this.
You're going to have to be that guy. Advance will deny you bought it from them even tho they clearly bought all assets and debts of carquest....
I hear you- if I definitely knew that it had been sold to me as a lifetime warranty unit (and because I bought it 3+ years AFTER Advance bought CQ) I would be that guy and complain vigorously. I'm just not sure what the warranty terms were when I bought it- if it was sold to me as a 90 day warranty part, I wouldn't have a leg to stand on.
In reply to flat4_5spd :
When I google up "ERE 11058A" it returns this Advance page showing lifetime warranty. Is this for a Subaru 2.5L?
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/carquest-premium-alternator-remanufactured-premium-11058a/20851720-P
I'll be darned. I googled "Carquest ERE11058A" and it didn't pull that up for me, only an ebay listing claiming a 90 day mfg warranty. Maybe the "Carquest" search term threw it off. Thanks so much, I'll print your link out and march into the store!
And yes, it's for a Subaru
I went into the store yesterday, the counter person says "a replacement alternator is not in stock, I'll order it for you, bring the paperwork and the old part in tomorrow, talk to my manager." Got no static about it being a Carquest branded receipt.
Rolled in today- alternator is there, the manager goes to process the exchange "Oh, the system is rejecting it, it's showing that the invoice is more than 1, 182 (?)days old. (not 100% sure on the number, but it was one thousand something.) I told him "sounds like it's a 1,182 day warranty, not a lifetime warranty, that's disappointing." He then went on to tell me that the lifetime warranty covers manufacturer's defects, not normal wear and tear. He's going to send a photo of the receipt to corporate on Monday to see what they can do. I'll reserve my full wrath until we see the outcome of that, but what a crock. Advance's website says "limited lifetime replacement" but if you click on the link for details, it takes you to a bunch of vaguesauce language that ultimately says "90 day warranty unless otherwise printed on your receipt." My receipt doesn't say anything, so I suspect that will be their out.
That's aggravating.
Why go to the trouble of misrepresenting a 90 defects warranty as a lifetime warranty of any value?
Seems like a trivial selling point that only becomes relevant while you're explaining to the customer that you were being disingenuous when you sold them the part.
In reply to Jesse Ransom :
In reply to flat4_5spd :
Possibility?
Buy a new 2024 Alternator with a 2024 receipt and then use that 2024 receipt to return your 2017 alternator?
SV reX
MegaDork
7/13/24 3:17 p.m.
"Limited" lifetime warranty...
It doesn't say unlimited lifetime warranty. A warranty against manufacturers defects that does not include normal wear and tear doesn't sound abnormal to me.
If it mattered, wouldn't you want to know what the warranty "limitations" were when you bought it?
Im a bit confused.
John Welsh said:
In reply to flat4_5spd :
Possibility?
Buy a new 2024 Alternator with a 2024 receipt and then use that 2024 receipt to return your 2017 alternator?
This is one case where I could just about ethically justify doing that, but the old alternator is too dull and oxidized to pass as a new defective part. I suppose I could swap internals between the old alt and the new or something, but at some point the juice isn't worth the squeeze. I'll see what Advance corporate says on on Monday, maybe find someone a little further up the chain to whine to. If still no dice, I'll move on with my life and buy a replacement elsewhere, it's just not worth the stress.
Is there any hope of finding a local auto electrical shop that still rebuilds starters and alternators on site? They're getting thin on the ground, but I have infinitely more faith in a guy who's had his name on the sign for many years than I do in a sweat shop rebuild, "lifetime" warranty or not.
iansane
SuperDork
7/13/24 9:03 p.m.
flat4_5spd said:
I went into the store yesterday, the counter person says "a replacement alternator is not in stock, I'll order it for you, bring the paperwork and the old part in tomorrow, talk to my manager." Got no static about it being a Carquest branded receipt.
Rolled in today- alternator is there, the manager goes to process the exchange "Oh, the system is rejecting it, it's showing that the invoice is more than 1, 182 (?)days old. (not 100% sure on the number, but it was one thousand something.) I told him "sounds like it's a 1,182 day warranty, not a lifetime warranty, that's disappointing." He then went on to tell me that the lifetime warranty covers manufacturer's defects, not normal wear and tear. He's going to send a photo of the receipt to corporate on Monday to see what they can do. I'll reserve my full wrath until we see the outcome of that, but what a crock. Advance's website says "limited lifetime replacement" but if you click on the link for details, it takes you to a bunch of vaguesauce language that ultimately says "90 day warranty unless otherwise printed on your receipt." My receipt doesn't say anything, so I suspect that will be their out.
As someone who worked in autoparts stores that have been bought out, I say that's bullE36 M3. They should've just replaced the alternator. Who cares? $100 off their P&L at the end of the month isn't going to make a difference on their commission check. That's a bummer, dude. I was going to say if you hit up a store that had employees that had workd through those buyouts you can usually just ask what their warranties were.
Back in the 80's a local chain had sold lifetime warranty brake pads. That chain was bought out, and then bought out and then bought out by a company I worked for. I had ONE customer that brought in those brake pads once every 5-6 years to swap them out. I was more than happy to do the transaction just to see him using the warranty. He had the original hand written receipt!
You should get a free replacement
