Antique Auto Battery in Youngstown, Ohio

[doug7740]

A friend of mine purchased a battery from Antique Auto Battery in Youngstown, Ohio and is having a problem contacting the company. He purchased a battery from them 4 years ago and last fall he started having a problem with it. I am not posting this to complain about the products they sell, what my friend has is a problem with their customer service. When you call either the toll free phone number or the local number a live person never answers the phone and when you leave a message on one calls you back. On their web site you can email them and if they answer your email consider yourself lucky. I say this because out of frustration my friend left a somewhat heated email and the next day they did call him back. After telling them the problem he was having, they told him that since he lives only 1 ½ hours away he could either bring the battery to them or have it shipped to them. My friend decided to bring the battery to them and he was told that they would take a look at it and it would be ready in 2 weeks. They also told him that they are open Monday through Friday to take care of his battery needs. After almost 3 weeks and hearing nothing, my friend tried contacting them by phone and email and still no reply. Remembering that he was told that they are open Monday through Friday, he decided to drive to Youngstown to pick up his battery. To his surprise the lights we on inside the building, but the doors were locked. He waited in the parking lot for almost 2 hours and still no one answered the door. When he called their phone number he could hear the phone ringing inside, but no one would answer it. A week ago, he told them in a telephone message and in an email that he needed the battery for this weekend, but now they have his battery and he has no way of contacting them. Again, I am not complaining about the batteries they manufacture, they seem to have a fine product. I am posting this that maybe someone can help me contact them to get my friend his battery.

Doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

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[Dj-Dan]

Let me know how your situation goes. I was interested in buying one of their old school batteries for my 64 T-Bird. Good Luck

 

[doug7740]

Friday at 7:30AM (Update)

My friend contacted the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce and asked them if there was any way they could contact Antique Auto Battery to find out what was going on. The woman on the phone said that there were two other complaints about Antique Auto Battery not returning phone calls and she would send someone to see why they weren’t open when the their web site indicated that they were.

A short time later my friend was contacted by the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce and was told that they were able to speak to someone at Antique Auto Battery. They told them that they were receiving complaints that they never call their customer’s back and that the store was not open when the web site indicated that they were open.

The person at Antique Auto Battery said that the owners were out of town and he was the only one there. He said that he couldn’t work on the batteries and answer the phone too!

On February 21st, my friend took another trip to Antique Auto Battery. This time the store was open! He told the person in charge that he was there to pick up the battery that he dropped off over 3 weeks ago. He was told that the battery wasn’t ready because it had a defective cell, and Antique Auto Battery was having a problem with their supplier. It appears that Antique Auto Battery hasn’t received any shipments from their supplier in over 3 months!

Even though the battery was still under warranty, my friend decided to take the battery and we will figure out a way to repair the battery ourselves.

We plan on opening the Antique Auto Battery case and fitting a 6-volt Optima battery into the case. If anyone has ever done this before, please let me know.

I will update the group when we have finished with these modifications.

Doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[BudP]

• Friday at 7:30AM (Update)

My friend contacted the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce and asked them if there was any way they could contact Antique Auto Battery to find out what was going on. The woman on the phone said that there were two other complaints about Antique Auto Battery not returning phone calls and she would send someone to see why they weren’t open when the their web site indicated that they were.

A short time later my friend was contacted by the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce and was told that they were able to speak to someone at Antique Auto Battery. They told them that they were receiving complaints that they never call their customer’s back and that the store was not open when the web site indicated that they were open.

The person at Antique Auto Battery said that the owners were out of town and he was the only one there. He said that he couldn’t work on the batteries and answer the phone too!

On February 21st, my friend took another trip to Antique Auto Battery. This time the store was open! He told the person in charge that he was there to pick up the battery that he dropped off over 3 weeks ago. He was told that the battery wasn’t ready because it had a defective cell, and Antique Auto Battery was having a problem with their supplier. It appears that Antique Auto Battery hasn’t received any shipments from their supplier in over 3 months!

Even though the battery was still under warranty, my friend decided to take the battery and we will figure out a way to repair the battery ourselves.

We plan on opening the Antique Auto Battery case and fitting a 6-volt Optima battery into the case. If anyone has ever done this before, please let me know.

I will update the group when we have finished with these modifications.

Doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

Friday at 7:30AM (Update)

My friend contacted the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce and asked them if there was any way they could contact Antique Auto Battery to find out what was going on. The woman on the phone said that there were two other complaints about Antique Auto Battery not returning phone calls and she would send someone to see why they weren’t open when the their web site indicated that they were.

A short time later my friend was contacted by the Youngstown Chamber of Commerce and was told that they were able to speak to someone at Antique Auto Battery. They told them that they were receiving complaints that they never call their customer’s back and that the store was not open when the web site indicated that they were open.

The person at Antique Auto Battery said that the owners were out of town and he was the only one there. He said that he couldn’t work on the batteries and answer the phone too!

On February 21st, my friend took another trip to Antique Auto Battery. This time the store was open! He told the person in charge that he was there to pick up the battery that he dropped off over 3 weeks ago. He was told that the battery wasn’t ready because it had a defective cell, and Antique Auto Battery was having a problem with their supplier. It appears that Antique Auto Battery hasn’t received any shipments from their supplier in over 3 months!

Even though the battery was still under warranty, my friend decided to take the battery and we will figure out a way to repair the battery ourselves.

We plan on opening the Antique Auto Battery case and fitting a 6-volt Optima battery into the case. If anyone has ever done this before, please let me know.

I will update the group when we have finished with these modifications.

Doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

Please keep the forum informed. I would like to do the same with a 1930 Ford battery. I understand that Optima batteries switched production to Mexico a few years ago and the quality decreased. Regardless, I would like to read of your efforts. Thanks

 

[Douglemmo]

Hi,
I am in need of a new battery for my 57. I had previously purchased an AGM antique battery from a company that went out of business and which I understand is now back in business as Antique Auto Battery. According to the above posts, and comments that I have read on-line they have received a lot of bad comments, But the comments and posts are a few years old. I was very happy with the old battery and it has lasted over 8 years and isn't dead yet, but I can tell it is getting pretty weak. Does anybody have a recent update on Antique Auto Batteries or done business with them? Have they cleaned up their act or should I take my business elsewhere? If they have not improved does anyone have a recommendation for a new company that sells the AGM antique batteries?

Thanks for your help,
Doug

 

[doug7740]

Sorry, I haven't had any contact with Antique Auto Battery. In my opinion, the cause of the battery failure was due to improper manufacturing. Attached is how the defective battery was repaired.

DISCLAIMER:

The following battery repair tech tip is a good article, but it is not for the novice. An understanding of electrical theory is required. Working with batteries can be very dangerous and the author of the article is not recommending this procedure.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue