This morning the battery in my car was dead and I called AAA Northway to come out and jump-start it. I assumed I had forgotten to turn off the lights. I am 90 and have had this happen many times over the years. What always happens is the guy comes out, attaches two cables to the battery, I start the car, he detaches the cables and we're done. Driving the car for a few minutes is enough to recharge the battery so it will start next time.
This time the guy from AAA Northway dragged out a huge "test apparatus" and attached it to the dead battery. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was testing it. Then he fooled around with this and that and it went on and on. Eventually he said I had a dead cell. His battery charger was not another car battery in a running car which is how I always do it but a small portable battery. He attached the charging cables to my battery for about 10 seconds, tried to start the car, and of course it wouldn't even turn over.
Then he went to his truck and brought out a small black no-name, no box, battery for which I paid him $128 plus tax.
My opinion is that I was scammed, and when I belatedly went online I discovered that many other people had the same experience. AAA spends a lot of time making believe they are doing something, to make the customer feel obligated, then sells him a nameless battery at a point where the customer can not do any comparison shopping.
AAA Northway Reviews
This morning the battery in my car was dead and I called AAA Northway to come out and jump-start it. I assumed I had forgotten to turn off the lights. I am 90 and have had this happen many times over the years. What always happens is the guy comes out, attaches two cables to the battery, I start the car, he detaches the cables and we're done. Driving the car for a few minutes is enough to recharge the battery so it will start next time.
This time the guy from AAA Northway dragged out a huge "test apparatus" and attached it to the dead battery. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was testing it. Then he fooled around with this and that and it went on and on. Eventually he said I had a dead cell. His battery charger was not another car battery in a running car which is how I always do it but a small portable battery. He attached the charging cables to my battery for about 10 seconds, tried to start the car, and of course it wouldn't even turn over.
Then he went to his truck and brought out a small black no-name, no box, battery for which I paid him $128 plus tax.
My opinion is that I was scammed, and when I belatedly went online I discovered that many other people had the same experience. AAA spends a lot of time making believe they are doing something, to make the customer feel obligated, then sells him a nameless battery at a point where the customer can not do any comparison shopping.