Rapid discharge of a car battery in front of tire shop... suspicious?

Question

I don't know a TON about cars, but this seems too strange to be coincidence... I just dropped my car off at a Tire Kingdom to get a set of new tires and an alignment. About 15 minutes after I left, they called me and said that 3 people had tried to start my car, but that no one could get it started. I had no idea why this would happen... battery hasn't been giving me any problems at all, and it started up perfectly when I left the house 10 minutes earlier to take it to the tire shop. So I went BACK to the shop, tried to start it myself, and sure enough, the engine would just barely turn over -- seemed like the battery was indeed dead.

So, they jumped it with their own vehicle in order to get it into the service bay and told me that they could test the battery to find out whether I needed a new one. Supposedly, the battery needs replacement.

How does this happen? Could they have rapidly discharged my battery (or fried it somehow) in hopes that I'd just buy a new battery from them? And would that mean that my battery really is totally shot now, or would they just have temporarily depleted it? Any way I can look for foul play?

Answer 1

go to an autozone or advance auto parts they will be able to tell you if it was the alternator or the battery. Sometimes if the alternator goes you will have this symptom. When the alternator is bad it isn't charging and the car is running off of the battery instead of the alternator. If you don't trust those people go to another auto parts store and have them check. It doesn't sound like foul play though.

Answer 2

Soemtimes batteries just fail. How old was yours?  

Answer 3

c**p happens, light bulbs go out when you flip the switch and batteries can fail when you turn the key. Purely coincidence.

Answer 4

Start with the Benefit of drought, How Old was the Battery? Was it Swollen (Internally Shorted) on the Sides? How Old is the car? Last time your Battery Cables were Tested? Do a Ground Check; Starter to Block, Alternator to Block & Block Strap to Firewall are Clean & Secure!!

Now; Sure that was your Battery?? Is it Possible they used your Radio for Entertainment?

Answer 5

I don't really think this is a coincidence, especially if they just "happen" to sell batteries.  They could have switched batteries.  I would certainly not buy one from them, get a jump (if necessary) and go somewhere else to have the battery checked and purchase one.  Unless it is something major, I learned the hard way to never leave my car for routine maintenance and/or repairs unless I have dealt with the mechanic for quite a long time and trust him.  Big Ten tires tried to switch out my battery once when I had gone in for tires; fortunately, I was watching outside the bay and immediately questioned why it was necessary to remove my battery to change tires.  After the fit I pitched they were more than happy to put my old tires back on and see me leave to take my business elsewhere.  

Answer 6

The only thing in your car that could run a good battery down in 15 minutes would be the starter motor. Ignore their test and test it yourself. Charge the battery up all the way, turn the headlights on and go get lunch. If the headlights run the battery down in less than an hour, it's toast.