Dead Battery

I got to use my Sprint Roadside Rescue service for the first time today. My car battery had acted up a little a couple times recently when it got cold but my car still started. This morning when I turned the ignition key, all I heard was a buzzing sound. The battery was big time dead.

As I'd never used Sprint's Roadside Rescue, I didn't know how to reach them. I had to log-on the Internet and find out. It turned out to be simple enough. You dial #road on your cell phone. This puts you through to a person who confirms you're signed up for the service. Then, they tell the addresses of road service providers close to you. I chose one on Maryland 198. After that, they contact the provider giving them your address and phone number. They have up to 90 minutes to show up. To my relief, the road service provider showed up in 30 minutes. To my surprise, the provider was from the Automobile Association of America (AAA). AAA has a good reputation and they showed they were worthy of it. Their rep was very professional and quick. He confirmed that the problem was the car battery. He promptly hooked up some kind of mobile starting box to the car. When I turned the ignition, the car started right up.

I found out from the AAA rep that a car's battery is normally only good for 3 to 5 years. The one I had lasted for over 7 years. It was definitely due for replacement. I found out that AAA offers a great warranty on their batteries. If anything goes wrong with it for 3 years, they'll replace for free. Also, if you have problems with the battery, you can call them and they'll come out and find out what the problem is. I decided to buy one of their batteries. With tax, it cost $117 which I thought was decent.

In a way, I'm lucky the battery died when it did. We haven't had a really cold weather yet. This way, the car will start when things really start to get bad weather wise. Plus, I know I can count on Sprint's roadside rescue if I ever have problems with my car.