12v Battery Yuasa $95 -- Too Good to be True?

Hi All,
My 2007 Prius that I just got four months ago needs a new 12v battery — I'm pretty sure it's the original battery still in there, so I can't really complain. I've read through the numerous forum posts already about suggested batteries, and was pretty much ready to bite the bullet and get a TrueStart from a dealer for ~$230 (that's how much they go for in NYC).

But then there is this company in Brooklyn that has Yuasa S46B24R batteries for $95. (batteries4sale is the website -- can't post links yet) I am of course thinking this is too good to be true, you get what you pay for, etc. But for that price, I at least want to consider it. They are a brick and mortar shop, the owner seems to have been involved in custom motorcycles in NYC for decades, so not a fly-by-night company. It seems like they are a battery wholesaler, maybe they rebuild the batteries themselves -- it's definitely outside my expertise to guess how they manage to do this.

Basically I'd appreciate advice on what questions to ask them — I'm definitely going to ask them some version of "how can you be selling this for half the price of everywhere else?", but I'm not sure what I should be listening for when they respond. And at the end of the day, I don't mind "getting what I pay for" if I'm paying half price, I just don't want my car to fail in 3 months.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

Thanks! This is particular helpful to look out for. Since they have a shop, I'll see if I can just go there in person, physically see them test the battery.

And yes, my understanding was that TrueStart batteries *are* Yuasa batteries, which I why I looked at this at all. Not sure it means this is the same as a Truestart, but I think I might give it a try, and will report back if I learn anything!

 

Update: called the guy, and he explained what the deal is. I forget the exact terms he used, but he was very straightforward, and said that the batteries are new and unused, but were cycled out of retail stock because they were more than six months old (from a bit of googling, this seems to check out). He gets them wholesale from a distributor, and tests them to make sure they are still fully functional, but can sell them at a steep discount.

His explanation sounded good enough to me (again, I don't mind getting what I pay for if I'm paying half price), so I even went to the place to have him install it (he told me he had it in stock). Got there, he looked at the battery in my car, and then apologized profusely because he realized he in fact did not have the right size battery in stock. Oh well. He said he gets new shipments weekly, so I'll check in later and see if anything comes in — and make sure to ask him to confirm the battery says S46B24R (from my understanding, that's the number that indicates the size, etc., right?) before I head over there next time!

 

Quick update question: he just got in stock a Yuasa S34B20L... the size is fine (i have non-sks, so it's not a problem), but it seems the polarity is reversed. How much of a problem is this? Is it just annoying to install, or would it be really problematic to install this battery?

He also has one other battery that he thinks will fit, but I can't quite tell what it is. I've attached a photo of it here... anyone able to identify its origin?

 

You know, I thought I had read through most things in the forum on the 12v batteries, but I had not come across that. If the situation were a little different, I think I definitely would have gone that route — it is the kind of interesting but not too complex thing I enjoy trying.

Alas, I was having to jumpstart the car literally every time, and needing the car for too many things in the next days to rely on my portable jumpstarter, so I ended up getting the battery from the guy today — $115 installed ($95+$20 for him to install it. I could have done the install myself, but then I would have had to return the battery, and didn't feel like driving there twice). The one he put in looks exactly like the truestart battery that came out of the car — I know that doesn't necessarily mean it was, but I don't feel I got scammed. The battery is reading 13.2v after a load test, so I'm happy with it for the moment. Will come back to update if things change in the future, but for right now, if anyone else in NYC needs a battery, I can at least say I had a good experience with the guy —YMMV!

Appreciate the guidance from the very knowledgeable folks here!