How to Buy Quality Rebuilt Car Alternators

Alternators are the tool that keeps your vehicle's battery charged. If the alternator fails, you will need to get a new one immediately, or you will break the bank buying new batteries all the time. Rebuilt alternators are cheaper than brand new ones, but only if you know what to look for when you select a rebuilt alternator.

Instructions

How to Buy Quality Rebuilt Car Alternators

1

Always make sure that the alternator you are purchasing is of the same model as the one that has gone bad in your car. If it is not the same, you will not be able to make it fit into the space, and the attachments will not fit properly.

2

Test the alternator before you purchase it by giving it a gentle shake or two. This will in no way break the alternator, and it will let you know instantly if something is wrong inside the device. If it rattles, don't buy it. Pick out a different one. It helps to simply remove the alternator from the box and shake it that way. Most rebuilt alternators are not sealed in plastic or any other difficult packaging, so it is a simple matter to take one out of its box and give it a shake.

3

Make sure that the alternator in the box is clean and presentable. When old alternators are returned to the factory to be rebuilt, they are usually very dirty, oily and black. Sometimes they are even covered in grass, mud and other unpleasant things. So it is wise to open the box and make sure the device is clean before you purchase it.

4

Check to make sure the alternator has a test pass sticker somewhere on it. If you cannot find one, do not buy the alternator; it likely never passed the factory testing, but was simply tossed into a box regardless. Also, there should be a printed test page that will tell you exactly how the alternator did when it was tested. If that is missing, a red flag should go up in your mind that this might be a failed alternator. Get a different one.

5

Ask the checkout clerk if the store has a return policy on rebuilt auto parts. That way, if you buy one and get it home to find out it does not work, you can still bring it back for a full refund or exchange. Also, be certain to read the assembly instructions that should come with the alternator. If there are no instructions included, ask an employee at the store if he will take an instruction sheet from another box and make a copy of it for you.