Any magic words I need to drop to ensure that they replace the alternator and installa larger battery and not just dump me off and defer the solution to the next time?
You do sometimes get bad batteries and sometimes bad electrical systems can shorten the life of a battery. I had an oversized stereo in my Mustang for years and the longest I ever had a battery last was 14 months. I started getting Sears Diehard Golds with a 2 year replacement warranty. I figured this was my best bet for the nationwide 2 year replacement warrenty. Problem was when the battery died, I'd have to push start the car or jump it everytime until I could get to a Sears store. They always wanted to check the entire electrical system out before sticking another battery in the car. Of course it always checked out good and I'd have to wait for hours while they checked everything out and finally replaced the battery. I would sometimes be charged for terminals or cleaning the battery tray or something stupid for roughly $15 to maintain the warranty. At that point I started buying whatever Walmart had. Decent warranty, I could take just the battery in and pick up a new one at any Walmart, or simply buy another one for $36. They lasted just as long as the Sears batteries for $79 and it was much more convienent to swap out. That stereo is now long gone (probably in someones elese car now as it was stolen) and I havent had to replace my existing battery for almost 3 ears.I got my car back and thankfully everything seems to be working. They switched out the battery but did not want to budge on the alternator and had no explanation why the battery would die other than "sometimes you get a bad one..."
--Larry