After successfully reviving the Corvette C5R “Power Wheels” my dad garbage picked for my youngest daughter this summer, I began noticing how many of these get put on the curb after the original batteries shat the bed, and people realize how crazy expensive the OEM batteries are. For the C5R, I simply put in a sealed motorcycle battery, cut off the original connector, and crimped some ring terminals in place. I charge it with a small battery tender. I figured I could do this with the other ones I saw on the curb, but with the price of a battery tender and a battery, there wouldn’t be enough profit margin to be worth the trouble. Then I got a coupon for a Harbor Freight automatic float charger for $5, so I decided to pick a few of them up and take a stab at this.
A couple Saturdays ago, my neighbor put this John Deere front end loader on the curb, in four pieces. He’d previously asked me about the battery, which was dead as a door nail, and he didn’t have the charger. I told him how to fix it, but I guess he decided not to bother. I dragged it back to my garage, and put it back together. To make it even sweeter, I had an extra battery from preemptively replacing the one in my scooter that was the exact right size and still tested good. I had it ready to rock in maybe 45 minutes.
I took a few pictures, slapped it on FB Marketplace, and sold it the next day for $80. Easiest flip EVAR!
From now on, if I see a decent Power Wheels on the curb, I’m going to grab it. I can get them going for $30-40 and double my money without much work.