Car Batteries

[steve from staten island]

Not for the hobby car but the daily driver. Whats the opinion on the best car battery on the market?

 

[alsant]

Optima's have been good for me.

 

[MoparMitch]

The one's that are hot work for me.

 

[Car Nut]

I'm using a DieHard battery for over three years.

 

[khryslerkid]

I've had great success with Wal-Mart believe it or not. Well made, have some weight to them, and keep on cranking.

 

[Hemi Rebel]

I've had great success with Wal-Mart believe it or not. Well made, have some weight to them, and keep on cranking.

X2. And they have a 3 year warranty. Had one in the wifes car that crapped out on me after 2 1/2 years. Took it in. No reciept. Just the date sticker on it. No pro rate. Got a new one no questions asked for no charge. Get it? No charge.

 

[Moparsmitty]

Most wet cell batteries sold in the U.S. are made by only three manufacturers, Exide, Delphi, and Johnson Controls. NAPA batteries are made by Exide and I've had good luck with them. Also Interstate batteries are pretty good. I don't think I would spend the extra $ on an Optima for a daily driver because I don't think it will last much longer than a well maintained wet battery. The only reason I have an Optima in the Belvedere is because I know it won't leak.

 

[benno440]

had my optima in the charger 3 years, drained it dead flat 6 times. charged it up and still goes like the day i got it, it cranks the big stroker, all modernised electronics and 7500w subwoofahs

 

[charge69]

I use an AGM (absorbed glass mat) battery in my 1969 Charger and in all my daily drivers. The one for the Charger is the Type 27 red cap original look-alike to give it the original look. The daily drivers all have the O'reilly Super Start AGM in them and I have had very good luck with them in the 4 years or so I have been using them.

The Charger's AGM battery is a plus as AGM batteries are sealed, can be mounted in any position and do not emit gas that can damage paint and metal. My new paint wont be damaged!

The daily drivers are protected from paint damage also and cannot leak or spill in case of an accident. Kind of expensive but ............. absolutely reliable so far.

 

[440+6]

Costco

 

[lewtot184]

i've never had any battery work or last as long as an Optima.

 

[Sonny Black]

Sonny's Toyota (that is now- 15 1/2 years old & purchased the pickup new)

had a battery that last 14 years, I replaced it only because I was preparing for
winter and did not want my luck to run out on the freeway! :werd:





replaced it with an optima....

 

[Richard Cranium]

 

[RS23VOA]

I use Walmart deep cycle marine batteries. Cheap and made to run down.

 

[Bruzilla]

I had an Optima battery and it was great... right up until one of the cells shorted out and it became a very expensive door stop.

I am now fully on the Walmart bandwagon. Their batteries are good, cheap, and when they go bad you can take them back to any store and all they do is scan the sticker and it's a done deal.

Here's something I didn't know about Walmart batteries until a customer service rep told me. I had one of their 24 month batteries and used it as a core trade in years ago. It was about three years old, and had been sitting in my garage for a long time, but I wanted a fresh battery and a good back up for my kids' car so I didn't want to turn in the one I was using in my car, so I dusted off the old bad battery and took it in. I put it in the turn in cart in customer service, and the girl there saw it was one of their batteries and asked me to bring it over so she could scan it. I told her it was a waste of time because it was well out of warranty, and she said "trust me", so I carried it over for her to scan it.

Turns out the 24-month or 36-month warranty is for replacement, but there's also an additional warranty that goes beyond that time that gives you a pro-rated replacement value. She scanned it, and it turns out there was like a $49 credit left on it! The bad news is I think the last time I was in a Walmart Customer Service area a few months back I saw a notice about something dealing with their battery warranties was changing, but I didn't look that close. But, if you ever turn in a Walmart battery as a core, make sure you have them scan it first because there might be a credit on it.

 

[steve from staten island]

From what I've read WallMarts and Costco batteries are made by Johnson controls and are rated very good. I replace my car batteries once every five to six years,especially the battery in my wife's car. Even though the battery's often are still in good shape i usually use them in one of my welding machines. Im going to go with a Costco battery or maybe i'll go over the bridge and go to wall marts.. Thanks

 

[mrsnicks]

I shopped around for the cheapest 3 year replacement/5 year pro-rate battery I could find and it ended up being a Diehard from Sam's Club. It really comes down to the warranty. As long as it has 3 year full replace (not pro-rate) why pay more than necessary?

 

[Lazerwolf]

+1 for Moparsmitty. Most batteries in U.S. are made by three companies. I work for Johnson Controls. Besides Optima, we make several batteries which include Advance Auto Parts, Bosch, Champion, Diehard, Duralast, Interstate along with several OEM batteries. Needless to say, these change. A few years ago, Diehard was made by Exide for example. For the most part, the batteries are made to the specs requested by the distributor, and then we just put their name on them. I try to support my company, but I also just bought 2 NAPA Gold batteries on sale, made by Exide, which work great. I would say compare the specs. Part of the difference in $50 and $200 batteries are name and warranties, but generally there is more than that.

 

[Canyon707]

I just bought two AGM Interstate's for my drag car. Now I need a quick turn around AGM charger. Having difficulties finding one in Calif.

 

[snakeoil24]

Costco is the best for the money.