For the last battery for a car my research consisted of driving to the Interstate battery shop and having a free cup of coffee while they installed it. I have other things to do besides beating my brains out over something that will most likely last 4 to 6 years and has a warranty.
WalMart Everstart Max batteries from WalMart get consistently high ratings from Consumer Reports.
Thanks a lot for the replies! I think I am going to pickup an Everstart tomorrow =)
yeah, I agree, just about all batteries will be fine.
Here in the North East car batteries usually last 7+ years. When they go I replace them with the Diehard battery on sale and it lasts until I get rid of the car.
Be sure it is an Everstart MAX
Walmart. Their price is as good as anyone and they sell a LOT of batteries, so the odds are that you are getting a fresh battery, not one that was manufactured two years ago and has been sitting on the rack without being regularly agitated. Every battery has its manufacture date stamped on it, and you want one manufactured in the past few months if you can get one.
I never heard of ValuePower but at that price point, it is likely recycled. Recycled batteries used to be common, but they were generally unreliable so they fell out of favor.
Probably the best, most reliable car battery if you are planning to keep the car a while, is Bosch. It will have 3 year free replacement, 8 year pro-rated. Never heard of a premature failure. I have a seven-year-old one in my BMW wagon. Bosch batteries are tough to find, so I worry about getting a freshly-manufactured one. When the wifemobile needs a battery, I will probably look for a freshly-manufactured Bosch. Failing that, or for my other cars, Walmart.
There is generally not much difference among automotive batteries if you are comparing batteries of the same technology (vented wet cell, absorbed glass mat, or gel). A short list of companies manufacture a long list of brand names, and a single company manufactures nearly all the equipment used to make batteries.
Four final notes -
- Car manufacturers put in the minimum-sized battery required in the new car. This reduces their cost and more importantly, reduces weight, which helps with mileage and performance. As the car gets older, components wear and connections corrode. It is generally a good idea to bump up the CCA to a bigger battery and carry the extra weight.
- The battery case size or āgroupā number designates the the case dimensions and pole configuration of the battery. It is not as critical as you might think. Any of several groups will often work, so long as a battery will securely attach in the battery box without damage. Given a choice between a fresh battery that requires a block of wood under the battery retainer or the correct group battery that has been sitting on the shelf for two years, I will choose the fresh battery.
- Some new cars change their charging pattern depending upon the age of the battery. You have to tell the engine control computer when you replace the battery. I presume that those cars are quite particular about the technology and capacity of the replacement battery.
- some convertibles (e.g. old BMW 3-series) use the battery as an oscillator weight in their vibration dampening system. A special (expensive) battery is needed to tolerate that application.
Bosch batteries are NOT hard to find
If I recall correctly, Pep Boys has them
But Iām not sure I agree with your #2
āBosch batteries are NOT hard to findā
āIf I recall correctly, Pep Boys has themā
That dependsā¦
ā¦ on location. Around here there are no Bosch batteries (no European car dealers, either) and no Pep Boys. Iāve heard of Pep Boys, but have never been in one.
We have Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Car Quest, Advance Auto Parts, GM, Ford, and Chrysler/Jeep stores and some independents for batteries, and thatās about it.
Lots of store locations and lots of battery choices, but no Bosch or Pep-Boys.
We donāt have Costco, either. Darn!
CSA
Iām pretty sure that I have seen Bosch batteries at Advance Auto parts stores.
But everstart max will be cost effective.
Bosch shows up in the middle to the bottom in consumer reports rankngs.
@VDCdriver
"Iām pretty sure that I have seen Bosch batteries at Advance Auto parts stores."
Thanks, if thatās the case then I stand corrected on just the particular battery availability.
However, after working a Volkswagen dealers for many years and after having owned Volkswagens for hundreds of thousands of miles, I still have a bad taste in my mouth from the electrical component manufacturer. Itās partly reliability and definitely a cost type taste.
Iāll take your word for availability, because I wonāt be checking to see them, any time soon. :neutral:
CSA
I had 3 Bosch batteries in my 1998 Regal. The first one lasted a few days, the second about a month, and the last one lasted for a few years. Bosch is the last brand Iād look for based on my experience, but I realize that there can be bad batches. Still, personal experience trumps everything else.
Pep Boys carries Bosch batteries in Central MD, but Advance Auto does not. I got those 3 Bosch batteries at Pep Boys, BTW.
I really donāt think much about the make of battery that comes in a car. There are less than half a dozen manufacturers of batteries in the country and a battery of a particular brand in one part of the country may be made by a different manufacturer in another part of the country. Batteries are dense in weight and it doesnāt take many batteries to weigh a lot. A brand X battery in one region of the country may be made by Exide and the same Brand X may Ave manufactured by Johnson Controls in,another part of the country. A friend of mine bought a battery at an independent battery shop. It has no brand name on it. When he said something to the manager, the manager opened hia desk drawer which contained different brand name labels. The manager said to my friend āWhat make battery would you like to have and weāll put the label on itā. This is also true for canned goods. I had a relative that was a chemist in a canning factory. They ran the same canned peaches and put on the Stokley Van Camp label, the Hunts label and other company labels as well. I buy the house brand Toasted Oats at the grocery store. It tastes the same as Cheerios to me and costs less. I even remember beer being available in a solid white can that just had BEER in big black letters. It was called generic beer, but I believe it came from the Schlitz brewery. I am convinced that brand labels donāt mean much. I buy AA batteries under different labels Ray-O-Vac, Eveready, Panasonic, Delco, etc and an alkaline battery is,an alkaline battery. There doesnāt seem to be much difference to me. I donāt give any more thought to the brand name for my car battery as I do to the battery brand that goes in my TV remote control.
Only 7 years late to add nothing, but thanks for stopping by.
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@dubairecoveryservice.info_183940:
Welcome to the site. However advertisements to your site:
> dubairecoveryservice.ae/car-battery-boosting
are not allowed.
Please remove it or your post will be removed.
Thank you.
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Not to mention, but I donāt think have many, if any readers from Dubai. Iāll bet a service call from outside Wash DC would be quite pricey and a very long wait.
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Welcome ??? Why , he revived a 7 year old thread just to post Spam and will be sent back into cyber space . Joe , do you not know that there a hundreds of Spam sending places that is all that they do?
More like THOUSANDS.
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