Where can you buy a reasonably priced battery these days?

 

Walmart has a one year warantee cheapie for around $50. Thats what I put in the 87 this spring. I knew it was going up for sale and did not not need a more expensive one.

 

Walmart or Costco are my choices.

 

Best batteries I've used are the Duralast batteries from Autozone. You can get the red or gold top. The black top is the cheapy.

A long while back decided to get the cheapy AC/Delco battery from GM dealer to replace a bad/old Duralast battery. But that thing only lasted like a year or so before having starting problems random dead batteries and so went back to Duralast and that's been in there now 3 or so years now no problems.

 

I'm not a big fan of anything AutoZone. I once got tossed in the can for trying to exchange a customers battery! By far THE WORST customer service on the planet, right on up the ladder with that company.

I like Interstate, ACDelco and Decka for automotive batteries.

 

Sears DieHards have yet to leave me stranded or disappointed.

 

I recently read, the best bang for the buck is a battery from cosco. I seem to recall, that most U.S. batteries are made my the same "parent" company anyway - Johnson battery - whether it's an ac delco or a sears die-hard. the last battery I bought was an interstate. I've bought a Duracell from sam's club that lasted a year, but they did have a good replacement policy. I've bought batteries from sears, Wal-Mart, autozone, and advanced auto, and for the most part, never had issues with any of them. I think what it boils down to is, batteries are batteries....

 

One nice thing on A/C Delco batteries is they are fully sealed batteries. You can't pop off any covers. They have a cheapo auto parts store version that I tried that didn't last long. They made this version to compete with places like auto zone.

But A/C Delco has higher end batteries that I think are supposed to be like OEM batteries. As I've always heard OEM batteries tend to be the best compared to aftermarket batteries. They're expensive so I never bothered to try them.

 

, ac delco has higher end batteries. like most batteries, they have good, better, best levels. I hope you don't think delco replacement or delco OEM batteries are actually made by GM - . if you think delco is the best, talk to some original C5 owners, around the year 2000, about the leaking, side terminals, and the mess that caused (battery sits just above the ECM, and the mess, I know this first hand).

 

I know A/C Delco isn't GM. But GM uses A/C Delco as their OEM battery. And for a long time everyone would say you couldn't buy an OEM battery from the parts counter. That they only come on new cars. So all you could get was an aftermarket type battery that wouldn't last as long compared to OEM batteries.

But then years ago I think that A/C Delco started offering OEM type batteries that you could buy at the counter. i.e. Professional. They are more expensive than aftermarket batteries and are supposed to be superior assuming they are made like an OEM battery.

And yeah, I do recall years ago an A/C Delco OEM battery defect. It happens, and that's the only one I've heard of from A/C Delco. Though I didn't keep up much with A/C Delco batteries as I mostly just used Duralast batteries other than one time trying out the cheapo A/C Delco aftermarket equivalent battery that didn't last long.

Tried a Walmart Everstart battery once and it lasted less than a year.

 

I get your point (I think)! HOWEVER, ac delco "professional" doesn't mean it's the same as delco OE. the term "professional" is a clever marketing, play on words. delco "professional" is not made by delco, but a third party manufacturer meeting GM or delco specs for the part and wrapped in a delco package. same applies for delco OE. today, delco is making fewer and fewer parts, and outsourcing more and more. I wouldn't bet that delco "professional" and delco OE are made by the same company. in fact, i'd bet that GM/delco has contracts with several different battery manufacturers/suppliers. they are not getting all their eggs from the same basket!

i'm not saying delco batteries are bad. what i'm trying to say is, batteries are batteries are batteries, and OE is not any better than a good quality, aftermarket battery. your wal-mart/everstart thing, very well could be an isolated incident. I have a Wal-Mart everstart-maxx battery in my 90 corvette with a date sticker of 7/10 (july 2010) - six years old, and doesn't seem to have issues.

 

I don't know the ends and outs of the A/C Delco battery and OEM GM battery thing as it's been several years since I looked into it. But years ago was told at the dealer that the top end A/C Delco battery was the exact same thing as what goes in new production GM cars. So it would be an OEM type battery. As I recall a long long time ago people would say the battery from the factory lasted the longest than any aftermarket battery. i.e. the OEM battery was special that you couldn't get in the aftermarket as GM needed the OEM battery to last for warranty reasons.

And I recall others saying at the time the high end A/C Delco batteries were equivalent to OEM GM batteries that were put into new factory cars. But that could have all been BS or what I don't know. I'm sure there are people out there in the know who know if the top end A/C Delco batteries are the same as the batteries that get put into brand new GM vehicles.

But I've not really looked at A/C Delco in a while. I usually just use Duralast as those have lasted the longest of any other battery I've tried.

The cheapo A/C Delco battery I tried once, I think it lasted 2 years before I started having random cold start issues that cleared up during the following summer, then came back that following winter. And that went on for a while during 2nd winter till I got tired of it and just got another Duralast battery that's been working just fine over 3 years now.

I'd say look for a battery that had the highest cold cranking amps and longest full replacement warranty you felt like spending.

 

This is a no brainier, Walmart one year warranty $48, the parts stores are over $100, two or three year warranty a little more but a lot cheaper than the part stores, if any of those becomes defective it will be replaced so why pay more. I recently bought a one year at Walmart for $48 and it was more than $100 at Advance and they both are made in Mexico.

 

You do understand the very simple concept that just because they came out of the same shop does NOT mean that they are made to the same specs, right? You do realize that I can make a premium line vs an "OK" line, all in the same company, right? I do private labeling myself and depending on what specs you require of the item, and therefore what you pay, the active ingredient/ingredients can vary in quantity. You want 15%? $X. 20% $X plus more.

 

I have used a Wal*Mart battery for my ATVs before. Yes, they will warranty them if you keep the receipt. Yes, it is your time and effort. On my Powerstroke, I have a pair of batteries that are the top of the line from Ford. Why pay more although I can get a set from Batteries Plus or whatever for less? Because I don't like to have down time and do as much as I can to avoid it. I don't like to be somewhere getting ready to have fun and having to run around and find the nearest Batteries Plus or just buying some junk since there isn't a Batteries Plus is nearby. True, any battery can fail. What I have noticed is that the other batteries seem to have higher failure rates than the Ford ones.

 

Every AC Delco Ive bought in the last 15 yrs never lasted more than 1 yr. Back in the 80s those things would last seemingly forever
Interstate so far been Ok
gave up on Optimas....Im not paying close to $200 for a battery if it did the dishes

Bought another AC few mos back as I needed one that day and the store carried no other brand. We'll see...

 

I had a brand new 91 Firebird. Delco died in 3 months. 3 months later, another Delco death. Each time we checked alternator and charging. That last one died about 6 or 7 years later. My last Delco lasted 3 years but I can't blame it. Bad alternator. The Diehard, IIRC had to be replaced under warranty. Haven't tried Optima yet. I wasn't impressed with Interstate lasting 2 years on the truck. I figure if I get 4 years, it is time to replace.

 

yes, I realize that, and understand the concept, that why I said in one of my previous posts -
as far as OE batteries and the quality, I've had more than one that lasted only a couple months AFTER the new car, 3 year/36K mile warrantee expired. my final word on this - batteries are pretty much the same. there are only a few battery companies that actually manufacture batteries, and you can get a good/better/best within each line. for anyone to say any particular battery is superior to another is just someone's opinion, and we all know about opinions!

 

I've seen just about every brand of battery fail after enough time, but what matters is who stands behind them if they do fail early, and for how long they will stand behind them. This is what matters!

AutoZone does NOT stand behind their batteries... They try and skirt their warranty in states that allow such warranties to be invalidated when ownership transfers. They will spend thousands on attorneys rather than do the right thing, which cost less.

I wouldn't pee on AutoZone to put out a fire!

That said, a good battery has a good warranty with a good company backing it up. If it's their battery and it's within the warranty period branded into the battery they will cover and or pro-rate it. No questions asked.

 

That is why I try pay for everything I have with Amex. It doesn't take much for Amex to get involved. One phone call to dispute the charge and they jump to action and the other party is soon talking to you or the dispute sticks.

Kinda like blaming the lawyer for exploiting a perfectly LEGAL loophole that you were too lazy and/or stupid to close after the first time. If your state doesn't stipulate that they must transfer the warranty, either move to a state that does, change the law or suck it up.

Yes, getting fired does make one feel that way, no?

And within the terms, sure. Unfortunately, if you replace a battery for a customer that wasn't within those terms, you DID violate their policy and deserve to be fired. The decision was NOT your's to make. State says they don't have to, they don't have to. When in Rome....