Battery pricing

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Sep 6, 2013
Messages
1,198
Location
Zimbabwe
Is it all going to be roughly the same at auto parts stores? I'm not buying costco's batteries before anyone says that, they do not have the CCA needed.

I'm looking at a gold level battery for my car before this winter. Maybe platinum if they happened to have one on clearance. Not sure where to start looking for good prices.
 
I check consumers report and buy the best battery I can find. Cars are so reliable these days it has been either a bad battery for flat tire that caused a problem.
Once I decide on a battery i watch for it to go on sale and change them at 4 to five years.
I live in Florida
 
Think about warranty.Do you want to trudge to a Costco or Wal Mart in February during a zero degree blizzard? Stick to a closeby auto parts store that has been in business for a number of years,not an X brand that could be gone in 6 months.Namely like a Car Quest,that just got bought out by Advance Auto.
 
Advance auto has coupons online they routinely save 40 off 100 or so, and also have batteries made by JCI. Best bet unless you want an AGM, then I would go to batteries plus.
 
Define dont have the CCA needed, please. Sorry, that doesnt add up to me. What does the OM spec? Do you realize there is a tradeoff in power and energy?
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Define dont have the CCA needed, please. Sorry, that doesnt add up to me. What does the OM spec? Do you realize there is a tradeoff in power and energy?


do explain, I have never really understood battery specs other then the basic battery we learn in college chemistry course & attempt to produce in chem lab.
 
If you are a AAA member, they have mobile battery service. They come to you, test your car's electrical system and battery. If you need a battery, they have one for most cars, and will install it right there. As I recall, it was competitive with the top-line battery at PB and AAP.
 
Originally Posted By: 2cool
If you are a AAA member, they have mobile battery service. They come to you, test your car's electrical system and battery. If you need a battery, they have one for most cars, and will install it right there. As I recall, it was competitive with the top-line battery at PB and AAP.


if the specs & price match AAP with the online coupon then only is that a good idea, otherwise your talking about a ridiculous cost there.
 
CCA is short for Cold Cranking Amps, and it determines how much current the battery can deliver to the car. Batteries can't deliver as current in cold weather as they do in warm weather, that is why someone created the Cold Cranking Amps rating system.

Anyway, I do not try to save any money on batteries. I buy the most expensive Deka/East Penn/Carquest conventional battery that fits my car, because they last the longest.

Also, if you want much more CCA, maybe you need an AGM battery, or a battery relocation kit that also allows the installation of a more powerful battery.
 
Not all AGMs are made equal, some do not have much more CCA than the same size flooded, others much more so. The group 31 Odyssey/ DHplatinum has 1150CCA

I have a group 27 Northstar rated at 930 CCA, and it cranks my engine faster than two full charged marine 27's at 650 CCA each did in parallel. I think that is why Odyssey created a 'Pulse cranking amp' figure that few others use.

Scary Quick, especially with a warm engine. Merest blip of the starter and boom its running.

My Flooded group 31 battery can't do it a third as fast, but it is a deep cycle with only 620CCA.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Define dont have the CCA needed, please. Sorry, that doesnt add up to me. What does the OM spec? Do you realize there is a tradeoff in power and energy?


Costco batteries here are equivalent to standard entry level batteries, 550CCA max I believe. My current 550CCA battery struggled a bit last winter at only 2 years old, it'd be nice to have more headroom.
 
Be sure and check the date on the battery. Try to get one that is dated in the current month/year. If they are in a battery rack, the battery at the back of the row may be the newest.
 
Around here Costco, Walmart, and Autozone are pretty good places to buy batteries. Advanced is also good when they run a special.

All batteries are pretty much the same, its the warranty that you want to buy.
 
The problem I see with Costco (but not Walmart) is (if I remember correctly) if you want to use their warranty, you need to be their member at the time you ask for help. I don't like that a bit.
 
Simply choose the brand with the longest non pro rated warranty. As noted above^^^^, who needs a warranty with too many strings?

Brand means little, warranty and hassle free service if you need it are everything...
 
Last edited:
So should I just spend a day going around to auto stores and stores like sears or other large multi-purpose (not even sure what these are called) and go back to the one with the best warranty at the end of the day?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top