I was at Wal-Mat the other day looking for a battery for my Citroen 2CV. This car takes a smaller than normal sized battery and Wal-Mart does not list this car in their database. But I did pull up the dimensions on my phone from a British website in millimeters. The women did not have a tape measure so I told her I'd have to measure the battery on my car and come back.
Unlike allot of cars, this car will actually turn over on 12 volts. Most cars will not turn over at all below 12.6 volts. Mine must have a dead cell but it doesn't take that many cold cranking amps or volts to turn a 600cc 2 cylinder engine over.
I noticed Wal-Mart is selling a cheaper version called ValuePower for around $50. They have a one year warranty.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/VP-65-Battery...742&veh=sem
Any of you guys tried these yet? The link above has 69 reviews with 5 stars.
Batteries are being made cheaper and cheaper. I remember 25 years ago you could get a new battery with a 5 year warranty for less than $50. Now a battery with a 2 year warranty cost over a hundred dollars. No doubt they are going from solid lead plates to lead coated plastic plates that flake off and die all of a sudden.
I've always wondered if more expensive batteries (with longer warranties) are really that much better. Are you paying for a better battery or just a pro-rated replacement warranty? Pro-rated warranties are a rip off anyway.
And if the battery goes flat (like leaving your headlights on), if you don't recharge it within a couple of days, it won't hold a charge for more than a week. Maybe that's just the norm with batteries that are not the deep cycle type.
Two things I've done in the past to extend the life of a battery past it's warranty. Top off the cells with distilled water every year. Connect a trickle charger to the battery while the car is not driven within a week. Such as in the case if you have a classic car that is not driven at all during the winter.
I even hook a trickle charger to my Subaru's battery in the summer because I'm usually driving one of my classic cars during the summer and the Subaru sits in the garage mostly from April to November. It's almost 15 years old and has only 78,000 miles on it!
The original battery on my Subaru lasted 5 years and the second battery lasted about 7. I think the current battery has been on the car for almost 4 years.
What is the typical life of a battery with a 2 year warranty? Does 2 years mean it's guaranteed to last at least 2 years or anything past 2 years is living no borrowed time?
Unlike allot of cars, this car will actually turn over on 12 volts. Most cars will not turn over at all below 12.6 volts. Mine must have a dead cell but it doesn't take that many cold cranking amps or volts to turn a 600cc 2 cylinder engine over.
I noticed Wal-Mart is selling a cheaper version called ValuePower for around $50. They have a one year warranty.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/VP-65-Battery...742&veh=sem
Any of you guys tried these yet? The link above has 69 reviews with 5 stars.
Batteries are being made cheaper and cheaper. I remember 25 years ago you could get a new battery with a 5 year warranty for less than $50. Now a battery with a 2 year warranty cost over a hundred dollars. No doubt they are going from solid lead plates to lead coated plastic plates that flake off and die all of a sudden.
I've always wondered if more expensive batteries (with longer warranties) are really that much better. Are you paying for a better battery or just a pro-rated replacement warranty? Pro-rated warranties are a rip off anyway.
And if the battery goes flat (like leaving your headlights on), if you don't recharge it within a couple of days, it won't hold a charge for more than a week. Maybe that's just the norm with batteries that are not the deep cycle type.
Two things I've done in the past to extend the life of a battery past it's warranty. Top off the cells with distilled water every year. Connect a trickle charger to the battery while the car is not driven within a week. Such as in the case if you have a classic car that is not driven at all during the winter.
I even hook a trickle charger to my Subaru's battery in the summer because I'm usually driving one of my classic cars during the summer and the Subaru sits in the garage mostly from April to November. It's almost 15 years old and has only 78,000 miles on it!
The original battery on my Subaru lasted 5 years and the second battery lasted about 7. I think the current battery has been on the car for almost 4 years.
What is the typical life of a battery with a 2 year warranty? Does 2 years mean it's guaranteed to last at least 2 years or anything past 2 years is living no borrowed time?