Who is Good for Batteries Nows?
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Originally Posted by wdn
Interstate never manufactured their own batteries, they were a reseller of Johnson Controls manufacture batteries built to Interstate's specs.
I've seen Exide made Interstates at the local Firestone not too long ago.
I have a O'Reilly-branded Deka AGM in my car, if this battery makes beyond the 4 year mark I'll be happy. The Optima that was there before croaked in 3 years. For my application, it's the only American-made AGM. The JCI options are made in Mexico or Korea. The parents have a AAA-branded Deka 24F in one of their cars as well. No leaks, unlike the JCI crap I have to spray down with battery cleaner and rinse off every few months.
The local transit authority seems to like Deka as well. I saw one of their buses fly down the freeway with an open battery door. I saw two Dekas in there.
Interstate never manufactured their own batteries, they were a reseller of Johnson Controls manufacture batteries built to Interstate's specs.
I've seen Exide made Interstates at the local Firestone not too long ago.
I have a O'Reilly-branded Deka AGM in my car, if this battery makes beyond the 4 year mark I'll be happy. The Optima that was there before croaked in 3 years. For my application, it's the only American-made AGM. The JCI options are made in Mexico or Korea. The parents have a AAA-branded Deka 24F in one of their cars as well. No leaks, unlike the JCI crap I have to spray down with battery cleaner and rinse off every few months.
The local transit authority seems to like Deka as well. I saw one of their buses fly down the freeway with an open battery door. I saw two Dekas in there.
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
I usually default to Motorcraft, but then again I work at a dealer so its easy for me in case anything goes wrong.
Same reason I always got batteries at Meijer..I work there...
They were East Penn/ Deka batteries, but alas... We no longer carry auto batteries....
Which sucked last spring when mom's Taurus needed a new battery.... ( Of course 2 weeks after I traded in the Sable with a 6 mo old battery) did my research, found that Napa batteries are East Penn, and at that time, they were running 20%off for AAA members... SOLD!
I usually default to Motorcraft, but then again I work at a dealer so its easy for me in case anything goes wrong.
Same reason I always got batteries at Meijer..I work there...
They were East Penn/ Deka batteries, but alas... We no longer carry auto batteries....
Which sucked last spring when mom's Taurus needed a new battery.... ( Of course 2 weeks after I traded in the Sable with a 6 mo old battery) did my research, found that Napa batteries are East Penn, and at that time, they were running 20%off for AAA members... SOLD!
I've only once had a battery last than six years in my 40 years of driving. It was a WalMart and it failed because the alternator had also failed. WM replaced for free.
I buy based on cost, so all my batteries are either WM, Advance Auto Parts or Autozone house brands. All depends on who has the best coupon at the time I need one. If you keep them wet and topped off I have found that all batteries are pretty good.
I buy based on cost, so all my batteries are either WM, Advance Auto Parts or Autozone house brands. All depends on who has the best coupon at the time I need one. If you keep them wet and topped off I have found that all batteries are pretty good.
I've got a Batteries Plus Bulbs pure lead AGM that is a rebranded Northstar and it has been outstanding in my older Jeep, handling all the drain I can throw at it, including winching. They are expensive, but if you order online for in-store pickup, you get 10% off right off the bat. I highly recommend it. I think it is one of the top batteries on the market.
Correction.....A 20% coupon just popped up on their website for auto batteries ordered online and picked up at the store. They install for free, too, and use an auxillary power device to keep you from having to reset your radio and climate control settings. They did this with my Jeep.
It is called an X2Power battery and it has 2 years more warranty than Northstar's own branding. Northstar's warranty is 3 years and Batteries Plus Bulbs is 5 years free replacement. It is advertised as 28 times more vibration resistant than a standard lead-acid battery.
The discount puts it around 230 bucks. That's a great deal on a battery of this quality and capability.
If you want a battery to last more than a few years, this is your best bet, or maybe an Odyssey, but you'll pay more for the Odyssey and it is no better.
This battery is made in the US, too.
It is called an X2Power battery and it has 2 years more warranty than Northstar's own branding. Northstar's warranty is 3 years and Batteries Plus Bulbs is 5 years free replacement. It is advertised as 28 times more vibration resistant than a standard lead-acid battery.
The discount puts it around 230 bucks. That's a great deal on a battery of this quality and capability.
If you want a battery to last more than a few years, this is your best bet, or maybe an Odyssey, but you'll pay more for the Odyssey and it is no better.
This battery is made in the US, too.
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Alright, managed to snag 20% off on an online NAPA coupon if I bought 3 items. I stuck on an oil filter and fuel filter onto the order, so got the battery down to $145.99 w/the core charge($18).
Seems like that's a battery that will serve me well, and hopefully will last me until I'm ready to move on to another car. I'm hoping to get another 4-5 years out of this one...
In any case, as I said a maintainer isn't really a realistic option for me now unless I want to pull the battery off everything I'm not driving. It's actually quite an unusual for this particular car to sit as much as it has been the past few weeks. Even at that, it hasn't gone more than 2-3 days at a time without being driven, and I think I still managed to rack up probably 300 miles on it last week. As I said, even if I've been running around town in a different car the past few weeks, anything out of town is almost always done in this car. Once the weather turns cold, it's likely that it will only spend a few days a month sitting(unless by some miracle the Marina is roadworthy this winter, but it's still not going out on salt). I can't imagine a maintainer being necessary for those kind of conditions.
Seems like that's a battery that will serve me well, and hopefully will last me until I'm ready to move on to another car. I'm hoping to get another 4-5 years out of this one...
In any case, as I said a maintainer isn't really a realistic option for me now unless I want to pull the battery off everything I'm not driving. It's actually quite an unusual for this particular car to sit as much as it has been the past few weeks. Even at that, it hasn't gone more than 2-3 days at a time without being driven, and I think I still managed to rack up probably 300 miles on it last week. As I said, even if I've been running around town in a different car the past few weeks, anything out of town is almost always done in this car. Once the weather turns cold, it's likely that it will only spend a few days a month sitting(unless by some miracle the Marina is roadworthy this winter, but it's still not going out on salt). I can't imagine a maintainer being necessary for those kind of conditions.
If you have a modern vehicle, with keyless entry, etc.-a solar maintainer is an absolute must-have, HF & Northern Tool both sell them pretty cheap, I've gotten them for $25 or so. The Ram in my sig actually has TWO of them on the dash, one hooked up to each battery.
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
I usually default to Motorcraft, but then again I work at a dealer so its easy for me in case anything goes wrong.
It may or probably varies by battery size/model but when I was looking at replacing the one in our Fusion, the Motorcraft version seemed to be made by Johnson Controls.
I usually default to Motorcraft, but then again I work at a dealer so its easy for me in case anything goes wrong.
It may or probably varies by battery size/model but when I was looking at replacing the one in our Fusion, the Motorcraft version seemed to be made by Johnson Controls.
Originally Posted by wdn
Interstate never manufactured their own batteries, they were a reseller of Johnson Controls manufacture batteries built to Interstate's specs.
I think it's more accurate to say Interstate proposes the specs they'd like to see and the battery manufacturer comes back and says "our existing model line 'XX' meets or exceeds all of your specs" and in some cases there may be "except this one spec" and Interstate says "fine, we'll take 'em". It's not cost-effective for a battery manufacturer to custom-build batteries when they have existing models that are "close enough".
Interstate never manufactured their own batteries, they were a reseller of Johnson Controls manufacture batteries built to Interstate's specs.
I think it's more accurate to say Interstate proposes the specs they'd like to see and the battery manufacturer comes back and says "our existing model line 'XX' meets or exceeds all of your specs" and in some cases there may be "except this one spec" and Interstate says "fine, we'll take 'em". It's not cost-effective for a battery manufacturer to custom-build batteries when they have existing models that are "close enough".
Since we are on the Subject..
Napa- (East Penn) $159.99 96R 60
Rural King (Exide) $84.99 96R 60
The 96R is for the 2010 MKZ...
Is the East Penn really $70 better?
Napa- (East Penn) $159.99 96R 60
Rural King (Exide) $84.99 96R 60
The 96R is for the 2010 MKZ...
Is the East Penn really $70 better?
I bite the bullet and buy Motorcraft for my Fords. Costly? Yes. Good Batteries? Yes.
Originally Posted by Elkins45
I've only once had a battery last than six years in my 40 years of driving. It was a WalMart and it failed because the alternator had also failed. WM replaced for free.
I buy based on cost, so all my batteries are either WM, Advance Auto Parts or Autozone house brands. All depends on who has the best coupon at the time I need one. If you keep them wet and topped off I have found that all batteries are pretty good.
I'm coming up on 12 years on my AGM battery. I have a voltage display in my car so I've just been keeping an eye on the voltage the last few years. Doesn't seem to have degraded much over the last couple years so I'll see how much longer it lasts. How long a battery lasts is some determined by what area of the country you're in as heat will kill a battery so in cooler climates, batteries last much longer.
As for overpaying for a particular battery, I wouldn't bother, that's just padding the seller's bottom line, doesn't mean it's a better battery especially when there's only 3 makers out there.
Have you guys checked out Pepboys? They have a $40 rebate on their Champion battery and it's also 25% off. But they go as high as 40% off during black friday. Champion is JC.
I've only once had a battery last than six years in my 40 years of driving. It was a WalMart and it failed because the alternator had also failed. WM replaced for free.
I buy based on cost, so all my batteries are either WM, Advance Auto Parts or Autozone house brands. All depends on who has the best coupon at the time I need one. If you keep them wet and topped off I have found that all batteries are pretty good.
I'm coming up on 12 years on my AGM battery. I have a voltage display in my car so I've just been keeping an eye on the voltage the last few years. Doesn't seem to have degraded much over the last couple years so I'll see how much longer it lasts. How long a battery lasts is some determined by what area of the country you're in as heat will kill a battery so in cooler climates, batteries last much longer.
As for overpaying for a particular battery, I wouldn't bother, that's just padding the seller's bottom line, doesn't mean it's a better battery especially when there's only 3 makers out there.
Have you guys checked out Pepboys? They have a $40 rebate on their Champion battery and it's also 25% off. But they go as high as 40% off during black friday. Champion is JC.
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
I usually default to Motorcraft, but then again I work at a dealer so its easy for me in case anything goes wrong.
It may or probably varies by battery size/model but when I was looking at replacing the one in our Fusion, the Motorcraft version seemed to be made by Johnson Controls.
What year Fusion? My mom's 14 came with the BXT-90T5-500 which after 5 years was just starting to crank a bit slow. I replaced it with a BAGM-48H6-760 which fit nicely in the factory tray. Just slid the holddown to the next slot down. I had to replace the negative terminal, which is serviceable on these, since there was a funky science experiment going on.
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
I usually default to Motorcraft, but then again I work at a dealer so its easy for me in case anything goes wrong.
It may or probably varies by battery size/model but when I was looking at replacing the one in our Fusion, the Motorcraft version seemed to be made by Johnson Controls.
What year Fusion? My mom's 14 came with the BXT-90T5-500 which after 5 years was just starting to crank a bit slow. I replaced it with a BAGM-48H6-760 which fit nicely in the factory tray. Just slid the holddown to the next slot down. I had to replace the negative terminal, which is serviceable on these, since there was a funky science experiment going on.
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
I usually default to Motorcraft, but then again I work at a dealer so its easy for me in case anything goes wrong.
It may or probably varies by battery size/model but when I was looking at replacing the one in our Fusion, the Motorcraft version seemed to be made by Johnson Controls.
What year Fusion? My mom's 14 came with the BXT-90T5-500 which after 5 years was just starting to crank a bit slow. I replaced it with a BAGM-48H6-760 which fit nicely in the factory tray. Just slid the holddown to the next slot down. I had to replace the negative terminal, which is serviceable on these, since there was a funky science experiment going on.
A 2014 here too. I "upgraded" to the start/stop model (AGM) group size as well - 48H6 but I got it at Advance Auto Parts (caught a sale plus a coupon so it was in the $140-150 range for the final price). I priced the Motorcraft AGM at a local dealer and the parts guy told me "it won't fit". Sad that I knew it would, that the start/stop models came with this battery. They wanted close to $200 for people like me. I'm sure you got it cheaper than that though !
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
Originally Posted by bdcardinal
I usually default to Motorcraft, but then again I work at a dealer so its easy for me in case anything goes wrong.
It may or probably varies by battery size/model but when I was looking at replacing the one in our Fusion, the Motorcraft version seemed to be made by Johnson Controls.
What year Fusion? My mom's 14 came with the BXT-90T5-500 which after 5 years was just starting to crank a bit slow. I replaced it with a BAGM-48H6-760 which fit nicely in the factory tray. Just slid the holddown to the next slot down. I had to replace the negative terminal, which is serviceable on these, since there was a funky science experiment going on.
A 2014 here too. I "upgraded" to the start/stop model (AGM) group size as well - 48H6 but I got it at Advance Auto Parts (caught a sale plus a coupon so it was in the $140-150 range for the final price). I priced the Motorcraft AGM at a local dealer and the parts guy told me "it won't fit". Sad that I knew it would, that the start/stop models came with this battery. They wanted close to $200 for people like me. I'm sure you got it cheaper than that though !
Originally Posted by krismoriah72
Since we are on the Subject..
Napa- (East Penn) $159.99 96R 60
Rural King (Exide) $84.99 96R 60
The 96R is for the 2010 MKZ...
Is the East Penn really $70 better?
The NAPA price is completely "artificial". They just have a crap-ton of profit margin built into that price. Check Batteries Plus, Sam's or Costco (if you don't have a membership, don't bother), and other places that sell (private-label) East Penn. I'm 100% confident you'll find EP batteries in that same size much cheaper than $160. If the Duracell-branded battery at Batteries Plus is made by EP (it should be), they want $125.
Since we are on the Subject..
Napa- (East Penn) $159.99 96R 60
Rural King (Exide) $84.99 96R 60
The 96R is for the 2010 MKZ...
Is the East Penn really $70 better?
The NAPA price is completely "artificial". They just have a crap-ton of profit margin built into that price. Check Batteries Plus, Sam's or Costco (if you don't have a membership, don't bother), and other places that sell (private-label) East Penn. I'm 100% confident you'll find EP batteries in that same size much cheaper than $160. If the Duracell-branded battery at Batteries Plus is made by EP (it should be), they want $125.
I now have the NAPA in my possession, and with 20% off it was $126 including sales tax(after taking off the core charge).
The $125 Duracell mentioned above would be $132.50 with sales tax. NAPA is most convenient to me. I love Rural King, but that's also a 1 hour round trip that I really don't have time to waste now.
So, I think I did alright with a good battery for under $130 that I could go and get on my lunch break at work.
Thanks again for all the help.
The $125 Duracell mentioned above would be $132.50 with sales tax. NAPA is most convenient to me. I love Rural King, but that's also a 1 hour round trip that I really don't have time to waste now.
So, I think I did alright with a good battery for under $130 that I could go and get on my lunch break at work.
Thanks again for all the help.
Not a bad price at all.
Different application, but I had an Interstate deep cycle battery fail this summer. Was mfg'd in 2008.
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