best vendor for 2013 vw passat 2.5 replacement battery

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Sep 14, 2015
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my battery is original but tests fine according to trusted vw dealership as of yesterday when passat got its 90k service. still i'm thinking of a preemptive replacement because of its age and it sits for 4-6 weeks regularly (impossible to trickle charge at my apartment) when i'm (was) flying abroad and to sw.

i'm a total newbie on car batteries despite reading the good information here, so i am just asking about which vendor is best to trust for a decent battery, correct installation and an easy nationwide guaranty? i (used to) drive my passat alot around east of the mississippi and i plan to relocate so having the latter is important to me.

vw dealership and batteries+ offer top of the line, recommended battery for $200, or aaa for $160. it seems that wm is leaving the car care business and i'm not a costco member. i rather not deal with military px anymore for car care because when bases lockdown i'm then s.o.o.l. in an emergency.

thanks for your advice!
 
Did some research on batteries for limited use cars and I am now converting the fun fleet to Advance Auto Platinum AGM's as I replace them. First ones were done in 16 and still going strong, test as new.
 
If the car sits so much, Id look at an AGM and a maintenance charger for when you have the chance. Deka makes a good one AGM, battery minder makes a good charger, as does NOCO and CTEK. I had great experiences with them even on old euro cars with weaker alternators and lower voltage regulation.

AGM has lower self-discharge. The car has some parasitics, and the battery loses some charge internally. AGM can tolerate both better.

Id want a battery with the most reserve capacity (RC) and total capacity in Ampere-Hours (Ah).

Id top it up with AC power from home when you have a chance, as an alternator never fully charges the battery.

If youre that concerned, you could carry an additional battery and jumper cables (since it is disconnected, it will lose charge less), or a jump pack (which is more money for less capacity). You might just not return your old one, if in good condition and not leaking anywhere (clean it with baking soda-water and then pledge). Keep it topped up when at home and then keep it in your trunk when parking the car.

You could also look at a battery disconnect switch. This will remove the battery parasitic draws...But could also remove ECU, transmission and other control system memory data...
 
If it checked fine yesterday, I wouldn't be concerned. I'd check it again it 6 months. I have a battery checker i paid about $25 for and I use it every 6 months on my batteries.
I no longer get stranded. BUT, if it is a 7-8 year old battery, you would not be making a bad decision to replace it.


I only buy my batteries from the dealer.
 
I thought it was in Canada that Walmart was leaving TLE? I've not heard of them leaving in the USA, maybe I missed that memo.

If it was me I'd probably just go to Walmart. Then again, if you have 7 years out of the OEM battery, there's something said there (if it's the same manufacturer). Just buy another one and forget about it for 7 more years.

Didn't VW used to ship cars with solar cells that went in the windshield to top off the battery? I wonder if you could get something like that, shouldn't need that much light to keep the battery from discharging too much.
 
I replaced the 4.5yr old OEM battery in my Chevy with an Autocraft battery from Advance Auto Parts.

My parents both needed new batteries recently (one Ford, one Toyota) and we did it at home with Champion batteries from Pep Boys.

All of the new batteries were manufactured by Johnson Controls. They have been just fine.

I always try to balance price, warranty, and ease of getting a replacement under warranty if needed.
 
I'd replace it when it goes bad... I don't understand the whole replace because it might fail scheme...

VW replacement batteries are not that expensive, the ones I've seen recently are johnson controls... compare specs then weight then warranty.
 
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followup. my german-american passat’s mexican battery died at home last saturday. no warning but no complaints as it was 7 yrs old. easiest and most decent solution was aaa, all done in one hour after call, $165, interstate, great warranty good that is valid anyplace in usa.
 
it sits for 4-6 weeks regularly (impossible to trickle charge at my apartment)
VW's come, or they used to come, with solar chargers from the factory that stick on the inside of the windshield and plug into the OBD2 socket so after sitting months at the factory or dealer lots, the battery would still be charged. They usually get sent back to the factory to be reused but some come up for sale on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-Volkswa...895420?hash=item1cfc3c503c:g:1i0AAOSwVs1f24ax
 
followup. my german-american passat’s mexican battery died at home last saturday. no warning but no complaints as it was 7 yrs old. easiest and most decent solution was aaa, all done in one hour after call, $165, interstate, great warranty good that is valid anyplace in usa.
Interstate does not manufacture batteries but markets batteries manufactured by several companies. Would not want an Interstate battery manufactured by Exide.
 
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