Battery Opinions

[Mort Corey]

Need to get a new battery for my granddaughters 04 Grand Am in the near future. Any ideas of good (or bad) brands? Cost won't be any factor (hey, it's grandpa) just don't want to end up with something that's prone to problems.

Thanks

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Battery Opinions

Costco is where we get our batteries, good prices, good return policy if there should be any problems.

[hoghead00]

Re: Battery Opinions

Consumer Reports just had an article on automotive batteries in their January or February? issue, that might be helpful. I don't recall who they had top ranked though. I think it depended on which battery style you were looking at. All this assuming your a Consumer Reports believer.... I use it more as a guide than gospel....

[roushstage2]

Re: Battery Opinions

I bought an 875 CCA Everstart Maxx from Wal-Mart about 6 years ago for my truck and it is still going strong. My Motorcraft battery is the original in my car and it still goes strong too.

[Andy M.]

Re: Battery Opinions

The best battery I have ever had was made by Interstate. This thing never failed me. Right now though I have a Die Hard Gold battery in the Impala, from Sears. They have a great return policy also. This is about the 3rd one I have had from Sears. Different vehicles though. Die Hard is almost as good as Interstate just a little cheaper.

Andy
101impala

[guitarman502]

Re: Battery Opinions

i bought a optima red top for my old vehicle cause I had my nice stereo. Some friends of mine own the Interstate Batteries distribution here in WV so thats naturally what we go with.

[PorscheGuy997]

Re: Battery Opinions

Yeah, Optima batteries are nice, but expensive.

The Porsche has a Red Top that's now eight years old and going strong - had it tested in the fall and it turned out perfect.

I've heard Optima batteries take longer to charge if they go dead, though.

[Tim Lingor]

Re: Battery Opinions

Yeah, Optima batteries are nice, but expensive.

The Porsche has a Red Top that's now eight years old and going strong - had it tested in the fall and it turned out perfect.

I've heard Optima batteries take longer to charge if they go dead, though.

I have owned many Optimas over the years. They are excellent batteries. However, I switched brands. The Optimas actually charge much faster than regular batteries. But the reason I switched however is that when they die, they do it with little warning, at least all of the ones I have had.


Tim

[Jeepster04]

Re: Battery Opinions

Ive got an optima that will be 3yrs old this fall and its never let me down.

Ive ran it down twice and it seems to be just fine.

Brother just got one for his Jeep but its not even a year old so I cannot comment on his. I know they went up around $50 since Ive gotten mine though.

[23lebron23]

Re: Battery Opinions

Sears DieHard are very good. Also all batteries come with 1, 2, or 3 year free replacements and prorated warranties up to 100 months. So don't worry about it.

[AeroCleanse]

Re: Battery Opinions

I like the Optima Batteries.

[Nappers]

Re: Battery Opinions

IMHO,

I've used Exide batteries and they lasted a long time, sell at Schmucks/Kragen/Checker (at least Schucks). They are under a different name brand but made by Exide. I have a Walmart battery in the Yukon as it bit the dust when I was poor and it still works fine. A lot of options for you.

Aaron

[smokin]

Re: Battery Opinions

Everstart has very good battery

[Mort Corey]

Re: Battery Opinions

Thanks for all the tips. I've never heard of the Optima (guess I lead a sheltered life) but it sounds pretty impressive. The battery in the car we gave her for Xmas is about 3+ years old so I figure time is probably running short. Did have all the other wearable (tires, brakes, belts, hoses, plugs, etc) replaced before we gave it to her, so this ought to be the last piece....then she can buy her own stuff. Then again.....maybe a dead battery could be considered a safety feature for a teenage driver

Mort

[brickyardz]

Re: Battery Opinions

Optima batteries are good batteries from the research I did last year but some say Oddessy batteries are better. Both are dry cell type batteries but are much more expensive than your normal led acid battery, by 2x to 3x.

The brands mentioned are all worthy of consideration. In the end I purchased a Napa battery. One of the things I seemed to notice is the CCA (cold cranking amps) were lower on some models of the Optima batteries than the led acid ones so I wasn't getting the same amount of power. I also figured with a typical led acid battery usually lasting 4 to 5 years and the Optima's lasting around 8 years it would still be cheaper for me to buy 2 led acid batteries than 1 optima. The Optima for my car was $150 to $180 and the Napa battery I purchased was under $70. So even if in 4 years I need to replace it again and the price has gone up some I will have paid about the same or less than the Optima cost and had more CCA amps than the Optima. Since the battery is only used for starting the car and I could defer some of the cost over the 8 years by buying 2 led acid batteries I didn't really see that much of an advantage to the Optima at least for me.

all batteries come with a warranty, which I have also used, so you will get something off a new one if it happens to die pre-maturely. It's all really dependent on personal preference and your needs. I think any of the choices presented will be a good one as I have never in all my years ever had any real issues with a battery, they have all lasted at least 4+ years, even for one not rated that long.