PebHmong Discussion Forum

Hobbies & Interests => Automotive Discussion => Topic started by: SummerBerry on June 02, 2016, 11:03:12 AM

Title: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: SummerBerry on June 02, 2016, 11:03:12 AM
I need a new car battery.  My 9 yo drained the car battery one weekend starting Friday evening after coming home from the park.  Like 8/9 pm and didnt shut the passenger door.  We didnt go anywhere but Saturday late like 9/10pm I went to start the other car to go grocery shopping at Walmart and noticed the door on my Highlander wasn't shut.  I closed it but Monday morning when I took my daughter to school the car won't start so I had one of my neighbor cable jump it.  Yesterday I picked my kids from school we was stranded but walked to our good old neighbor for help.  This morning I couldn't start the car to drop my kids off at school.  Today is their last day of school and look like I might have to walk to picked them up. 

I did a few shopping prior to being stranded and each time I put the key into the ignition to start I can tell it feel weak each time like it will give out or something.

My husband told me the battery won't be good once it is jump.  The car is only 6 years old and has 63k mileage on it.  I believed the battery is still good if my kids didnt do what they did and if someone went into the garage and noticed it early vs almost 24+ hrs later. 

My choice is either Costco or Big O Tires. 
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Superan on June 02, 2016, 11:07:33 AM
These are the best battery. Use to be cheaper but like everything else, inflation!

http://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us/shop/yellowtop/optima-batteries-8014-045-d34-78-yellowtop-starting-and-deep-cycle?gclid=CIun28zcic0CFQMQaQodYBIIBA (http://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us/shop/yellowtop/optima-batteries-8014-045-d34-78-yellowtop-starting-and-deep-cycle?gclid=CIun28zcic0CFQMQaQodYBIIBA)

Most places sell good battery, you should look at the warranty and cold star up amp. Don't go cheap.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Sifu on June 02, 2016, 11:17:42 AM
Nowadays most batteries are just rebranded products from other places (China).  I've always had good results with DieHard or Interstate batteries (same company I believe).  Even Walmart batteries (Everhard? Lol) work pretty good for the money.  Optima are nice but I've seen them fail too.

I'm in the boat of getting the best battery with the longest warranty for the price.  Battery makers have been getting better with their life expectancy plans.  When they warranty it for 84 months it will last 85 months.  The question is who do you want to deal with when it comes to replacement or purchasing. 

Costco used to be good but I think they've changed their battery policy to pro rate months.  So nope you can't buy a battery, wait 4 years and return it for a new warranty; the will pro rate the previous months onto the new one.  I don't know about Walmart.  I'll get batteries for people who don't care and for the price and return it can be hit or miss.

I say just go back to Toyota.  It's about the same as Sears (maybe not as good as a Diehard) and it has an 84 month warranty.  They'll honor it for the most part with little hassle.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Ron Burgundy on June 02, 2016, 12:16:41 PM
Those OEM batteries have weaker cold cranking amps (CCA) compared to store batteries. I believe she's only in CA, so high CCA isn't a must.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Sifu on June 02, 2016, 12:46:10 PM
Those OEM batteries have weaker cold cranking amps (CCA) compared to store batteries. I believe she's only in CA, so high CCA isn't a must.
True but the reliability is a plus for higher CCA batteries.  I have an interstate and a DieHard battery and those things just take a beating and still ask for more.

Also, don't forget the core charge.  Most places give you at least $5 (Toyota gave me $25 for their TrueStart battery). 

It also isn't a bad idea to buy a trickle charger battery tender with sulfate cleaning.  It's saved me many batteries for the low price.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Superan on June 02, 2016, 01:16:19 PM
Rule of thumb for me, a good decent battery should run about 75$.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Giggles_Shyly on June 02, 2016, 01:27:08 PM
DieHard brands are good, never went wrong with them.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Sifu on June 02, 2016, 02:05:15 PM
DieHard brands are good, never went wrong with them.
If you've ever seen those jump packs that autoshops carry they're using DieHard batteries.  Expensive but worth it.  Higher end batteries also discharge (cleaning and maintenance with a charger/tender) more successfully and I assure you that many places will take interstate and die hard batteries happily.  I've easily saved over $2k in batteries from a $60 battery tender. 

I also have an interstate battery that's been sitting outside for 3 years.  I'll see if I can get it to work.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: thePoster on June 02, 2016, 02:57:30 PM
All I'm saying is if I was your brother in law....yeah ID come fix it for you real quick....


But.. To be a brother in law...you need to hook me up!
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Superan on June 02, 2016, 03:07:26 PM
All I'm saying is if I was your brother in law....yeah ID come fix it for you real quick....


But.. To be a brother in law...you need to hook me up!

dont you think you are too OG for her kid sisters?
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Sifu on June 02, 2016, 03:21:06 PM
dont you think you are too OG for her kid sisters?
Whoa whoa whoa.  To thePoster ANYONE is fair game.  How does he pick up all the hunnies from the high school?
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Superan on June 02, 2016, 03:36:14 PM
Whoa whoa whoa.  To thePoster ANYONE is fair game.  How does he pick up all the hunnies from the high school?

You are right, where is my manners. An old dude with candy justified meeting girls over half his age.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: SummerBerry on June 02, 2016, 09:36:27 PM
Whoa whoa whoa.  To thePoster ANYONE is fair game.  How does he pick up all the hunnies from the high school?

Funny... My sisters are all in their early 30s except my baby sister is 24. 

Im going to check out interstate battery as one I read earlier when searching for best brand.  OEM... But I am going to do a little more reading online before going out there to purchase one as every sales person just want to make $$.  I need to lift up the hood to check what brand the battery was.  Toyota sometime is overprice unless i find it cheaper somewhere else and then asked them to do price match or else walk away.  My husband think the battery that came manufactory with the car is a good one. 

Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: thePoster on June 02, 2016, 10:22:24 PM
All her sisters in my demographic!


Hook it up SunmerBerry!
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Sifu on June 02, 2016, 10:37:58 PM
Toyota Truestarts are Interstates from what I recall.  They're not bad for the money and the warranty helps.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Im a Guy on June 03, 2016, 09:56:54 AM
You can't go wrong with Duralast from autozone. Not a lot of choice when buying a battery around here so get what you can. One good about duralast is when my cousin replace his duralast when it went dead. AZ told him you know how old is your battery? They told him he had it in the car for 12 years...  ;D

I always wanted the one type that has the screw on them when it goes dead, you can add more acid to give it life back. I heard they last very long time but over time you need to replace the acid inside the battery. If you know how to fix a battery by adding acid and level it by using d water on each hole's on the battery. If your battery core's are still good.


(http://pad1.whstatic.com/images/thumb/7/72/Remove-Car-Battery-Terminals-Step-8.jpg/aid1834207-728px-Remove-Car-Battery-Terminals-Step-8.jpg)
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Sifu on June 03, 2016, 11:02:56 AM
I will buy and use Autozone Duralast Gold products for other peoples repairs.  Its not bad for the money.  Their batteries have been pretty positive from my experiences.  Not great but at least nothing negative.  BA dum tssssh...  I'll see myself out.

I also forgot that online coupons can save some money.  Order online, check for any promos and save an extra $10-20.  Drive to store and pickup order.  No shipping charges and a possible core charge added on top.  Battery sales are rare but they come up once in a while.. 
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: SummerBerry on June 03, 2016, 05:22:26 PM
I will buy and use Autozone Duralast Gold products for other peoples repairs.  Its not bad for the money.  Their batteries have been pretty positive from my experiences.  Not great but at least nothing negative.  BA dum tssssh...  I'll see myself out.

I also forgot that online coupons can save some money.  Order online, check for any promos and save an extra $10-20.  Drive to store and pickup order.  No shipping charges and a possible core charge added on top.  Battery sales are rare but they come up once in a while..

Kragen and AutoZone sell pretty much the same brand.  I know I have Duralast currently on my Corolla and even DieHard in the past. 

I went to Toyota dealership this morning to asked about their battery.  Its not OEM just replacement brand called True Start.  The OEM battery in the car I checked and it pretty much has no brand but just that it is branded as Toyota Motors........

I stop next at Big O Tires but they have Interstate brand and about $140 total.  Most of our cars after warranty is over at 25k/2 year I start taking it to Big O Tires for oil change, tire rotation, etc.  Beside I've been buying tires from there for years too.   I guess I might just get the battery there. 

I will check out AutoZone when I picked up my husband from work at 5pm.  I like AutoZone and Kragen because with the battery trade in you get like $20-25 off the regular price or back while some place don't do that.  I like how they do free testing, installation, etc.  unlike the dealership in order for them to check it out there is a disgnosis charge.   
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Im a Guy on June 04, 2016, 08:03:36 PM
Also check your alternator. You can buy a small device to check if your alternator is working or not...  8)
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: SummerBerry on June 07, 2016, 11:58:46 AM
Also check your alternator. You can buy a small device to check if your alternator is working or not...  8)

My car is 6 years old with 63k on it.  It still run pretty good and always get my maintenance every 5-7k.  My kids just drained the car battery for 24-35 hrs in the garage with the passenager door not closed tightly.  We didnt really go anywhere that weekend so no one went into the garage until i went to start the other car to go grocery shopping.  Got a nieghbor to jump it but lasted for 1 1/2 week.  The day it died I actually went shopping to 4 different stores and each time feel like starting the car i can tell it got weak.   I picked up my kids from school we got stranded but school was near our old nieghborhood so walked to a good friend for help. 

I got a new car battery yesterday at Big O Tires since it was time for maintenance for oil, tires, etc.  Big O battery are insterstate. 

Sometime we think about the brand but to me it has always been more about how well we take care of our cars and how we drive it.  We have not experiences big expenses when it come to any of our cars in 20 yrs.  I am picky and choose what i like while my husband doesn't care but just not going with some brand unheard. 

I would have love to see how long that oem panasonic car battery would last but oh well when you have kids thing happen......
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: thePoster on June 07, 2016, 06:10:13 PM
140 bucks?!?!?  I would not pay  that much!!


Just get a battery from walmart.  It'll be fine.

You live in cali so you don't need those more expensive batteries.

But the ones in Walmart is fine.  I spent two cold cold cold winters in northern chicago and my duralast started up just fine.  And I'm talking about cold mornings where I had to chip the ice off my car door o just get in!!

But if your getting new batteries spend a couple off dollars to get those little green and red circles to put on the terminals, it'll keep the terminals from carroding/looking white and chalky which will help with better starts.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: nightrider on June 14, 2016, 11:23:07 PM
If it gets up to $200, just recycle the spend sulfuric acid and refill with a new batch. Just take proper safety precautions when doing so. Live here in brutal MN for most my life and only have to replace 1 battery once. Overall, generic lead acid batteries are good enough so shouldn't have to spend too much for better batteries.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Im a Guy on June 17, 2016, 06:22:41 PM
Ya MN should always buy snow tire's... I'm in CA and I have it on my truck... lol Took it to the mountain on 4 to 6 inches of snow it go through it easy. On the road kind of icy but managed to make it through. On the HWY, almost but it slide a bit when I step on the brake but second time it stop . Step it slow...  ::)   Got to like ABS sometime. First it won't let you step it hard but your brake pedals feel like it has no more juice in it but the ABS was helping you on the snow but 2nd press on it would engaged the brake fully. Slow though. =D
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Ron Burgundy on June 21, 2016, 01:38:37 AM
interstate are solid but $140 seems like highway robbery. That's pushing into Optima territory.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Sifu on June 21, 2016, 06:07:08 AM
Optima's aren't 100% fool proof though.  They're good batteries but like I've said Diehards in my experience are more reliable.  I've seen less issues with Diehards than Optimas.  Use to see plenty of returned Optimas when I worked in home/car audio.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: yuknowthat on June 21, 2016, 04:12:12 PM
from diehard, duralast, optima, truestart, interstate to the TOP LEADING BRAND everyone is trying to represent.. it's all the same to me. As long as I have to right cranking amp, positioned how it should be and it starts my car.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Sifu on June 21, 2016, 07:37:54 PM
Just buy the best battery with the best warranty for your spending range.
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Ron Burgundy on June 24, 2016, 03:12:49 PM
Optima's aren't 100% fool proof though.  They're good batteries but like I've said Diehards in my experience are more reliable.  I've seen less issues with Diehards than Optimas.  Use to see plenty of returned Optimas when I worked in home/car audio.

Who here said Optimas were fool proof?? :idiot2:

Just stated that what she paid for her interstate (which is a solid brand vs rebadged/renamed store brand) seemed kind of high.  :P
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: Im a Guy on June 24, 2016, 04:00:46 PM
I feel safe using DuraLast battery...  :2funny:
Title: Re: Car battery... Which brand is better and where to buy?
Post by: yuknowthat on June 24, 2016, 05:04:30 PM
Also check your alternator. You can buy a small device to check if your alternator is working or not...  8)
you don't have too. you can just do a quick check by taking off one of the battery wires. I think the positive or negative to see if it charges or not