Topic: where to buy battery

[lpgao939]

I need new battery and where the good place I can go for?

[slybry]

If you can install yourself there is no better bang for your buck than Costco. Their batteries have done well for me and are rpice right.

[Careener]

+ for Costco

[davidy]

Costco.

[Rupert]

Have your alternator checked to make sure it is charging the battery. I find that on my cars...average driving...the batteries last close to 10 years. These are Chryco original equipment but I presume others will do as well. If you are not getting this or near perhaps there is a fault in the charging circuit depending upon distance covered per year. If distance covered is small over time, then buy a trickle charger to suppliment charging on a periodical basis...maybe 3 or 4 times a year.
One vehicle that I had from new had a larger battery than the small ones that usually come with Chrysler produts but I ended up putting three batteries in this vehicle until a country garage owner just said...it's a faulty alternator. He towed the vehicle away from my camp site...fitted a new alternator and the vehicle was fine from then on. The above may not apply to your condition...just thought that it might be information of value.

[Winklovic]

Does Costco have their own brand of car batteries?

I've been pleased with the quality of the Interstate batteries I've purchased.

[slybry]

They use to sell Delco but now they use their own Kirkland label. I sure the battery is made by a good manufacturer for Costco and they just stick their label on it.

Interstate is a good brand but recent consumer reports showed that some Interstate models tested good and other did not.

Compare price and I bet Costco is 40% to 50% cheaper. They are not crap batteries.

The point poster made about checking your charging system is a good one. Bad charging can ruin a battery and a bad battery can burn out and alternator.

[blur911]

Have your alternator checked to make sure it is charging the battery. I find that on my cars...average driving...the batteries last close to 10 years.

That's pretty good.  The best I've done on a non-carbed car has probably been about 5 years.  Most last just a bit over their warranty period.  My worst luck was with Canadian Tire 60 month batteries.  You more or less lease them and change every 2 or 3 years. 
Lately I've had somewhat better luck with Energizer batteries from Wallymart, but one of those just gave up the ghost in my Audi, I think it might be still be under pro-rated warranty.
Motorcycle batteries are even more of a PITA, last 2 or 3 years and cost more than a car battery.

[articsteve]

Johnson Controls make Interstate, Kirkland, Diehard, Motocraft and other brands.  I suppose there is some variances, but generally they are pretty good batteries. 

Exide make one of the worst batteries and sold at Crappy. Avoid.

[maritime_storm]

I'll second Steve on this one, ours are made by Exide and Exide makes among the worst batteries sold. Interstate or AC Delco would be among my choices, I have no experience with the batteries from Costco to speak on.

[weebl]

Agreed on Johnson Control made batteries.  Best out there that is readily available anywhere.  May be some minor differences among the brands, but for the most part, they should all be reasonably close in spec and quality.  Some brands they are sold as:

- Interstate
- Kirkland (Costco)
- Energizer (Wal-Mart)
- Toyota OEM (for some North American made models)
- Several others

That said, if you have a diesel, then I would really find a forum specific to that model to find what the recommendations are.  For my VW TDI when I had it, most aftermarket batteries (various Johnson Control brands included) cost more than stealership with far inferior performance for the diesel.  CCA is not the measure of strength when it comes to a diesel battery (forget what parameter was the important one, but you could easily google it).  The OE batteries were made by Varta.  Batteries made by them should also be good quality.

And, at all cost, avoid Exide batteries.  Absolutely horrible.  All Canadian Tire brand batteries are made by them.

[johngenx]

I've been buying Interstate and Costco (Kirkland) batteries for some years now, and have been very pleased.  I buy the Interstate brand when the Kirkland brand does not have a proper fit.  An example would be the battery in the trunk of most MB cars.  They're about 3X the size of most car batteries, and  your choice of non-OE brands is limited.

[ktm525]

Costco. They have little stickers on them that indicate freshness too! Pick the newest.

[Rupert]

I don't know about large batteries...I only buy new cars albeit low on the desireabilty yardstick for most. We then procede to keep the cars for most of their lifetime. Discounting one vehicle that had an alternator problem, we have only bought one battery for a Plymouth Duster but that car was 10 years old at the time. The other vehicles were kept over 8 years. With the exception of the Sable, all of the other batteries were Chrysler...who makes them...I don't know. Anyway the Chryco batteries had one thing in common...they were all very small or seemed so to me. When I saw the battery that came with the last Duster I thought that it would never last; but it did and all of the others since have been tiny. The cars were never housed in a garage but sometimes the block heater was plugged in at night...not over the last few years with fuel injection. Anyway, how many batteries do people buy over a lifetime, one in 40 years for me and one wonders if the smaller batteries have a plus feature in having smaller cross-section plates that would be less likesly to warp and short out.
TO is subjected to warmer winters than up north though, where cranking amps or whatever may be a more important feature.

[blur911]

I don't know about large batteries...I only buy new cars albeit low on the desireabilty yardstick for most. We then procede to keep the cars for most of their lifetime. Discounting one vehicle that had an alternator problem, we have only bought one battery for a Plymouth Duster but that car was 10 years old at the time. The other vehicles were kept over 8 years. With the exception of the Sable, all of the other batteries were Chrysler...who makes them...I don't know. Anyway the Chryco batteries had one thing in common...they were all very small or seemed so to me. When I saw the battery that came with the last Duster I thought that it would never last; but it did and all of the others since have been tiny. The cars were never housed in a garage but sometimes the block heater was plugged in at night...not over the last few years with fuel injection. Anyway, how many batteries do people buy over a lifetime, one in 40 years for me and one wonders if the smaller batteries have a plus feature in having smaller cross-section plates that would be less likesly to warp and short out.
TO is subjected to warmer winters than up north though, where cranking amps or whatever may be a more important feature.

That reminds me of a car my dad had, a 1977 Dodge Royal Monaco with a 360ci V8, it had a tiny battery that could crank that thing forever, as it had the crazy ballast doohicky that always screwed up it took a lot of cranking.
Batteries back then seemed to last forever, 10 years out of the OE in a 1981 F150 was an example.  They sure don't nowadays.  I'm not sure if it's because of crappier batteries or all the draws on them from todays cars, probably a combo.  Kill them a couple of times and they're toast.  As you mentioned though, a bad alternator can be the ruin of a battery, probably the cause of half of my batteries that failed can be traced to electrical problems with the car. (Audis, Doh)
One battery in 40 years is amazing to me.  Just last year I bought 2 new Energizers, one for the Audi to replace the Crappy tire battery that still had 24 months of pro-rated warrantly left, I couldn't bring myself to buy another even though it would have been half price.  Another to replace the OE 5 year old one in the Subaru. I think I replaced the one in the Porsche 2 years ago. The F150 battery was 2 years ago as well, a leak on the fuse panel and associated electrical gremlins helped do that one in.

[ovr50]

Heat is the worse enemy of batteries than cold is. In the Okanagan, many ppl find that a car battery only lasts about 5 or 6 years.

Off topic, but interesting....maybe.

[PJungnitsch]

Drain a regular car battery dead and it permanantly cuts its capacity by around half, IIRC, especially if it is quick charged back up. Do that a couple times, take a half of a half of a half, and there is not much reserve left if the vehicle doesn't start right away.

Best to use deep cycle, marine/RV type batteries on vehicles with electrical problems or heavy standing drain.

[ktm525]

Heat is the worse enemy of batteries than cold is. In the Okanagan, many ppl find that a car battery only lasts about 5 or 6 years.

Off topic, but interesting....maybe.

Yeah I find it interesting...I heard this about cars from Phoenix. 1-2 years on a battery is normal.