Car Battery: Costco, Walmart, or..?

[JEDI]

2015 mazda3i Sport (automatic), 40k miles (bought new).

it only came with a 350cca battery (size 35).
I drained the battery and needed a jump start.

draining is not good for lead acid batteries. it never goes back to full charge.
thus i now a hard time starting the car when it's cold/snowing outside.

so it's time to get a new battery before this year's winter.
Costco sells Interstate: 640 cca, 100min reserve (altho I don't know at what load. 25amps??)
Walmart has EverStart MAXX-35N (550 cca, 100min reserve capacity)

I live in the DC area.

What car battery do you recommend?

also, any car batteries with a knob to switch over to reserve capacity so that im guaranteed to have some power to start the car?

 

[herm0016]

2015 mazda3i Sport (automatic), 40k miles (bought new).

it only came with a 350cca battery (size 35).
I drained the battery and needed a jump start.

draining is not good for lead acid batteries. it never goes back to full charge.
thus i now a hard time starting the car when it's cold/snowing outside.

so it's time to get a new battery before this year's winter.
Costco sells Interstate: 640 cca, 100min reserve (altho I don't know at what load. 25amps??)
Walmart has EverStart MAXX-35N (640 cca, unknown reserve capacity)

I live in the DC area.

What car battery do you recommend?

also, any car batteries with a knob to switch over to reserve capacity so that im guaranteed to have some power to start the car?

um... no.

either one should last you a good while in your small car. get one of those portable jump-starter things if you are concerned. if you want top quality, go for an AC delco (gray label) or a decca, or a die hard but they will be more $$.

You may check your charging system as well. The battery in my truck has been going strong for 8 years. You should get more than 3 years out of a battery. I have never drained mine though.

 

[JEDI]

um... no.

either one should last you a good while in your small car. get one of those portable jump-starter things if you are concerned. if you want top quality, go for an AC delco (gray label) or a decca, or a die hard but they will be more $$.

You may check your charging system as well. The battery in my truck has been going strong for 8 years. You should get more than 3 years out of a battery. I have never drained mine though.

yeah, draining a lead acid battery past 50% is bad.
the battery will never charge back up to 100%.
drain it multiple times past the 50% mark = very short battery life

interestingly, just read that Interstate batteries aren't lead-acid anymore.
they're now Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) because more and more cars have stop/start technology that turns the engine off when at a red light to save gas.
(my car doesn't do that.)

Leaning towards Costco because of that.

 

[herm0016]

interstate makes all different kinds. yea, you don't need an AGM.

 

[BW86]

I've had an interstate in my car for the past few years. Not bad for $30

 

[jlee]

The last Interstate battery I had was replaced preemptively at 6+ years old after NH winters, AZ summers, and repeated complete discharges. It still worked fine.

All I buy now is Interstate.

 

[WackyDan]

The battery in my truck has been going strong for 8 years. You should get more than 3 years out of a battery.

You should... Our Malibu eats a battery every three years. No matter the brand. Pretty much every mid 2000's Malibu does this. Theory is that it just gets cooked considering it's proximity to the engine.

 

[HitAnyKey]

You should... Our Malibu eats a battery every three years. No matter the brand. Pretty much every mid 2000's Malibu does this. Theory is that it just gets cooked considering it's proximity to the engine.

Very interesting theory!

My Dad's 2000 Malibu seems to have a similar problem and he theorizes there is a short in the system leaving an open loop discharging the battery. I wonder if he might be right. Could the Stereo be draining the battery?

I have been getting great use out of my Portable charger because of that car. I was going to get my Mechanic to test the electrical system to see if my Dad's theory is correct.

Another +1 for AC Delco. That is what I used to replace my OEM battery in the Toyota. It's been great so far.

 

[herm0016]

In my truck, the battery is in the passenger side back corner of the engine bay.

 

[WackyDan]

Very interesting theory!

My Dad's 2000 Malibu seems to have a similar problem and he theorizes there is a short in the system leaving an open loop discharging the battery. I wonder if he might be right. Could the Stereo be draining the battery?

I have been getting great use out of my Portable charger because of that car. I was going to get my Mechanic to test the electrical system to see if my Dad's theory is correct.

Another +1 for AC Delco. That is what I used to replace my OEM battery in the Toyota. It's been great so far.

The 2000 Malibu was the prior generation to mine which is a 2005. Mine was an entirely new platform based on GM's Opel division's offerings over in Europe.

Technically... Every car has some sort of vampire. What matters is that it doesn't have anymore than factory. If you drive your car once or twice a week, you shouldn't be burning through batteries due to that unless it is a major vampire, but I'm not sure what that could be as the radio should be off with the ignition unless someone wired in an aftermarket directly powered.

 

[razel]

What to recommend? Buy a known brand name and not the cheapest one they offer... at least if your climate is mild. There are only a few battery manufacturers. Johnson Controls, Exide, Interstate and a few others. Battery brands hire them to build batteries to spec and slap a brand name on it. You'll even often see who built the battery. Costco, Bosch, Walmart is often Johnson Controls. From what I last remember Interstate and Die Hard are still largely sell their own. Of course with Sears in trouble, I don't know what'll happen to Die Hard.

If you want a battery to last a long time, keep the acid level's topped and buy a battery conditioner/maintainer and use that to occasionally get it back up to 100% charge. If you ever needed to jump start your car, you'll want it back up to 100% right away... otherwise start shopping for a new battery. The damage has begun and will get worse until you get it back to full charge where it'll be minimized.

 

[pbroussard]

I get all my batteries from Costco now since switching from Sam's a couple of years ago. Don't have a track record yet, last one in my van was a Duralast from Autozone lasted 6 years. The one in our genset is an Everstart from Walmart, also 6 years old, still does it's weekly exercise just fine. Ditto on the jumppack, I carry one all the time.

 

[Jimzz]

I still do a little auto work on the side and the 2 best buys for batteries are using a coupon for a Gold battery at Advance or buying from Costco.

Both are good as long as they are installed and not loose.

 

[Jon-T]

I'll vote Interstate. A real battery manufacturer.

Everstart just seems to be some brand they slap on batteries made by who knows who.

 

[JEDI]

I still do a little auto work on the side and the 2 best buys for batteries are using a coupon for a Gold battery at Advance or buying from Costco.

Both are good as long as they are installed and not loose.

thx.. didn't think of aap with coupon.
Gold battery (640cca) for my car = $100 after 30% off coupon. weighs 38lbs, 3yr warrenty

Walmart EverStart Maxx (3yr full warranty + 2yr prorated) = $108 (in 2015), rated 640cca and weights 35lbs

need to price out Costco's battery

 

[pbroussard]

Just bought 2 from Costco, neglected to mention they were Interstate batteries. One for mom's 2015 Camry and one for my 2000 Safari, both were in the $95 range, forget exactly.

 

[JEDI]

Just bought 2 from Costco, neglected to mention they were Interstate batteries. One for mom's 2015 Camry and one for my 2000 Safari, both were in the $95 range, forget exactly.

did the tire center install it for you?
or u had to install it yourself?

if the latter, im assuming they came w/enuf charge to start the car?

 

[96Firebird]

I've had good luck with a blem Interstate battery that replaced the failing Redtop in my Trans Am. I only drive the car a couple times a week at most, starts every time. I think it was $35 or something...

 

[pbroussard]

did the tire center install it for you?
or u had to install it yourself?

if the latter, im assuming they came w/enuf charge to start the car?

The Camry I took her battery with me, my van I just bought it and came home to install it. Had to bring the core back for the $15 core charge next time I went. I usually put them on a charger before starting the first time. But they do come precharged enough to start you up. Both of them I got the battery from the back of the rack, they had newer date stamps.

 

[agent00f]

Fwiw, I found costco batteries to have less low draw capacity than mazda oem, even after 5+ years for the latter.

 

[JEDI]

Fwiw, I found costco batteries to have less low draw capacity than mazda oem, even after 5+ years for the latter.

what does low draw capacity mean?
reserve capacity?

and were those actual Costco/Kirkland or did it say Interstate. (Costco stopped selling rebranded batteries years ago.)

 

[agent00f]

what does low draw capacity mean?
reserve capacity?

More or less. One of my cars has a low current draw and the old battery did better than the costco.

and were those actual Costco/Kirkland or did it say Interstate. (Costco stopped selling rebranded batteries years ago.)

Costco.

 

[JCH13]

OP - Get the battery with the best warranty.

What are your driving habits like? Idling or very light driving might not be enough to completely charge your battery. You may be able to revive the battery a bit by putting it on a smart charger and/or going on a long drive on the interstate.

yeah, draining a lead acid battery past 50% is bad.
the battery will never charge back up to 100%.
drain it multiple times past the 50% mark = very short battery life

interestingly, just read that Interstate batteries aren't lead-acid anymore.
they're now Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) because more and more cars have stop/start technology that turns the engine off when at a red light to save gas.
(my car doesn't do that.)

Leaning towards Costco because of that.

[nit]
AGM is a lead-acid battery chemistry. The distinction is wet cell vs gel cell vs AGM, but they're all lead acid chemistry with the same life-cycle detriments from discharging. AGMs have an advantage over traditional wet cells because the battery plates can be made closer to each other, improving capacity and discharge rate.
[/nit]

 

[KentState]

Does Costco carry a battery for your car? Found out the hard way that they don't carry them for all makes/models like the ones for the GM Lambda platform.

 

[dud]

Consider buying from a vendor that has a significant B&M presence in the area(s) that you live and work. Purchased a new "gold" battery for my wife's Civic last June from Advance Auto Parts, only 2 miles from the house. Guess what? 1 year and a 1 week later the thing died. Used my truck to jump the car and it started right up. Let it sit 5 minutes to make sure the problem wasn't the alternator (it was not). Drove to the store and had them test it. After trying to charge it they found it to be bad and replaced it.

Was told nowadays that battery warranties are no longer prorated so definitely get the best warrant/period that you can. When you receive a warranty replacement battery you retain the ORIGINAL warranty. In our case the battery was warranted for 36 months with free replacement. At this point we only have about 23 months left on the new battery.