Where to find a REALLY GOOD battery?
 

I'm going to need a new battery for my 300TD soon; it's many years old and has gone dead a couple times lately - actually the alternator's fault, but I hear deep discharge isn't good for a battery. Since I'll be going on a long road trip this summer and I don't know how good/bad a shape my old one is in, I figure I might as well get a new battery to save myself potential trouble later.

So... what to get? From what I've found searching the board, something in the range of 850-and-up CCA is good. I also want a battery with a good RC (reserve capacity) because sometimes I do stupid things like leaving headlights on, etc., or while camping out in the back of the car I may want to plug in a laptop & cellphone for a few hours with the car off.

So where do I find such a battery? Looking around online, 850CCA+ batteries seem hard to find and almost nobody lists the RC for their batteries (grrr). Where do all of you get your batteries? (Am I just way too picky?)

Without addressing your specific query, you should know that almost all batteries sold in the U.S. are manufactured by Johnson controls; Autuozon Durastart, Sears Diehard, First Interstate, etc. They all have similar catalog numbers:

CLICKY D LINKY

However, I suspect that some batteries sold by Wal-Fart are stored on concrete causing weak cells and rapid discharge (a REAL pain in the backside when you're not at home).

Consumer Reports actually recommended the Autozone Durastart Gold as a Best Buy.

After having used batteries of various make from time to time, it is my conclusion that Panasonic and BOSCH make the best batteries, they have survived extreme cold and hot climate and many discharges which would kill other batteries, see if you can get hold of either of these two brands.

Thanks for the input. I know the vast majority of batteries are rebranded Johnson Controls or Exide, but there seems to be a bit of variability in the specs of the batteries each different distributor sells (at least in the range of batteries I'm looking for).

For example, after checking some online battery selectors (ie. http://www.autobatteries.com/selector/index.asp) Sears (DieHard) was the only distributor I could find so far that had a 1000 CCA battery available. Unfortunately I haven't even been able to confirm that on Sears' web site, as it doesn't seem to list the CCA (or RC) for any of their batteries. I will have to stop by the local Sears and check; that is my best choice at this point.

Autozone's is 850 CCA (Sears also has an 850 CCA and as you pointed out is almost certainly the same battery). No RC specs for that either though. :mad:

We don't have a Walmart here; even if we did they'd never get any of my money anyway. Worry not ;-).

I am using an Industrial Battery made by Trojan, it puts out well over 1000cca when I had it tested back in January.

I have had nothing but problems with Die Hard batteries....

For all my Mercedes I have use the Sears (due to price) and the Mercedes battery( which is now that same price as the Sears, they used to be $350). I only buy the Mercedes battery now, I tend to like the Mercedes battery more that the other. Call roadside assistance and they will install it for just the cost of the battery, no labor charge. The battery is about $115, the same as the Sears battery.

Dave

Not possible around here, I don't think. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Nice. Where'd you get it? Do you know the RC? Is it a group 49 battery? I hope I can find it locally...

I once found a little east coast company really nice group 49 battery - 950 CCA and 160 minutes RC :eek:. Unfortunately it seems to cost hundreds of dollars to ship a battery cross-country. Bah. I'll have to find them again and ask who makes their batteries, maybe I can find a local distributor.

I got it at a place called Allied Battery, and it is a group 93, but it fits in the car fine. I can see if I can find the specs on it...

49 and 93 seem to be about the same size (I think 93 is a bit shorter). In fact, that one I found on the east coast was listed "49-93".

I think I fought Trojan's site. Here's what they list for 12v batteries:
http://www.trojanbattery.com/voltage_2.asp

Looks like some good ones there, except that none are the right sizes. I'll keep looking though; might be helpful if you could read the part number off yours... Thanks for your help!

My recent battery purchase was for the '82 300D, (all use the same battery size). The original was a "N88". I was quoted $160 for a 2 year warranty Varta battery ,
or $70 for a cheap, locally produced one of the same specs, but with only a 3 month warranty.
Guess what I bought:
The $70 battery and a heavy set of jumper leads.
Either I will only get my 3 months and my gamble will be lost, or I will get more than a year, and I will have saved money. If it lasts 2 years, I have saved $90.
I do not count the cost of the jumper leads as they will never need replacement.

Look into getting an Optima battery. The CCA may be just a bit less, but they're not bothered as much by discharging from stupid stuff. I have one that is over 5 years old and has seen duty in a Jeep CJ-7, a ski boat, and now my Jetta. It'll spin the engine like it's a toy. (Note: avoid Optima batteries for cars with the battery under the back seat, as they don't have vent tube connections.)

Problems from storing batteries on concrete is a myth, and I've posted about it on this board before. There's an article somewhere on the BatteriesPlus page about it. You can also buy an Optima from them.

If you choose the Mercedes-Benz brand battery, definitely call roadside assistance to get it. Several people have reported paying around $115 from r/a, but the dealership charged me $135 for the battery plus 1/2 hour labor to install it while the car was already in their shop for other work.

I put Sears marine/RV batterys in my Peugeot diesels with very good luck. They are designed to tolerate being killed.

Have you ever jumpstarted your car? I wasn't even aware it was possible, possibly barring a lucky run-in with another w123 diesel owner with a hefty battery. At least neither my grandma's 280SE nor my mom's Silverado truck could ever get mine started! :confused:

I'm not exactly planning on draining my battery once a week; I mostly want to make sure I get a battery with a high reserve capacity so that that doesn't happen :p. The optimas that fit our cars seem to have less than two hours RC; I'd prefer something closer to three (some of those trojans suggested earlier would be great if the $(#@ things were a couple inches shorter!). Thanks for the suggestions though.

As for Mercedes-brand batteries... Who makes their batteries? What are the specs? I can't find a single bit of info on them...

I have been very satisfied with Motorcraft bateries. These are made by Johnson Controls, and are identical as far as I can tell, to Interstate batteries. At under $70 I can't go beat this.
see:
http://www.motorcraft.com/standard.asp?T=2&M=3&PageID=22
You will want to avoid anything made by Exide:( .
I like the specs on the Optima, and the fact they appear to never leak, so battery trays should be happy with that, but the size/footprint and the post arrangement seems to be something that leaves some adaptation necessary if you want it to operate properly and not short out or something. The Motorcraft group 49 fits perfectly and come with the vent tube that can be used to drain excess battery acid away from the battery tray, in case it is overfilled. I believe the BMW requires this drain tube because batteries are situated inside the vehicle.
DDH

Walk, no RUN as fast as you can AWAY from any place that sells EXIDE Batteries. About as bad as anything on the market.