Battery Selection/Opinions? Best for the Money?

[450slcguy]

Originally Posted by ctaylor738

C'mon guys - if the battery shows, spring for a Mercedes battery from the dealer. Most cost about $80, and they are a nice touch in the engine compartment!

I agree. Interstate a close second. You get what you pay for at Walmart and the Autozone, a cheapo battery.

[Carlos Serrano]

I don't mean to start a battery war here, and I won't. But we started to buy Interstate batteries for our fleet of International service trucks and the most we got out of an Interstate battery was 2 years, but to each his own.

[lynns]

Originally Posted by Carlos Serrano

Interstate battery was 2 years

Consumer report did not give Interstate battery a very good review.

[maheath]

I've been a Consumer Reports subscriber for over 20 years. I learned a long time ago that you can't just look at the ratings, you have to read the article to find out WHY the ratings are what they are. They don't always value the same things that I do. For example, since I live in Austin, TX, I don't really care what the snow traction of a tire is.

They rate Auto batteries every year or two and the ratings come out completely different each time. I believe in the latest battery tests, they discharged and charged each battery a number of times to see how long it would last. While interesting, that's probably not the best test of what to put in a fairly new car.

As far as the ratings of specific batteries, they rated the different groups sizes seperately. You claim that Interstate batteries were rated low. I ask you, what was the top rated battery in the Group 24/24F? I would say that the Interstate Mega-Tron batteries did not score well at all, but the Mega-Tron Plus batteries scored much better.

They also mention that "most replacement batteries are manufactured by just three different companies: Exide, Johnson Controls, and East Penn, which build them to retailer specifications."

Another interesting thing about the ratings is that AC Delco batteries have a free replacement warranty of 50 months. That's well beyond the next highest of 36 months by a handful of other brands. Die Hards taught me a long time ago that the warranty period after the free replacement period is of little value. The prorated value of the battery drops off drastically.

[Lee Blaik]

I rest my case...Most of them are from the same maker.
And looks wise the OEM with that boring white/blue casing
is not exactly the last word in design brilliance.
Ciao...Lee

[Roncallo]

I prefer AC-Delco batteries, They seam to have the least corosion build up arround the terminals. Of course no one arround here sells them. I think AC-Delco had to do something about corosion real quick when GM started to put side terminals on all there cars in the 70's. I belive that is why they became the experts on terminal corosion.

I can get a Bosch battery for my 560SL at Pep boys for about $80. Thats probably what I will do If I ever need one.

John Roncallo

[page62]

Originally Posted by Roncallo

I prefer AC-Delco batteries, They seam to have the least corosion build up arround the terminals.

I can get a Bosch battery for my 560SL at Pep boys for about $80.

ACDelco doesn't make ACDelco batteries any more. The maker is believed to be Johnson Controls (Everstart, Duralast, etc.)

And I doubt the Bosch makes the Bosch batteries, either. Perhaps Exide makes 'em...

So you're back to square one.

[maheath]

There's an interesting webpage at: http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/batbrand.htm

According to it, of the brands that Consumer Reports rated, the manufacturers are:

Johnson Controls
=============
DuraLast, some EverStart, AC Delco, Bosch, some Interstate, Kirkland, DieHard, some Motorcraft, some AutoCraft, Energizer

Exide
====
Napa, some EverStart, Nascar, some Motorcraft, some AutoCraft

East Penn
=======
some Interstate

[Daytonaman]

Carlos, local dealers want $149 for that freedom bat. Do you knowa Fl distributor that can stock that unit? tnx.

[Carlos Serrano]

Originally Posted by Daytonaman

Carlos, local dealers want $149 for that freedom bat. Do you knowa Fl distributor that can stock that unit? tnx.

Emerson ST. Battery, Inc
2036 Emerson St.
Jacksonville FL. 32207
(904) 398- 4888

This place is located 2 blocks from us, I've dealt with them for 15 years.

[pwittman]

A couple of things I can say for sure.....a M-B dealer battery for my 1995 SL500 cost $141.00. The Interstate Plus battery would have been $125.00.

I just like the way the M-B case looks, and they seem to last a long time from experience in other cars, so I went for the M-B (made in Spain BTW).

The other thing....I have personally been in the Johnson Controls battery factory in Tampa and saw them making Interstate, Diehard, and other brands. But they are definitely not all the same as each brand has its own "recipe". The guys working at the plant were very big on the Interstate. They get those for their own cars.

When I changed batteries yesterday, I used a small battery to hold up the system during the swap to avoid the window and top control problems that have been widely reported.

[al76slc]

FWIW, I had my ML battery replaced by MB roadside assistance. It cost me about the same as what the Interstate would cost from the local distributor, it was delivered instead of my having to get it, and the fellow did the work.... And made sure no problems.

I know we all like to work on our vehicles (OK, some of us, but maybe not me.)

But if someone else will do the work, guarantee it, at minimal extra cost, and be responsible for the occasional screw-up, I'll take that trade.

There is a thread I started about this in the ML forum.

[al76slc]

One more thing. The OEM battery in my ML lasted 7 years. I replaced it cuz I figured I was on borrowed time, not because it failed.

Wherever they're making them, I'll take it.

[lynns]

Originally Posted by al76slc

FWIW, I had my ML battery replaced by MB roadside assistance. It cost me about the same .......

What was the cost? Please.

I like the idea a lot.

[cjlipps]

Got this bit of info from a local automotive electrical-only independent shop. His advice regarding cold cranking amps is to buy the minimum CCA rating your vehicle requires - more is not better. The reason being that in order to increase the CCA, you have to have more plates in the battery. This equates to thinner plates and more inter-plate connections which spells shorter battery life due to vibration and internal corrosion. Also, when discharged and recharged repeatedly, the thinner plates tend to warp more readily which also leads an early demise. He likes the deep or marine cycle batteries for long life as long as the amp rating is sufficient for the automotive application. Also, a higher CCA rating can fall off quicker as you crank it so that during extended cranking, the actual output of the battery can fall below that of a lower CCA rated but more solidly built battery - not to mention the plate warpage that can result from extended cranking.
As far as the main topic of this thread, I have used most all of the brands mentioned here have had mostly good luck with all except the Die Hard. They might be better now but I had a bad time with a couple of them years ago and haven't been back. I had a Wal-Mart Ever-Start that was bad off the shelf this past spring but that's the only issue there. AC Delco is always a good choice if the price is within range. (I am a big fan of GM products and they have used them for years - and they aren't in the business of putting substandard parts in their vehicles IMHO.) Interstate has been good to me with never a problem other than availability.
Just my 12V worth.
Chuck.