Battery Selection/Opinions? Best for the Money?

[Strife]

I was helping a guy out in getting his 75 450SL started (which for sale - see for sale section) and I had to get a battery. I happened to find Duralast from Autozone spoken of highly in a few places. Apparently, these are pretty good, "reasonably priced" batteries actually made by Johnson Controls. It was $80-10 for the core, out the door, pretty good for a freaking colossal battery like this one is. Does anybody have any experience with these? I'm not a purist, and I don't have to have a battery in my own car that says "Interstate" on it...and I don't really know how old mine is.

[SL600 V12]

Optima Blue Top. I use one in my 68 Dodge, and it survived being completely discharged several times during my "alternator saga".

One time when my alternator failed, a full charge allowed me to use the car for 4 days straight before noticing voltage dropoff. Running errands, daily commute, and all of the starting.

If you're not running Optima, you're probably running a piece. I've never used the Red Top Optimas though, so I have no idea how good/bad those are.

[Gary Ganaway]

I have used Autozone batteries in the past on a 96 Jeep Cherokee. The only good thing I can say is that they honor their warranty as I went through 3 batteries in 4 years. No problem with the Jeeps electronics it was just bad batteries. Personally I would go for Interstate of athe MB battery. My 95 E420 original battery lasted 7 years.

[Carlos Serrano]

From my experience I will have to say AC Delco batteries, they come factory installed in several makes of cars and suv's, and there are the longer lasting batteries I've ever used, I have one in my SL 500 and it fits perfectly in the compartment.
My 1997 Jeep Wrangler came with one from the factory and that one last me 6 1/2 years trouble free and that was with front mounted winch, Piaa auxiliary driving lights and all kind of off-road accesories, this is hard to believe but in one ocasion I left the headlights on for five hours and the battery still had enough power to start the Jeep.
My two cents

[450slcguy]

Buy the Interstate battery, that will be the last battery you buy for the car until well into the next decade. About $110 if you can find one. I called about 20 Interstate distributors before I found one in stock. Worth the effort. Looks good too.

[page62]

I put a VatoZone battery in my wife's C320 about 2 years ago. No problems so far...

(BTW: "Vato"-zone is a regional joke. Very regional... )

[lynns]

Go to your local library and check out
"Rating Auto Batteries" in Consumer Reports, October 2006, pages 34-35.
Note: EverStart (Johnson Controls) gets Best Buy over and over.

[SunGuy]

Originally Posted by lynns

Go to your local library and check out
"Rating Auto Batteries" in Consumer Reports, October 2006, pages 34-35.
Note: EverStart gets Best Buy over and over.

Brand names vs. actual manufacturers. After reading Lynn's comment I got curious about EverStart as I'm not familiar with the Brand/Company. Thanks to the internet, I found this enlightening....EverStart is actually manufactured by Johnson Controls, who also private labels for others...fyi

Johnson Controls Inc. [Sears' DieHard, Auto Zone's Duralast, Wal-Mart's EverStart, Motorcraft, Optima, etc. Starting], (US) http://www.autobatteries.com/selector/index.asp

I may not have jumped at a brand I hadn't heard of before, but it appears that EverStart is in very good company! Thanks Lynn...

[Lee Blaik]

I needed a battery in a hurry so I replaced the OEM with a Durolast for my 500, seems OK so far. The 560 has an Interstate, just as good and long lasting.
As if they all being made by the same manufacturer with different labels.
So before you buy, simply make sure the cranking power requirement is met.
Good luck...Lee

[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!

[lynns]

Most popular Car Batteries

http://www.splise.com/Car+Batteries/category_2797.html?ref=5

[Daytonaman]

Carlos, I agree that AC Delco has by far the longest lasting battery out there. I believe you have to get the "Freedom". The only problem is where can you get an OEM replacement for a 500sl?

[lynns]

Originally Posted by lynns

Go to your local library and check out
"Rating Auto Batteries" in Consumer Reports, October 2006, pages 34-35.

Best for cold climate:

Everstart (Johnson Controls)
AC Delco (Johnson Controls)
Napa (Exide)


Best for warmer climate:

Napa (Exide)
Duralast (Johnson Controls)
AC Delco (Johnson Controls)
Nascar (Exide)

[Carlos Serrano]

Originally Posted by Daytonaman

Carlos, I agree that AC Delco has by far the longest lasting battery out there. I believe you have to get the "Freedom". The only problem is where can you get an OEM replacement for a 500sl?

1999 SL 500 takes a series 49 AC Delco Freedom OEM size and fit $ 69.95 + FL battery tax in my case.Look in the yellow pages for a dealer near you it will take a couple of hours of next day to get it, you can't get it off the shelf at a discount parts store. At least not around here.
NO I'm in no ways affiliated with AC Delco.

[page62]

Pulled this quote off car-guru.com:

"I think that Delphi sold off their battery making operations to Johnson Controls and that Johnson makes the OEM batteries for Honda. I'm sure they must also sell them under other brands.

"AC-Delco isn't a manufacturer of anything anymore, it is simply the name GM puts on it's aftermarket parts, and they source those parts from whoever wherever. Most AC-Delco filters these days, for example, are made by Champions Labs and are very similar to the STP branded ones Champion sells."

I've heard this information from other sources, too.