Batteries.

[Jim W]

I see everybody mentions COSTCO Batteries but to me I see an issue with them. WHY? For one thing you need to pay a fee to belong to this buyer's club for lack of a better definition. Not everyone has a COSTCO right next door in fact some may not even have a store in their area since there are only 530 locations. That is why I like using NAPA, you can find a NAPA dealer/service station almost anywhere.

As an example I needed a battery for my trailer, the closest COSTCO store was 20 to 25 miles away. The NAPA store was less than a mile. So, to me NAPA won out bought the battery and I was on the road with in a hour of getting the battery.

 

[jhenderson]

A lot of people say what you just did and recommend Walmart. My buddy had a Walmart battery go bad. No receipt? No battery! Says Walmart right on it, along with the 15 month old date punched out. No dice without a receipt. As if it could have come from somewhere else. I thought the idea was no matter where you were there’s a Walmart? I like the Napa plan much better.

 

[AH64ID]

A lot of people say what you just did and recommend Walmart. My buddy had a Walmart battery go bad. No receipt? No battery! Says Walmart right on it, along with the 15 month old date punched out. No dice without a receipt. As if it could have come from somewhere else. I thought the idea was no matter where you were there’s a Walmart? I like the Napa plan much better.

That's one reason I like Costco, they keep the receipt on file.

Yes it takes a membership, but I have one anyways.

As for NAPA I try to avoid that place at all costs.

To me there are plenty of Costco's to cover my travels. In all my years of driving I have never had a battery just go bad on me overnight. Either there are signs of it failing, or I replace then due to age before they fail overnight.

 

[Wayne M.]

The ‘98’s oe battery went in a minute. She shut it off at her moms house, came out a hour later to wood. I’ve seen it happed other times too.

 

[jhenderson]

Nearest Costco is 80+ miles away. How many Napa stores would I pass to get to it?

 

[AH64ID]

The ‘98’s oe battery went in a minute. She shut it off at her moms house, came out a hour later to wood. I’ve seen it happed other times too.

No other signs or symptoms prior? How old were they?

Nearest Costco is 80+ miles away. How many Napa stores would I pass to get to it?

I'd pass every single one and never think twice. In my experience NAPA doesn't sell much worth buying, YMMV.

 

[jhenderson]

No other signs or symptoms prior? How old were they?



I'd pass every single one and never think twice. In my experience NAPA doesn't sell much worth buying, YMMV.

Napa batteries are made by East Penn mfg. But, ignorance IS bliss.

 

[KATOOM]

Napa batteries are made by East Penn mfg. But, ignorance IS bliss.

Most aftermarket car batteries sold in the U.S. are made by three companies that build them for different retailers.
Johnson Controls supplies more than half of the market, then Exide, and East Penn. The batteries are sold under various names and models and built to the proprietary specifications of specific retailers contracts.

I dont care where anyone buys their car battery, but just thought the above information worth sharing in case someone didnt know...

 

[AH64ID]

Napa batteries are made by East Penn mfg. But, ignorance IS bliss.

They could sell the exact same battery as Costco for cheaper and they still wouldn’t get my money.

They may have some decent stuff, but my experience is by and large negative with their parts. So I prefer to give other companies my money.

So it’s not ignorance, it’s experience. But by all means keep supporting crap companies.

 

[NIsaacs]

But by all means keep supporting crap companies.

They have been in business since 1925, have 500,000 part numbers, 6,000 stores, 57 distribution centers and 16,000 Napa Auto Care centers. If they don't have something in stock, they can usually get it overnight. Sounds like a pretty good outfit to me.

They are not just automotive. They have big truck, agriculture, industrial, small engine, and a huge supply of industrial tools and shop equipment. All suppliers have some junk, you need to look at the big picture. I was in the logging business for 25 years, they were my main supplier for everything, and still are...that's experience.

 

[Jim W]

O.K. here is an example that I have experienced with my wife's VW TDI. First let me set the stage. The instrument panel consist of nothing more than a several idiot lights a tach and speedometer with a mileage and a clock. There is a small informational display but no water temps, oil pressure or amp/volt meter can be displayed.

She drove her car in one night to the garage no problem what so ever. She claimed that the car started fine and the resistor wire light for the glow plugs was on when she started the car to drive her car home. There are no external electrical parasitic on her car. She went out to start the car the next day and all she got was a click when she try to start her car. The battery was only three years old and the top showed no signs of corrosion on the terminals.

I went out and tried to start also the same thing. I put a meter on the battery and it was dead, we had no warnings on the battery it just died. I had the car towed to the VW dealer for the electrical system to be diagnosis for electrical parasitic loss, as why the battery died without a warning. The dealer service writer stated that this happens a lot, no big deal.

With all of the electrical demands on a battery now a days it will just die without any warning. Such as hard starting or dim lights when the car is idling with either the air/heater on also with the radio playing and the alternator is not putting out enough electrical power for all of the demands on the system. This will cause a battery to die faster without warning.

 

[TRAMPLINEMAN]

My ‘14 3500 has been starting and running great right up to yesterday morning. When out to start the truck, turned the key and nothing. The wait to start light came on for a split second, which I thought was weird, but everything else was working on the dash. Checked voltage and drivers side battery had 6 volts and passenger side had 8 volts. Called all around and the nearest Deka batteries I could find are 3 hours away. I bought two Ameristart batteries made by East Penn from NAPA which is a half mile from my house. I’ve never had a problem with NAPA or its parts.

 

[TFucili]

East Penn=Deka

 

[Regcabguy]

Who manufactures Duralasts?

 

[GrantP]

Who manufactures Duralasts?

Apparently, "it depends". Wikipedia says...

Valucraft, Duralast, and Duralast Gold are AutoZone's private label brands for lead-acid automotive batteries (manufactured primarily by Johnson Controls, but also East Penn, Exide, and other manufacturers). They also sell an AGM line of batteries under the Duralast Platinum name.

 

[Jdorfmeyer]

I just purchased an Advance Auto Platinum AGM battery. 1000 Cranking amps and 850 cold cranking amps. Read that Interstate is the battery supplier for Advance Auto now, started in 2018. Nice only having to buy 1 battery now a days. Drove a Cummins for 12 years but the 2014 Ram 1500 Hemi I purchased new in 2014 has been a great truck for the past 5 years. Got 25% off by putting in my cart and then leaving the site, Advance Auto then emailed me that they applied 25% discount which was $48.75 off.

 

[ofelas]

I've been happy with Odyssey XTreme's in a few different vehicles.

 

[Mark31]

Moses Ludell had a good write up about the care and feeding of batteries 3 (?) issues ago in TDR mag. Most of us on here will pick up a point or two worth knowing in this article. When a battery suddenly "quits", my understanding is that there could be an internal short. Trying to jump start a "shorted" battery can result in an explosion. I will give someone a ride to get a new battery rather than boost a "but it was cranking good" battery every time and you would too if you saw the mess I did!

 

[JR]

The last several Interstates I owned were a real disappointment. Lasted long enough to get out of the full warranty and into the pro rated fu fu. Then of course your on your own after that - the warranty is only good for one replacement regardless of age. And in the case of anything with dual or multiple batteries they only warranty the bad one (as I'm sure all manufacturers do), so now your either out of pocket for the other new guy or mismatching batteries and placing added load on the new one. After 4 or 5 warranty jobs between my 98 and the wifes VW I cut my losses and went back to Deka.

 

[Tractorat]

Whewww!!!!!!! Two or three times the cost of interstate, arent they ? How long do they last ?