Thanks Clark. I have not had a problem with any of my Optimas, but it might be worth the few extra dollars to buy from Interstate. Before spending this kind of $$ on my first one, I just replaced my battery every season, and cycled out the used one to friends. I too have seen bad Optimas, and have had friends that had difficulty with warranty on newly purchased product. Think it was partially dealer related. That's the good thing about Interstate, according to my dealer/friend. No BS at all on warranty replacement issues.