Your Battery Brand and Price Topic is solved

[jimmy57]

Interstate batteries are made by Johnson Controls. Interstate has a distribution network and JC does not. Interstate has a business unit that does dealer battery support. Volvo uses Interstate for USA. I am not sure for Canada. The majority of batteries you buy at any retail outlet are JC made. I know WalMart is using JC batteries and I still believe Autozone does.
Pep Boys counterman told me Bosch batteries are delivered by Interstate.

Odyssey are made by Enersys

JC has purchased several battery companies all over the world.

Exide apparently is still in business and so is Deka.

Batteries have been dynamic. A brand that was good the last time you purchased may have changed the supplier or the same supplier may have changed country of manufacture. A battery may last 5 years and the same battery in a similar car driven the same places may last 3 because that owner sits in car engine off listening to radio regularly. Charging system regulation has changed (for Volvo with 2005 model year) to attempt to fully charge the battery from a discharged condition but vehicles older than that did a poor job of bring weakened batteries back and life would be diminished by years as a result.
If you low rate 36-48 hour charge your batteries twice per year you can see MUCH longer life as this will reverse the plate sulfation that is the leading reason batteries fail. I have a 2004 John Deere lawn tractor with its original battery, my 99 JD utility tractor went 10 years, my 97 JD crop tractor went 9 on original and is 8 years on its second. My 2006 Ford F450 diesel got its first new batteries in 2014.
Distilled water and maintenance low rate charging is proven to extend battery life. I used to do specific gravity before and after and would see many batteries go from 1.235 SG to 1.270 SG from a weekend charge and distilled water top up to proper level. A new battery will check 1.280-1.285 SG.
I do not like sealed shut flooded liquid acid (FLA) batteries as you can't add water and the vapor loss drives up acid concentration and impedes sulfur dissolution into electrolyte.

AGM (absorbed glass mat, also known as VRLA) batteries have been in use for 10 years in some applications and have had good life but the data is skewed since the ones I know of that lasted a long time were trunk mounted. Trunk mounted FLA batteries in Volvo P2 models often go 8 years without ever being touched. AGM batteries may not do so well in many cars as charging voltage needs to be limited to lower value and many late models cars originally fitted with FLA batteries have the charge rate that goes over 15V for a a period when low charge level is determined by the battery monitoring built into vehicle. Optima batteries are an AGM type (actually gel acid, another way to hold the acid in a media that greatly reduces evaporation) that has been around for 30+ years and their service life has been all over the place and some of the low lifespan seen could be attributed to use in vehicles that overcharged them.

Apologies for the rambling post.
The point is to buy a battery with a good warranty with a good price and take care of it. The name on the battery may be of little importance. Your past history with a battery may have much more to do with a few ignition or lights left on events and little to do with the name on the battery. If there is ever an event where the battery is weakened then charge it with a low rate charger (10A or less, 6A is great) to bring it back up to normal. Driving the car to the store after you jump it off WILL NOT recharge the battery, only charge it enough that it starts the car but takes months or years off the possible life of that battery.

[98v70dad]

I have always been happy with NAPA batteries, but they are expensive. I've had mixed results with others. I'm interested in seeing the suggestions for good inexpensive alternatives. Heat kills batteries here and none seem to last more than 4.5 years no matter how much you spend.

[j-dawg]

boy, i feel like a sucker. i bought this bad boy 7-8 months ago:
http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/ ... _batteries

i have no complaints about its performance, and it looks nice in the engine bay, but it cost me something like $120. looks even more expensive on the website. i suppose an 8-year pro-rated replacement warranty speaks to bosch's confidence in the thing, but it was a dear price to pay.

[erikv11]

I always buy car batteries from Sam's Club or Costco, they have always lasted at least 5 years, some up to 7 or 8.

[wheelsup]

boy, i feel like a sucker. i bought this bad boy 7-8 months ago:
http://www.pepboys.com/product/details/ ... _batteries

i have no complaints about its performance, and it looks nice in the engine bay, but it cost me something like $120. looks even more expensive on the website. i suppose an 8-year pro-rated replacement warranty speaks to bosch's confidence in the thing, but it was a dear price to pay.

You have to watch for coupon sales. I got it for $86 last month. There was an online rebate for it too.

Batteries are one of those things I try to buy "just before" they're required. It's a tough call when to do it without being stranded.

[abscate]

We try to drag batteries through one too many winters up a North. A weak battery will be fine in summer, but when days shorten and then the Mercury drops to 0F, you get that horrible call from SWMBO...

[erikv11]

We try to drag batteries through one too many winters up a North. A weak battery will be fine in summer, but when days shorten and then the Mercury drops to 0F, you get that horrible call from SWMBO...

Alas and indeed, that's how my last one died, last winter, with a bad alternator (VR) to boot. The battery came with the car, I don't know where they bought it, but now there is a shiny new Energizer in there. The oversize one.

[Matty Moo]

My battery in my s70 gave up and would no longer charge past 12v, I picked up a duracell from Sam's today for $97.

[Ozark Lee]

I guess I haven't played in this thread.

Blems from Standard Battery in Kansas City. The name plates vary but they are $39.00 + Core and they seem to work fine. I think the oldest is about 6 years now.

...Lee

[MadeInJapan]

Reviving this thread that's over 2 years old. Figured with the cold weather there are those out there who have batteries dying. Just had to buy one for my '98 S70. Got tired of jumping it with a power device in the cold weather. It worked well by the way- this little device that looks like a big cell phone that has jumper cables that plug into it! Once the car was running, I didn't seem to have any issue but I've been carrying this device around with me for weeks and I figured eventually, I'd have to deal with the battery. So, I took it out and to Autozone and they said in trying to charge the battery to test it they could hear the acid boiling in it. Autozone didn't have any good deals on batteries right now anyway- the cheapest was like $165 after core exchange and before taxes. I noticed that my battery has had the hold down clamp missing- probably been missing for some time. From what I have read (not confirmed) the vibrations and movement of the battery in the car can cause the insides to shake and deteriorate- may have been the cause of my battery's death, but then again I acquired it in Jan 2012 and I don't think I bought top of the line. Anyway, I looked around. Exide (not the male enhancement pill) battery available from Eeuroparts seemed like a good deal but you can't fly a battery to the customer anymore after issues the FAA has gone through, so it's ground shipping only (even if it is free shipping), then you have to arrange to have yours sent back for a core charge credit. Seemed like a hassle...although a lock down tool from them is just over $3. I looked all around locally on line and finally, it hit me that I had some points at Sears so I ended up getting their last Die Hard 48 series battery w/ 720 Cranking Amps that they had in stock for local pick up. This battery is rated 5 stars by all who left feedback about it. Anyway, with discounts and taxes, etc. this battery cost me $111. I think I did pretty good considering tax here in TN is 9.25%. Sure, they'd like to charge $10 for installation but that's something that takes like just a few minutes. This car is my run-around car at this point in time but I still want it to run well and be reliable.