New Battery Time...Which one?

[AlanS]

I need a new battery. Mine is old and beginning to fail. What kind/ type should I replace the orig with? Same specs? Parts store? There is a Sears near by, I could get a Die Hard. No dealers close to me.

[abscate]

Im in cold country and Im getting reliable 5 year lives out of the batteries sold at my local Advance Auto, for about $100 a time. I buy the Silvers - Ive never had to make a warranty claim so I don't pay extra for the longer warranty.

[Rattnalle]

If you don't have one already a smart charger will do more to extend the life of the battery than paying the same amount for a more expensive battery.

Just get the largest that will fit and that you can find easily nearby.

[Georgeandkira]

Batteries come up now and then and you get to read people's allegiances to various brands with little to no data to back it up.
You're as subject to line quality control as you are anything else. abscate's luck with Advance Auto's batteries is likely the same as mine with Auto Zone's offerings made by Johnson Controls.

In fact, the brands we know, Exide, East Penn, Costco, Interstate, Sears, Deka et al, are all made by only 3 big manufacturers.

Who got a good deal? My sister bought a basic "silver" battery with a 36 month free replacement warranty (possibly pro-rated for an additional 24) which failed to hold a charge during month 35. She got a "free" replacement battery.
Here, sis had a bad alternator which undoubtedly shortened the battery's life so make, model or store matters little.
Keep your dated receipt.

Some people are enamored with AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries. Why I don't know. There are differences between the way they take a charge compared to FLA (Flooded Lead Acid-aka conventional) batteries. They cost more and the fact that they are spill-proof means nothing to me. I don't take my Volvo onto the Baja Racing Circuit.

Those Optima batteries (advertised with screwdrivers pierced through them to demonstrate their durability) are completely unnecessary.

What you need to do is make sure you get every coupon offered by the retailer. "20% OFF $100+ purchases" is one commonly seen.
Ask the kids behind the counter where the discounts are.

The last battery I purchased was a Group 35 for a neighbor at Advance. It listed for $141 + tax. After I gathered the coupon codes AND PREPAID online it ended up costing $99.99 incl. tax. That was a "carry out" price but I'm sure they would've plopped it in for me had I asked.

Yes, it's insulting that they make you jump through hoops but a little searching saved my neighbor almost $43. Those are "pocket dollars", baby.

I recommend "playing dumb" as well. I called an 800 number and some nice young man in Virginia (Advance HQ) gave me the code which dropped the price so low.

I just read rattnalle's post and a battery tender is a great idea but there are times when you cannot physically do it.
Also, the experts always say, "Don't buy more battery than you need". I don't know how to measure that but I can tell you that many cars come with the very small Group 51 battery. Those weight saving batteries are worth avoiding.
The G51 was ~40% the size of my neighbor's G35. He had gotten rid of that wee battery at the previous change.

[Rattnalle]

Of course, the charger is completely reliant on having access to power at the parking spot. I don't and so my battery only gets a bit of extra charge when parked overnight at my parents or other places with access to power. If I remember which rarely happens. I mostly do longer drives since I don't need the car day-to-day so it has a chance to charge every now and then anyway.

As for size, sure there's a limit for "too much" but looking at how batteries work larger is better within reason. Since there's more to begin with the reserve you have for the kind of driving that doesn't charge it back up again is larger. Batteries wear when cycled, a larger battery will for the same power draw cycle a smaller portion of the capacity and thus wear less. "As large as will fit" isn't huge in these cars but it's a decent size. A physically larger battery can also either have a larger capacity (Ah or reserve capacity) or be rated for a higher current (CCAs) depending on how it's constructed.

[cn90]

- Don't know about your car but I put an Exide L3 in my 1998 S70 5 years ago, so far so good. Car parked outside with temp down to -20C etc.

- I don't use Autozone or Sears any longer, their quality has gone down over the years. Exide is available at Home Depot and Menards hardware store for about $90-$95. I think Exide is the best bang for the bucks.