maskedferret

iTrader: (1)

Going on my fifth winter with the original OEM battery, it is starting to show its age with slow cranks to start. I am very tempted to replace it before the year is up. Shopping around, I think I have come to an A-B decision:

Option A: The local dealership offers an in-house brand battery (don't know specifics, other than ~550 CCA) which they claim to provide a "no questions lifetime warranty" for $89.

Option B: Autozone's Duralast Gold (640 CCA) with a 3 year replacement warranty for $99.

Research has led to the conclusion that I do not wish to spend the extra money for an AGM battery (Autozone wants $180 for a Red Top, and word of Amazon not honoring the warranty puts me off). So the dilemma here is whether the additional CCA is worth $10 plus the "lifetime warranty" trade-off. Suggestions appreciated, thank you in advance.

rx 8speciale

iTrader: (3)

i will take option A

lilring

iTrader: (11)

I would go with the 640 CCA.. the rotary is hard to start when its cold

Mazurfer

640cca at least, you may be sorry if you don't.

FYI...........I ordered a Optima Redtop from Amazon about a year ago and have had no issues with it. I was worried about the warranty as well, just went for it anyway.

DocBeech

iTrader: (1)

+1 on optima batteries. You will pay more, but they last forever. My 1958 got one installed a month after I bought it. That was over 5 years ago, and its still operating flawlessly.

rz-jacks

A123 LiFePO4 battery pack. If you can find somebody that makes a pack!. That's gonna be my next project hahahaha.

DocBeech

iTrader: (1)

if your going to go that route just do like tesla did and use cell phone/laptop batteries.

"Tesla Motors refers to the Roadster's battery pack as the Energy Storage System or ESS. The ESS contains 6,831 lithium ion cells arranged into 11 "sheets" connected in series; each sheet contains 9 "bricks" connected in series; each "brick" contains 69 cells connected in parallel (11S 9S 69P). The cells are 18 mm (0.71 in) in diameter and 65 mm (2.6 in) long (18650 form-factor); this type of lithium-ion cell is also found in most laptop computer batteries. The pack is designed to prevent catastrophic cell failures from propagating to adjacent cells, even when the cooling system is off. Coolant is pumped continuously through the ESS both when the car is running and when the car is turned off if the pack retains more than a 90% charge. The coolant pump draws 146 watts."


"the current replacement cost of the ESS is slightly under USD$36,000, with an expected life span of 7 years/100,000 mi (160,000 km), and began offering owners an option to pre-purchase a battery replacement for USD$12,000 today with the replacement to be delivered after seven years. The ESS is expected to retain 70% capacity after 5 years and 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of driving (10,000 miles (16,000 km) driven each year). Tesla Motors provides a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on the Roadster with an optional 4 year/50,000 mile extended warranty available at an "additional cost" (2008 Roadster buyers received the 4/50 extension at no cost while later purchasers need to pay). A non-ESS warranty extension is available for USD$5,000 and adds another 3/36 to the coverage of components, excluding the ESS, for a total of 6 years/72,000 mi (120,000 km)."

soya

iTrader: (3)

Best to avoid Optima these days, they were bought by Johnson Controls and have been severely lacking in quality since. I would recommend going with a Sears Diehard Platinum, which is a rebranded Odyssey for about $60 cheaper, 740 CCA's. It was -3 last night here and the rx8 started instantly.

Mazurfer

Blah...blah.....blah.....we've heard it all before.

But...........I will give ya this much...........the Diehard Platinum almost ended up in my car, but I wanted to try the Redtop!

Optima Redtop =
Warranty: 3 YR
Notes: *** 720 cold cranking Amps (910 cranking Amps)
*** 90 reserve minutes.
3 year free replacement

Jon316G

iTrader: (1)

I agree with Mazurfer (and others).
I've had my Optima Redtop for almost 4yrs and it still works great.

soya

iTrader: (3)

Don't get me wrong, I have a redtop in my Saturn which is doing just fine for the last 4 years, but it's an Optima and not a Johnson Controls. I used to work for a company that did a lot of business with Johnson Controls, used to sell them battery fiber.

WingleBeast

i bought an optima and i was skeptical but now I know it was the best thing I did. cranks over so easy and never have had any issues

maskedferret

iTrader: (1)

You people are a bad influence on my wallet.

ken-x8

Lifetime battery from the dealer for $89 sounds like a good deal. Just make sure it's maintenance free, since getting to the battery under its cover is a pain.

Dealership will also know all the reset stuff you have to do after disconnecting the battery.

I just bought a 6 year maintenance free battery for my wife's Camry at Advance Auto Parts for $90. Unless you have a fetish about batteries (not that there's anything wrong with that)why pay double?

Ken

laythor

optima yellow top

Mazurfer

So for the hell of it, I clicked on an "Advanced Auto Parts" ad that popped up at the bottom of this page as I was reading the thread and you can get an Optima Redtop for $142.00 with free shipping by entering code "LC123" at checkout! Now it says "ES123", but if serious......try that first one, it might still work. ???
Either that or you can order online and go pick it up at the store......they will even put it in for free............not that you need that!

That's $40.00 off.............not bad.

Mazurfer

Prorated........Lifetime battery from the dealer for $89.00 ???????

maskedferret

iTrader: (1)

Dunno; I'd have to go back and ask for details. "Prorated" in what sense?

Mazurfer

Nothing is straight up "Lifetime" in my opinion.

Understand your battery warranty
A decade ago, a battery's free-replacement period was as little as 3 months, and the prorated period (which allows only partial reimbursement) might have been just 50 months. Today, a 36-month free-replacement period is typical, and the prorated period can stretch to 108 months.

But even with today's longer warranties, it's still important to choose a battery with the longest free-replacement period you can get.

A battery warranty code of 24/84, for instance, indicates a free-replacement period of 24 months and a prorated warranty of 84 months. But the amount you'll be reimbursed usually drops off pretty quickly once you're into the prorated period.

For example, the Duralast Gold 34DT-DLG carries a 96-month prorated battery warranty. Using the formula listed on the manufacturer's Web site, this means that after four years, or half the warranty period, you would be credited with $40 of the $80 original price if the battery failed. After five years, you would get back $30.

Signs of neglect, such as low-water levels and improper installation, can void a warranty. So can use in heavy-duty applications such as high-end car audio and marine use if the battery is not recommended for them.

Pure...honest to God Lifetime? I doubt it.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I take Option B.

Cuz "No question life time warranty" is just pure bullshit. watch if u get it and when it fails, they WILL pull some complete bullshit on u and you will be SOL.


Just so you know any Optima battery from Amazon carries NO WARRANTY from anyone. so if its dead. you're SOL.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

sure, when JC bought Optima the quality did go down a lot.

but after all the bitching and warranty replacement(cuz they still have that 3 yr free replacement warranty) JC "finally" realized that it might be "cheaper" to just make a "good" battery in the first place. so the batteries now are actually the same if not better than before.

I have a Redtop, its been deep discharged twice already, so far no issue. almost 2 yrs. Can't say the same for most other Lead Acid battery.

New Yorker

Why not get the Bosch 35-640B at Pep Boys? Ninety bucks, and rated #1 by Consumer Reports. That's what I did.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...b-99024494.htm