Best budget battery

My RX8's battery took a dump on me at a gas station this morning. Any of the part store special brands that I should consider over others?

Honestly I just grab the local Advance Autoparts batteries and rarely have problems. Even with all the HAMs, CBs, and spot lamps.

Hankooks are popular by me. Not especially light but they last me 3-4 years.

Buy from Advance Auto Parts online using a coupon code and pickup in-store. They will even install them for you. The online coupon codes are all over the internet (not sure if we are allowed to post coupon codes here?) Best codes usually give you about 40% off.

Local junkyard sells refurbed Interstates (refurbed by Interstate)for $30, which is what I've started buying and had great luck with.

That's if I don't care about the 30 day warranty. If I want a real warranty I buy the Autozone gold tops because it's so easy for them to look up and replace if needed. I like Advance okay, but have had issues with their stores not cross-talking in the past and getting screwed on warranty.

^What he said.

A124 is my go-to code of choice.

deka. made in pennsylvania if i recall correctly.

Anything built by Johnson Controls is a solid choice.

The 3 friends of mine that have been burned (not literally) by Optima have gone with Deka Batteries. They are all happy and that's with 5 totally different cars.

I've been hearing that Optima ain't what she used to be

Carro Atrezzi wrote: I've been hearing that Optima ain't what she used to be

Not since production moved to Mexico.....

I don't know how hard rotaries are to turn over Vs. piston engines, but I'm really happy with the Bosch Miata battery that I bought at Pep Boys. I'm using one in my Galant VR4. It's an AGM battery and is a lot lighter the the battery it replaced, I believe 25lbs. Vs. 40lbs. I believe I paid between $80 and $90 dollars.

http://static.pepboys.com/images/productImages/56564100/BOSCH-BATTERY-U1RT-370B.jpg

Why don't you drive up for a visit and I'll hook you up with the GRM'er discount?

There's a place here that sells factory second batteries for fleet use - there isn't much of a warranty (30 day replacement only) but the batteries are a third of the price of a fully covered one. The batteries are brands like Interstate, etc - just with case scuffs or ugly paint because they didn't pass exterior factory QC in whatever Superfund site they were assembled in.

Never had a problem with any of them and they've usually outlived the Canadian Tire batteries. I'm sure there must be one of these places in every major metropolis because fleets have to get their batteries from somewhere.

I just had Walmart install one of their Johnson Controls batteries in my Saturn. I paid the extra $10 to get the 3 year version. The South version was rated #1 by Consumer Reports, the North version I got was #3 behind a more expensive Interstate.

I also had good luck with their cheapest lawn tractor battery in my Geo Storm. I think it is about $25 now.

the OEM battery in my Integra last >8 yrs … so when it needed replacing I decided to just get another of the same thing at the dealer … the parts guy said he thought they were Interstate ….

Does anyone know for sure which batteries are made by JCI? The 18-month old Duralast Gold in my wife's car just left her stranded for the second time, so I'm looking to replace it. Was thinking of spending the money for something like an Odyssey, but if there's a cheaper alternative, I'm all for it.

Find your local Factory Motor Parts. They sell direct to shops and are stupid cheap on a lot of items. I worked at one for almost a year and found many a good deal. Their out the door "normal guy" prices are better than the major parts stores

Tom_Spangler wrote: Does anyone know for sure which batteries are made by JCI?

Pretty much everyone sells rebranded JCI. Exide barely exists anymore. Deka does sell some batteries to NAPA, just ask the counter for where and they should be able to tell you.

And now there isn't such a thing as a "cheap" battery unless you are buying something that isn't OEM for your vehicle or it's a blem/refurb/used.

This is a pretty old list, but it tells you who makes what.

http://herehydro.weebly.com/uploads/9/3/9/1/93913/battery_manufacturers_and_brand_names_list.pdf

Bought 2 AutoCraft Gold batteries for my F-350 diesel last week. Advance online $40.00 off coupon for purchase over 100.00 with pickup at the local store so I made 2 purchases online and got $80.00 off. Loaded up the old batteries and swapped them out with the new ones at the store and was on my way. I couldn't get a better deal anywhere I normally deal with including buds that work in the Advance stores.

I've had a couple of the gold batteries from Autozone. No trouble so far.

At 18 months old you should be able to get at least a discount on a replacement. You might have gotten an old or bad one.

Tom_Spangler wrote: Does anyone know for sure which batteries are made by JCI? The 18-month old Duralast Gold in my wife's car just left her stranded for the second time, so I'm looking to replace it. Was thinking of spending the money for something like an Odyssey, but if there's a cheaper alternative, I'm all for it.

I think the Duralast Gold should have a full replacement for two years. Pro-rated after that.

slowride wrote: I've had a couple of the gold batteries from Autozone. No trouble so far. At 18 months old you should be able to get at least a discount on a replacement. You might have gotten an old or bad one.

Yeah, if I could find my damn receipt....

Cotton wrote: I like Advance okay, but have had issues with their stores not cross-talking in the past and getting screwed on warranty.

Scan the receipt and save it to the computer.