[benito78]

I have a 1999 Accord and the battery is ready for replacement. Wal-Mart seems to have the cheapest battery around, is it a good idea? Or is it worth it to pay the extra $50 and get the Honda dealer to install a Honda battery?

 

[EXLNavi]

Don't get a Honda battery.

Get a battery from Costco. They are good batteries, made by Johnson Controls (Interstate batteries). And they don't cost an arm and a leg. Wal-Mart's are made by Exide. No experience with them, but I'd stay away judging by how wal-mart treats its brand new merchandise.

A few people here including myself have complained about OEM Honda batteries dying on them prematurely. My Honda battery would cause my car to crank slowly during the winter. Replaced at dealer, same thing. Died a few months after. No such issues with my costco battery. Cranks right up every time.

 

[SSMV6]

Look for a battery that's less than 9 months old. They have the "born" dates stamped on them. Anything over 1 year old and you're just asking to get a new battery again very soon. Like EXLNavi said, Costco and BJ's are good places to get batteries. They're usuually cheaper than Wal-Mart, too. The only catch is you need to get a membership there and it can go anywhere from $30 to $100-ish. If you get tires from them too, then the savings can easily make up for the membership.

 

[BenjiBoy650]

I bought a battery from Costco for my dad's '97 Camry and put his 100 month battery in mine. It has higher CCA than the original Honda battery but works just the same...same group size.

 

[benito78]

Great Advice

Great, I went and picked up a new battery from Costco.

In Canada, the batteries are under the "Kirkland" label, which I think is just the Costco private label. The battery was only $49 CDN, compared to the $90 or more everywhere else (even cheaper than Wal-Mart), and was mfrd on Sep 05.

Just putting a trickle charge on it now.

Thanks for the advice, folks!

 

[mrjtree]

Just putting a trickle charge on it now.

For the winter months, I've had good experience with these chargers.

http://batterytender.com/default.php?cPath=11_2

 

[stiller fan]

had a honda battery in my car when i bought mine in jan 01..... just replaced it today after 4.5 years....... yes, it always cranked slow during cold winter mrngs, but it never left me stranded...... ever. unles, you count my car not starting in the barracks parking lot last week..... :lmao:

 

[Fabvsix]

Sears have good batteries too! I replace mine with Interstate batteries!
OEM suck big time !

 

[according2me]

I replaced my OEM battery at ~100K/2yr mark with a Wallyworld (middle of the line-$40) battery. No problems yet at 51K+/3yrs further down the road.

I needed to replace my daughters 99 Protege battery recently and tried to get a Wally battery for her. But, because of Katrina, they had weird hours and I ended up getting a Durolast from Autozone. About $10 more for their middle of the road battery.
________
Ford Focus WRC

 

[princess]

According to a consumer reports magazine the was in the waiting room the other day. Walmart's everlast is the highest rated car battery. Who woulda guessed? :dunno: I don't know how old the magazine was.....

 

[benjamming]

The Nov-2004 issue is the latest CR that tested automotive batteries that I could find. This is the ratings for Group 24 that fits Honda Accord and Nissan Pickup. I don't believe that they ever test the OEM replacement batteries.
1) Advance Autocraft Silver 24-5
2) DieHard (Sears) Weatherhandler 30024 (North)
3) EverStart (Wal-Mart) High Power 24-3S (South)
4) Interstate Mega-Tron MT-24

 

[BuyAccord]

November 2005 CR auto battery ratings for group size 24/24F:

1) EverStart (Wal-Mart) High Power 24-3N (North) $40.00
2) NAPA Legend 7524 $60.00

Both of these batteries are sealed, maintenance free units. The EverStart was listed as a CR Best Buy.

 

[benjamming]

BuyAccord,

Thank you for posting that. I hadn't read my Nov-2005 issue yet so I hadn't seen the new ratings yet.
Also realize that if you can't get the listed Wal-Mart battery (I can't), this leaves folks w/o a battery that has been rated by CR. Pretty bad reporting by the magazine in my opinion.

 

[tdbear]

If you don't want to pay the dealer big bucks to install it, go to Autozone, etc. where they will do it for you. (they wouldn't do it for my Passat because it was listed as "complicated")

 

[EXLNavi]

Great, I went and picked up a new battery from Costco.

In Canada, the batteries are under the "Kirkland" label, which I think is just the Costco private label. The battery was only $49 CDN, compared to the $90 or more everywhere else (even cheaper than Wal-Mart), and was mfrd on Sep 05.

Just putting a trickle charge on it now.

Thanks for the advice, folks!

They're called Kirkland in the US as well.

Sep 05 is pretty good, that's nice and fresh.

One way I've seen batteries manufactured and stored so they don't age is in "dry" form. They are stored and shipped without electrolyte. When they are sold the electrolyte is added and the battery is factory fresh. No nasty sulfation due to it sitting on the shelf with acid in it.