Dang car battery!

[GH85Carrera]

My wife wanted to go see the new Naked gun movie. It is not as good as the old ones, but it is decent, and a several good laughs.

Anyway, we load up to go home, and the battery turned the engine over once very slowly and that was all. Crap.

So I called a buddy to come jump start me. I have a set of jumper cables that I bet are 40+ years old. The ground on one end broke off when connected. I had to get a funny angle to get it to grab hold. It fired right up, and we went home. I pulled the old battery that was 44 months old, and went to the Interstate store in my wife's Macan. They hauled the battery in, tested it for voltage, 12.7 Volts. Then they hooked it to the load tester. BAD battery.

It has some pro rated warranty left.

The good news is it was overcast and actually fairly pleasant and comfortable in the Elky waiting for my buddy. The battery swap was quick, and easy, just $175 for another 4 or 5 years.

Changing the battery is fairly easy, as the battery is right on top. No rust on the battery tray, so the mounting bolt came right out. Zero corrosion on the terminals.

My wife also wanted lunch. so with the Elky with a bad battery, I drove the 911 to a local restaurant. Then driving the Macan to the Interstate battery place, I drove all three cars today. I don't remember ever driving all three cars on one day before, besides moving one from one garage spot to the other. All these trips were over a dozen miles each.

[masraum]

A new battery for the El Camino is $175 AFTER the prorated price?

I guess I've turned into an old man. I remember when a battery for something like that would have been $50 or 75 for a "really good one".

I just checked the O'Reilly website for an '85 El Camino w/305. Prices range from $89 -> $229 (and that's not Optimas or anything fancy).

But I notice that it's a side terminal and possibly an odd group, 75.

Batteries for my Boxster which are pretty large and AGM, run $199 -> $259.

I generally get the top of the pile because the cheap batteries tend to die young.

Somehow $200 - 260 for a Porsche battery that's an AGM seems more reasonably than $90-230 for an '85 El Camino.

It does suck when they die like that. I've had a few instances of "drives the car, and try to restart it 60, 15, 5 mins later and nothing". I've had it so bad that the dome lights and dash lights wouldn't even light. And it sucks. I like it when you notice that it starts lagging a bit.

At least it wasn't beastly, and you were able to get it fixed up and running again fairly easily. It's probably a lot easier than in the Macan.

I hate dealing with cars where the battery is buried under a bunch of crap, like body brackets and that sort of thing. It should be one nut or bolt for the hold down and the 2 terminal/cables.

[Scott Douglas]

Last time the battery died in my car it was in my garage.
Same thing for my wife's car too.

I'm just lucky that way.

[herr_oberst]

I just paid 200 for a battery last week myself. (Non pro-rated) Sticker shock, for sure, but I was traveling and the thought of getting stuck in the desert hundreds of miles from home was worth the peace of mind.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Seems like you’re lucky to get 3-4 years out of modern batteries. Much like tires I don’t skimp on batteries, they can ruin your day really quick.

[stevej37]

I've got a 5 year old Interstate in my Carrera right now....drive it most every day, except winter.
The battery I had before this one was an Optima...didn't last 3 years.

I'll replace the Interstate this winter...I'm happy with 5 years.

[Baz]

Battery for the:

Silverado: $140.
Volvo: $180.
Boxster: $150.

[dad911]

$25 insurance. I use this to check the boat batteries:

https://a.co/d/8Urjzqc

[rfuerst911sc]

I tried Tractor Supply batteries in the Boxster . Standard lead acid . First one was replaced under warranty at 2 years old . The replacement battery is starting to go bad in a little over a year . Always on a maintainer . Puked some acid on the maintainer . Never again I will keep using Walmart AGM batteries .

[GH85Carrera]

Geezer voice:

Why I remember the days of buying a new battery for the El Camino $50, and it lasted for 5 or 6 years, and just got weaker so I had warning. Now they just die, and cost a lot more. And I remember buy a set of 4 tires mounted and balanced for $200 out the door.

The battery is a side post battery, and it has a "go" handle so easy to get in and out of the battery tray.

It is a group 78 battery.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by dad911

$25 insurance. I use this to check the boat batteries:

https://a.co/d/8Urjzqc

I've considered getting a load tester for batteries. The prices are reasonable these days with 50 cheap Chinese options on the big-A but even the Schumacher BT-100 (basically the same thing that I used at the FLAPS in the early 90s) is <$45 on the big A. (still probably made in China, but at least it's a company based in the US, that's been around for decades.)

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I tried Tractor Supply batteries in the Boxster . Standard lead acid . First one was replaced under warranty at 2 years old . The replacement battery is starting to go bad in a little over a year . Always on a maintainer . Puked some acid on the maintainer . Never again I will keep using Walmart AGM batteries .

After my experience with AGM in the miata and now the boxster, I can't imagine why I'd ever buy anything else. They last longer and seem less likely to become a major problem (need to add water, need to worry about acid leaking, exploding, etc....) like a regular lead-acid.

If you can find an AGM for your application, go for that!

[Bill Douglas]

I had to replace the battery in the Corolla. Hell, it was only 15 years old.

I paid a bit extra and got a new one of the same, Yuasa brand.

On Monday it only just turned over and started, and being an auto I didn't want to get stuck somewhere. So it was new battery time.

[oldE]

In '98 the Dairy put me into a new Chevy Venture van. I remember the first three months, when I would turn the key, I would hear various systems cycle (abs, etc.) but just put it down to new vehicle systems. At the first service, the service manager advised me the battery was being replaced under warranty. He explained one cel was weak and the vehicle's control module was compensating by running through its check procedures one at a time. The vehicle had never failed to start.

[Steve Carlton]

Don’t need to start my EVs.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

Don’t need to start my EVs.

Which one are you?

[Steve Carlton]

I recognize them as Muppets, but never watched the show, so don't know the reference.

[fanaudical]

I've had good luck with Costco batteries (made by Interstate, I think). The AGM batteries run ~$180 each; I'm running regular lead acid.

My wife's Q3 seems to regularly eat a battery every 4 years. No warning at all - It starts fine and then it doesn't start at all. The battery in my 911 went 10+ years.

[Bill Douglas]

Varta batteries are excellent. Similarly good are Panasonic - if you can get one. Cool that my original Corolla battery lasted 15 years.

I remember when I got the 911. It had a bosch battery and that lasted me 10 years. The next battery, cheap local brand, didn't even last a year.

[WPOZZZ]

Put a new H7 in my S4 last week as it was to R&R a 50lb battery at the cowl! Battery light still on so I ordered a new alternator as well since the voltage was reading low. Silly me, I saw something under the car and it was my serpentine belt! I need to learn to KISS. lol Car is still going into the shop as I have a coolant leak, probably from one of the hoses. I also ordered the alternator because Audi had some leaks with their water-cooled alternators.

What I have noticed is most batteries are now 36 month batteries. I don't seem to find any of those 60 month or even 72 month batteries anywhere.

[stevej37]

^^^ Same here....Walmart had three levels of batteries before. Now, just two choices, the longer life ones are NLA.

But the prices sure have gone up.