car battery?

[drob99]

I have a 2002 GP GT wit 74K and I'm looking to buy another battery. I think the battery I have is the original (AC Delco) 7-year. I wanted to get another battery. Should I get another AC Delco battery or a Sears Die hard?

['97ventureowner]

A C Delco . That's all I run now as I have had poor luck with other brands ( especially Wal Mart's "Neverstart err I mean Everstart)All of the A C Delcos I have owned have made it past 7 years and some even went well beyond that. Many other people I know also have experienced the same long term results from their A C Delco batteries. Their price is also competitive with other national brands and I believe they are worth it.

[richtazz]

I agree. The DieHards aren't the battery they used to be. Exide bought out the company that made the DieHard, and Exide batteries are GARBAGE!!!!

[brcidd]

I used to use Diehards-- found out you only rent them-- because you can never get out from under them-- they all fail short of their warranty period- and in order to get pro-rated value back- you had put your credit towards the new Diehard- which then would fail in a couple of years- and the scenario keeps repeating itself.....finally crawled out of that mess......usually use Delcos-

['97ventureowner]

I also noticed by your profile that you live in Wisconsin. I live in NY where we have terrible winters with lots of cold temps and summers that can be hot,probably similar to the type of weather you experience. The Delco batteries do a very good job at starting my vehicles on the coldest of mornings and also during the summer while operating the vehicle's a/c and other demands of all season driving.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by richtazz

I agree. The DieHards aren't the battery they used to be. Exide bought out the company that made the DieHard, and Exide batteries are GARBAGE!!!!

How long has Exide been making DieHards for Sears Rich? I'm going on five years with my DieHard in the GTP. The original AC Delco in my my wife's Regal LS only made it to around 4 years and son's Alero to around 3 years so anecdotally at least from my experiences they have their fair share of problems too. The Alero's was replaced under warranty with an AC Delco Professional Series (7 year warranty?) and it crapped out in under one year. I gave up on it and went with Autozone's Duralast brand on those. However the AC Delco in my Regal GS is hanging in there (6 years).

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by BNaylor

The original AC Delco in my my wife's Regal LS only made it to around 4 years and son's Alero to around 3 years so anecdotally at least from my experiences they have their fair share of problems too.

Well gee Bob, I guess everything isn't bigger in Texas,( including the battery life )

[richtazz]

it was about 2-3 years ago Bob, same thing with the Autocraft batteries at Advance. They were both made by Johnson Controls, and Exide bought them out. Advance scrambled to find another supplier, because they wanted nothing to do with Exide crap.

AC-Delco had a temporary quality control glitch where they were having problems with the grids shorting out and/or the post pulling out in the 75-7yr and 78-7yr professional series, and you probably got one of those. If I remember correctly, that was back in 05.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by richtazz

it was about 2-3 years ago Bob, same thing with the Autocraft batteries at Advance. They were both made by Johnson Controls, and Exide bought them out. Advance scrambled to find another supplier, because they wanted nothing to do with Exide crap.

AC-Delco had a temporary quality control glitch where they were having problems with the grids shorting out and/or the post pulling out in the 75-7yr and 78-7yr professional series, and you probably got one of those. If I remember correctly, that was back in 05.

Well it looks like I made the cutoff on the DieHard. Shame on Sears.

Bingo on the year Rich. It was around 2005 before the 36K bumper to bumper warranty expired on it. We thought we were getting a great deal on a free Delco battery supposedly better than the original but it turned out to be not the case. Oh well.

['97ventureowner]

Concerning choosing a car battery, it amazes me how many people buy a battery for their vehicle on price alone. I've spoken to customers and others who have told me their main consideration for getting a new battery is price, the cheaper the better. Having been there years ago and having the same thoughts, I quickly learned. I tell them that if they buy a battery on price alone how much do you save when you consider that when the battery "dies" and most usually do, the time and effort it takes to take that battery back to get another one? You have to factor in your time ,gas, and frustration factor and then you realize the cheaper battery really isn't worth it. ( Plus many cheaper batteries may not be rated as good as the one in your vehicle when it comes to CCA, some find that out on a cold winter morning.) I've written before on my experiences with Wal Mart's Neverstart batteries. I've purchased two in the past for 2 different vehicles and both went dead well before their warranty was up. I had to take them in to the store, to the Customer Service desk, ( now this was before our Wal Marts became supercenters with the addition of a tire/lube center so I don't know if you still have to take a defective battery to Cust. Serv. or if you can go to the tire/lube center for replacement.) Once at the cust. serv. desk you had to wait in line and then when it was your turn, you had to describe what was wrong, then you had to wait for them to call an employee from the automotive dept. to come to the front with their battery tester to pronounce your battery D.O.A.. You then had to go to the back of the store where the automotive dept usually is and get a new battery then take it back to Cust Serv. to get the exchange paperwork completed. That can take a lot of your valuable time especially when you consider that battery might go bad again in a year's time and you have to repeat the process I just outlined.
Many of the people I've discussed this with have changed their minds when it comes to buying a replacement battery and are more aware that cheaper isn't always better in the end.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

Concerning choosing a car battery, it amazes me how many people buy a battery for their vehicle on price alone. I've spoken to customers and others who have told me their main consideration for getting a new battery is price, the cheaper the better. Having been there years ago and having the same thoughts, I quickly learned. I tell them that if they buy a battery on price alone how much do you save when you consider that when the battery "dies" and most usually do, the time and effort it takes to take that battery back to get another one? You have to factor in your time ,gas, and frustration factor and then you realize the cheaper battery really isn't worth it. ( Plus many cheaper batteries may not be rated as good as the one in your vehicle when it comes to CCA, some find that out on a cold winter morning.) I've written before on my experiences with Wal Mart's Neverstart batteries. I've purchased two in the past for 2 different vehicles and both went dead well before their warranty was up. I had to take them in to the store, to the Customer Service desk, ( now this was before our Wal Marts became supercenters with the addition of a tire/lube center so I don't know if you still have to take a defective battery to Cust. Serv. or if you can go to the tire/lube center for replacement.) Once at the cust. serv. desk you had to wait in line and then when it was your turn, you had to describe what was wrong, then you had to wait for them to call an employee from the automotive dept. to come to the front with their battery tester to pronounce your battery D.O.A.. You then had to go to the back of the store where the automotive dept usually is and get a new battery then take it back to Cust Serv. to get the exchange paperwork completed. That can take a lot of your valuable time especially when you consider that battery might go bad again in a year's time and you have to repeat the process I just outlined.
Many of the people I've discussed this with have changed their minds when it comes to buying a replacement battery and are more aware that cheaper isn't always better in the end.

That is a good point Tom and reasons why retailers like Autozone to include others that are similar make a good entrance or appeal to people along with the reasonable cost and specs. Called the "convenience" factor. They always have batteries in stock that match the factory specs in CCA, CA and reserve capacity. Best part is there are so many AZ nationwide or in your locale so there is usually no problem getting a replacement hopefully covered under the prorated warranty. Doesn't hurt to keep a receipt but they can pull up your purchase in their computer database for coverage purposes. Plus testing is free to include the overall charging system. That is why I went with Autozone on batteries and it has nothing to do with buying on the cheap.

In the end battery preference or manufacturer like any car part will be based on personal preference and experiences.

['97ventureowner]

One quick addition to your post Bob, concerning keeping the receipt for your purchases. Computers have made it much more easier for companies to keep track of their customer's purchases, especially for reasons of returns/exchanges, and even recall notifications. However it is a good idea for the customer to keep a copy of that receipt for themselves at home as well. I got this little piece of advice from a customer concerning the upkeep of your receipt. Nowadays many stores use a different technology to print the receipt they give the customer (thermal printing I think it's called?)Anyways, thesereceipts do not hold up as well as the old paper copies we used to get years ago,(I came across some from the early '70s that still looked brand new, whereas some that I got from 6 months ago have already faded.These receipts can be damaged easily and made unreadable by getting wet or placed near a heat source, ( I accidentally placed my cup of coffee on a Wal Mart receipt I had just gotten and the heat from the cup turned the receipt black in certain areas.) This customer told me he scans a copy of the receipt to his computer so he has a permanent copy of it in case the original fades or is rendered unreadable.Some printers have a copy or scan capability so if you don't own a scanner you might make a copy this way , or even take it to a copy center and use their machine. That way you will have a better copy of your receipt in case you need it in the future.

[richtazz]

I do the same thing Tom. I scan all thermal paper receipts and keep them on the computer. If it's a car part that I didn't buy from where I work, I put a printed copy from my scan in an envelope in the glove box (that way if it fails out of town, I have proof of purchase).