Time for a new battery

Kinja'd!!! by "Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
Published 10/29/2017 at 00:24

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Kinja'd!!!

Well, the Mazda5 6MT is over 5 years old now, and not surprisingly the battery is feeling a little weak. It’s not bad, but if I don’t start the car for several days it goes flat. It’s OK now, sort of, but winter’s approaching and it seems like a good time to take care of this matter before it gets stupidcold.

I haven’t had to buy a battery in years, so I could use some advice. In my family, as far back as I can recall (several decades), new battery time meant a trip to Sears for a Die Hard, but I suspect that those days are over. So, are any battery brands better than others? Anything I should avoid? I thought I’d just go over to Costco, but they don’t have my size and I really don’t feel like waiting several weeks (!) for them to get one. I’d like the replacement to last as long as the original, but I don’t want to spend more than $80-85, if possible. Any ideas/suggestions/recommendations?


Replies (10)

Kinja'd!!! "TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
10/29/2017 at 00:29, STARS: 2

Avoid Walmart batteries. I can’t tell you how many new-ish EverStart batteries we get that are dead or damaged. Other than that, you can’t go wrong.

Kinja'd!!! "Wacko" (wacko--)
10/29/2017 at 00:38, STARS: 0

Says the guy who doesn’t own a car;)

Kinja'd!!! "HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch)
10/29/2017 at 00:41, STARS: 1

DEKA/East Penn.

Made in usa, quality stuff. Under some diverse brand names. Duralast, duracell, etc.

Kinja'd!!! "TheHondaBro" (wwaveform)
10/29/2017 at 00:45, STARS: 1

?

I work at an auto parts store. We test and recharge batteries. 100% of the EverStart batteries we get are shit.

Kinja'd!!! "gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
10/29/2017 at 00:50, STARS: 1

whatever you get, check the date of manufacture. especially if an odd size. This past summer i bought an optima that was from 6/14 that couldn’t hold a charge at all.

Kinja'd!!! "gmporschenut also a fan of hondas" (gmporschenut)
10/29/2017 at 01:01, STARS: 0

after swearing for 2 hours, why the car wasn’t starting with the trickle charger,  I called the Advance store i got it from, it was about 4pm on a saturday closing at 5, without even seeing the battery they called another store to run a ‘fresh” one over so we’d both get there in 30 minutes.

Kinja'd!!! "ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com" (ita97)
10/29/2017 at 01:22, STARS: 1

Good call on replacing it now. Batteries never pick a convenient place to give it up. Interstate always makes good batteries.

Kinja'd!!! "That Bastard Kurtis - An Attempt to Standardize My Username Across Platforms" (thatbastardkurtis5)
10/29/2017 at 07:42, STARS: 1

Are you a AAA member? They may offer battery service in your area...they’ll come out, run a test on the whole starter/charger system, and replace the batter on the spot. Their prices and warranties are competitive with the auto parts stores, and if the battery dies some time you’re calling AAA for a jump anyway.

Their batteries are made by East Penn, real high quality batteries as HHFP said.

Kinja'd!!! "Wacko" (wacko--)
10/29/2017 at 12:15, STARS: 0

Just teasing you.

Kinja'd!!! "jminer" (jminer)
10/29/2017 at 14:33, STARS: 1

You’re going to spend more than $85 on a battery. Hell- motorcycle batteries cost $50 nowadays. I just had to buy one for my Flex and I paid $150 for it at O’reillys!

Walmart/Sams/Costo usually last 3-4 years. Optima is a good choice with an excellent warranty, but you’ll pay for it.

Excuse me- I’m going to sit on my front porch now and yell at the sky about how much cheaper things used to be...