I had Duralast Golds on the 6.0 but when they chose to argue with me and give me a 700ca battery instead of the 1000ca I originally paid for, they lost my business and a fight almost broke out at the store. Ask me how that went....

O'Reilly sells some maintenance free extreme start batteries that have survived the Texas heat and still crank the engine with some serious authority.

If you can swing it, the diehard platinum agms are awesome. They recharge faster than the old style batteries and are better for the truck overall.

Ford's warranty is nice, but when I had their batteries, they chose to argue with me over two bad batteries that wouldn't hold a charge and insisted that I pay instead of them having to replace them. So needless to say, I'm not a fan of Ford's batteries and the warranty behind them.

O'Reilly quickly tests the batteries and doesn't give me crap if either one of my batteries are bad. There also everywhere, so if I have a problem, I don't have to worry.

 

Battery-wise I went with NAPA Legend 875CCA since they had the best warranty and were also the largest CCA battery that anyone in the area had in stock. Been happy with them so far...
Maintenance list for me is oil change, AR9100, fuel filters, and maybe shocks (depends on when it gets COLD and how long it stays that way)

 

It Seems AZ has changed their plan on batteries, I had a similar experience. I've used the Gold series batteries for many years. This spring one died just out of warranty and they don't even have a 1000a battery in the store in any line! The biggest battery in the store were red top Optimas at 850cca. Because of our "geographical location", nothing in the south needs more than a 700cca battery- right.

After a long discussion with the counter guy and an even longer one with the manager they talked me into the 700amp batteries. They broke out all the sales literature, discussed the "new" design and how they were rated and it came down to that being the best batteries in the store for my truck (part# 65S-DLG) and gave me a written three year free replacement warranty. List price on the "new" batteries was much higher the the 1000cca old ones but they warrantied my old batteries when they didn't have to, gave me some "special credit" waived the disposal fee etc and got me out the door very cheaply. The whole time insisting the smaller batteries were better than my old ones. I'm sure they were happy to see me go. We'll see how the batteries do, so-far so-good but I expect when the temps start dropping there may be a problem.

 

How did that go?
I don't need to deal with the heat, but noted.
Craftsman.com
Off-dah. $250 a pop.
Convenience through locations is that high on my list. If it won't start then anything more than a block is too far anyway.



Are those Golds lead acid?
AR9100... I'm going with the Hot Shot. They says it's not a friction modifier, but something different.

 

not convinced i would go for AGM batteries - very vibration resistant, but also sensitive to overcharging on long runs. you can charge at 14.4V but need to float charge no higher than 13.8V. if you do short runs then go for it, but if you're doing that why diesel?

 

I brought both batteries in suspecting one or both were bad. They follow procedure, test and find that one is bad. Before I can even say anything, the manager I'm working with does a warranty return and hands me a 700CA battery. Thinking it's an honest mistake, I politely point out to him that I paid for 1000 CA and that I drive a diesel truck that is not supposed to run mismatched batteries; otherwise I'll be back to Square one before I know it.

He says "sorry I already made the swap, we don't carry those and I'm doing you a favor....etc (blah, blah, blah)" I politely ask him to find a 1000CA battery and he again, has the "I'm not going to help you" attitude. There's a line of people behind me and things start getting heated, because I'm not leaving until I have a 1000CA battery in hand. I now move to demanding this guy get me what I paid for and I'm now inches away from slamming this guy's head on the counter and breaking his face. The people behind me in the line realize this and a few of them leave the store because a 6ft 6inch 390 pound man is getting seriously angry. The other two managers what weren't doing anything went to the back and found something to do.

Before I ended up in jail for assault, I walk out of the store and do what the store manager there wouldn't do and found an auto zone that had what I paid for. I walk into the store, a pregnant chick there said "no problem" and I left with a 1000CA battery.

Keep in mind, despite my size, people who know me and have met me, know me as a gentle giant. But don't look me in the eye, give me less than I paid for, and then tell me there's nothing you can do when you know full well you're wrong.

 

They are a lead acid battery, but they were the highest CCA in my area, in stock, and around here NAPA stores are almost as common as the other big chains. On the additive note, I was pretty happy with how well the AR9100 worked the last time I used it so I did it again. I am going on the same schedule as fuel filters with the stuff so it doesn't get too expensive...

 

. This is why some punk with an Associate degree in "business" has no business being a manager, CUSTOMER SERVICE is much more important if you want return customers. I'm willing to bet you went back to that store with the pregnant chick long before you went back to "Senor Donkey's" store!!

 

Had a similar experience at best buy once kinda like this. Amazing how one store tells you to put your thing in that dark place, and another store will go the distance to help you.

So do they or don't they still make the 1000CA. What do they show for CCA?

 

All the guy told me was they are no longer stocked in southern region stores. I guess they still make them. I inferred somewhere during the conversation that AZ has a new battery supplier or the old one has changed its specs. He did say they no longer put yellow tops on the Gold series batteries (which was mostly a warranty thing anyway). I referred to the 700cca batteries as smaller a couple times but they have the same footprint and are maybe 1.25 inches shorter. The tag also lists them a 875ca @32°f. Not sure what the 1000a batteries are at that temp.

I understand sales tactics and broke they guy out on that subject but he insisted the specs on the old batteries were liberal as far as test condition etc. and the new batteries ratings are more "honest". The plates, separators and surface finishes on them are improved both in mechanical and electrical strength, and the 700cca batteries I left with are better by both measures than the 1000cca batteries I was returning.

In the end I felt like the guy in the Spinal Tap movie arguing about his guitar amplifier that goes to 11. Dude was saying "this is the best I have to sell and they are better than you think, I can practically give them to you if you'll try them" and I was saying " but they only go to 700".

 

You are 100% correct, I took it one step further and cut ties with Auto zone. I'm now and O'Reilly auto guy. The guys at the store near me know what I need and get me taken care of. Having an account with them has paid dividends too.

700CCA/875CA Duralast Gold
775CCA/975CA Duralast Platinum

The Super start extremes I have now are 875CCA/1045CA. 2-3 cranks and my truck is started.

 

I bought the Diehard AGM Platinums for my Ex, yes they were expensive but Ed at ficmrepair.com recommended the batteries to keep my system happy. I think the Platinum batteries are no longer carried by Sears but they are manufactured by Odyssey.

I am going to replace all of my car batteries with AGM as they cycle through batteries.

 

The Super Start is an O'Reilly brand. That 875CCA looks pretty good with a 36/84 month warranty. They get $141 for the extreme 3 yr one. Of course the $10 rebate expires tomorrow.

The Dura Last actually says 935/750CCA for the Platinum and they want $171 with a 36/60 month warranty period.

Motorcraft BXT-60-850 $130 only shows as 750CCA, but I'd imagine around 850CA since the part number has an 850 in it with a warranty of 36/100.

I have a good relationship with the local ford dealer, and I drink beer with the diesel parts guy. My cost will probably be less, but I wonder what they get to install them.

Let you know tomorrow afternoon how that pans out. Which ones I end up I don't know yet.

 

I'd imagine they would be really nice, but $500 for batteries just isn't in the budget.

I still found them on the website. No one ever makes they're own batteries. Always made by someone else and re-branded.

 

A place called Automotive Electronics is a near me and is stellar when I need their service, they carry Interstate batteries and get my business. Never had a problem with Interstate and I am just replacing because of age.