Got it, will try my local monopoly of a dealer online

 

Might try taking my invoice in and see if they will match. Call O'Reilly's as well.

 

My dealer shows $179 for FLA and $279 for AGM but both out of stock

 

Call then. my dealer showed the same but they in fact were in stock.

 

Yep you are right, they have 5 at $179. Amazing the dealer is $70 less than O'reilly on the exact same battery. O'reilly only price matches other auto parts box stores and Autozone is $249 also. I would suspect the ones at the dealership to be pretty fresh.

 

I"ll never understand wanting to pay a lot more money for basically the same innards on a car battery. Interstate brand FLA 850 amp Group 65 batteries are available at Costco for $119.99 at the time of this writing.

 

That's just it, how can you be sure the innards are the same? The Motorcrafts last me 5 years to your 2 years on Interstates and we both live in the same place, are they different or is it the way we each use/care/store our batteries? that is the question, I guess. I don't know the answer and I probably won't live long enough to figure it out.

 

I made nine years on the previous set, but that was in Seattle. Plus, with the 36 month warrenty at Costco, the replacement cost was pennies on the dollar. And the reason they failed is I had an accessory plugged in that took them down to nothing, no dome light or anything, twice. They honored the warrenty, no questions asked.

 

I am on my second Walmart FLA POS set. First ones did ok so I bought again winter before last in November .They sucked about two months later. Swapped under warranty failed there test.

Now this year the first cold morning my truck won't hardly turn over to start. I take them in and test. They say they pass. My little butt.
I check with neighbors old snap heat element needle tester. They are in the green but on the low side.

If I don't plan ahead and top them.off in the cold it's gonna take a few cycles to get cranked.

Probably gonna go with Deka soon. Have a local mom and pop dealer near me.

Can't justify AGM just yet

 

Im running Kirkland fla (costco). 3 years and counting. 850cca

Its started in -30*c. They have also survived a dying alt.

4 year warranty and then prorated from there upto 7 years i believe. Costco also has a no questions asked return policy.
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180 cdn each which is damn good for Canada. Might be nore now.

Good Agms are really expensive here, so i generally just buy the batteries with the best warranty, and keep that receipt in the glove box. In my experience, they generally outlast the warranty.

 

Because there are only 4 US battery manufactures IIRC and every battery is the same from those manufacturers...Enersys, East Penn/ Deka, Johnson, Exide

IIRC, Interstate is made by JCI (Johnson Control Inc)




If you want the best AGM, you need an Enersys(Odyssey) like a batteries + X2 , or East Penn/ Deka, much more affordable and typically has the Duracell label on it. you can get them at Sams or B+. Oreilly's version is the sure start or whatever they call them. Napa has them as well. Batteries + adds an additional yr onto the warranties over everyone else.

IMO, AGM is the only way to go and adds more benefits than just lifespan. I got 11 yrs out of my last set of Enersys AGM's with diehard platinum labels on them. They weren't toast either, just showed a sign of weakness and I don't gamble with batteries, so i got my money's worth and just replaced them.
My batteries do not live a good life either. they sit for weeks on end, don't get topped off properly all the time, no battery tenders, alarm system with constant drain, big stereo system always challenging them, etc.

Batteries are not something to cheap out on IMO, but whatever works for you. Diesels shouldn't even have flooded batteries IMO

East Penn/ Deka is $200ea at sams with 3 yr. I can get the B+ with 4 yr for $230

 

Johnson Controls Inc hasn't manufactured a car battery, for any label, in 5 years.

JCI sold their entire battery business back in 2018. Lock, stock, and barrel. In every country, including the USA.

An investment group called Brookfield Partners bought the battery business from JCI, and used the people and assets to open a new battery building business, called Clarios.

JCI probably regrets their decision to sell their battery power business, especially as the battery industry is now following the software subscription model. In the planning stages of most battery companies world wide these days are various concepts of BaaS... batteries as a service.

There is also a concerted plan in the works (especially in the commercial truck segment in the market) to separate ownership of a truck... away from ownership of the battery that powers the truck.

In this future scenario, we will have to pay monthly fees for the use of batteries that we will not be able to own, on top of paying to charge the batteries. This concept will be sold to the public as an interchangeable battery system. Prototype automated robotic battery changing stations are opening up this year in various states around the country, for vehicles designed with modular interchangeable batteries that are built to a specified standard.

Toyota, Hino, Isuzu, Daihatsu, and other truck manufacturers in Japan are strongly pursuing this concept.

Johnson Controls Inc hasn't made a battery in a long time., and as such will miss out when...

"Big Oil" becomes "Big Battery."

The difference being, every iota of energy used is not only traceable at point of use, it is also traceable at point of payment. Cash is not accepted at current charging stations. It is therefore doubtful that cash will be accepted at battery swapping stations. Since you don't own the battery, there is every reason for them to track the location of their asset, and your usage of their asset. Whoever "they" are.

"Big Battery" becomes "Big Brother."

 

.........

 

I am aware of the small number of battery manufacturers, personally I have always considered Deka/East Penn to be better than the others.
As far as Costco's free replacement, that went away last year. Now its all pro rated.

 

Just shoot me now.....