So it's that time to replace the battery. The motorcraft lasted 10 years and aren't too expensive but for like $50 more, I could get an optima? What battery (not just including these 2) would be my best option?
Which battery to buy?
ScreaminYellowGT
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Go with the motorcraft. It carries a 3 year free replacement 100 month pro-rate warranty which is good at any dealership around the nation. If you have it installed it includes roadside assistance and will cover the tow bill if your battery goes dead.
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if you have a pep boys near you
bosch batteries are $15 mail in rebate, then you also can use the instore discount and save $25 bucks. most cases the bosch battery with 36 month replacement 96 month warranty is $90 bucks cash then you still get $15 back in the mail making it $75 bucks.
---------- Post added at 01:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------
90 bucks cash after the instore discount coupon at the parts counter.
---------- Post added at 01:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 PM ----------
also im cheap as hell, i dont cheap out on quality parts for cheap ones, i just shop around until i find the best possible deal on what i want.
bosch batteries are $15 mail in rebate, then you also can use the instore discount and save $25 bucks. most cases the bosch battery with 36 month replacement 96 month warranty is $90 bucks cash then you still get $15 back in the mail making it $75 bucks.
---------- Post added at 01:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------
90 bucks cash after the instore discount coupon at the parts counter.
---------- Post added at 01:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 PM ----------
also im cheap as hell, i dont cheap out on quality parts for cheap ones, i just shop around until i find the best possible deal on what i want.
LZREDGT, we all have biases, but it is refreshing to see someone actually admit their affiliation with a specific brand (I work for Optima). ScreaminYellowGT, as you can see already, if you ask enough people, you'll get answers that run the spectrum and several that contradict each other. If you liked your previous battery and the service it gave you, replacing it with another may make a lot of sense, regardless of the price or warranty. If you'd prefer to minimize the chances of acid damaging your vehicle, you may want to limit your search to AGM batteries. If price and warranty are your primary purchasing influences, find the cheapest battery you can with the longest warranty and the most-liberal return policy.
I would caution you that any battery purchased online may need to be returned to the original retailer for warranty service (if needed). That may mean the $10 you saved up front could be eaten up eight-fold in warranty shipping costs. That may make brick & mortar retailers more attractive, even if the price is slightly higher. National chains also tend to be more accommodating for warranty claims if you're out of town, than local/regional retailers.
BOSSMAN2888, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you had with your batteries. To be honest with you, usually when I hear from a Mustang owner who has gone through multiple batteries in such a short amount of time, my immediate thought is that they were using an underdrive pulley that was preventing their alternator from maintaining their battery. However, you've indicated your car only had factory equipment. What were the circumstances surrounding your issues and do you happen to recall the voltage levels of any of those batteries when you were having problems? (Our BlueTops are our marine batteries).
BigJohnson03, I always try to stay on top of news about the battery industry, but your post about Interstate being sold to a Chinese company is news to me. Could you please provide a link to the news surrounding this sale, as well as one that connects the quality concerns to the new ownership?
cbjohnson9, I would be interested in knowing if your local parts store guy even knows when JCI acquired Optima. Next time you see him, perhaps you should ask him and see if he gives you any date outside of the year 2000. The truth is, many of the “bad” batteries returned to us under warranty are just deeply-discharged and work fine when properly-recharged. Savvy parts store guys know this and take full advantage of it.
SSG Pate what were the circumstances surrounding the issues you had with your battery?
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries
I would caution you that any battery purchased online may need to be returned to the original retailer for warranty service (if needed). That may mean the $10 you saved up front could be eaten up eight-fold in warranty shipping costs. That may make brick & mortar retailers more attractive, even if the price is slightly higher. National chains also tend to be more accommodating for warranty claims if you're out of town, than local/regional retailers.
BOSSMAN2888, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you had with your batteries. To be honest with you, usually when I hear from a Mustang owner who has gone through multiple batteries in such a short amount of time, my immediate thought is that they were using an underdrive pulley that was preventing their alternator from maintaining their battery. However, you've indicated your car only had factory equipment. What were the circumstances surrounding your issues and do you happen to recall the voltage levels of any of those batteries when you were having problems? (Our BlueTops are our marine batteries).
BigJohnson03, I always try to stay on top of news about the battery industry, but your post about Interstate being sold to a Chinese company is news to me. Could you please provide a link to the news surrounding this sale, as well as one that connects the quality concerns to the new ownership?
cbjohnson9, I would be interested in knowing if your local parts store guy even knows when JCI acquired Optima. Next time you see him, perhaps you should ask him and see if he gives you any date outside of the year 2000. The truth is, many of the “bad” batteries returned to us under warranty are just deeply-discharged and work fine when properly-recharged. Savvy parts store guys know this and take full advantage of it.
SSG Pate what were the circumstances surrounding the issues you had with your battery?
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries
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1,216 Posts
My factory battery died after 3 years. Replaced with a duralast gold or whatever one with the 5 year warranty from autozone and it died after 3 years. Free exchange though and the new one still keeps the next 2 years worth or warranty, but that may be prorated after year 3.
My wife's car has an interstate battery in it since 07 with no issues so far.
My wife's car has an interstate battery in it since 07 with no issues so far.
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13,580 Posts
I had 3 red tops die after a few month or so of service on every battery one of them last about 9 months. I called an talked to someone at optima and they blew me off, and no I do not have a name. I paid almost 200$ for this battery because it was supposed to gel and be safer then a conventional battery for drag racing and road racing. After getting fed up I went and got a advance auto battery that has over a year on the clock and no issue. I ended up eating the cost on the optima which is why I'll not buy another.
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2,206 Posts
The reason Optimas are dying and getting bad reviews are because the company was sold a few years ago. They used to be the best of the best, but under the new managenemt the company has taken a serious crap and stopped making the quality batteries people were used to
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5,219 Posts
Advance Auto Parts frequently has $50 off $100 or more coupon or $40 off $80. I bought a Autocraft with no complaints, and I obtained it pretty cheap because of the above coupon.
I'll never buy one from Walmart again. I did once and it was completely shot when I installed it. Such a PITA.
I work for a distributor of industrial batteries, but the manufacturer is also a large producer of automotive batteries. I've been to their plant in Pennsylvania and it shocked me to see such a thing still exists here in the USA. Check out East Penn manufacturing and Deka brand batteries.
Steer clear of anything made by Exide. They are polluters and are constantly being fined for lead pollution.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-10/exide-technologies-files-for-bankruptcy-in-delaware.html
I'll never buy one from Walmart again. I did once and it was completely shot when I installed it. Such a PITA.
I work for a distributor of industrial batteries, but the manufacturer is also a large producer of automotive batteries. I've been to their plant in Pennsylvania and it shocked me to see such a thing still exists here in the USA. Check out East Penn manufacturing and Deka brand batteries.
Steer clear of anything made by Exide. They are polluters and are constantly being fined for lead pollution.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-10/exide-technologies-files-for-bankruptcy-in-delaware.html
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13,570 Posts
The factory battery in my Mustang lasted 6-7 years. I have run Autozone Duralast gold tops in both my Highlander and my Mustang. The one in the Mustang lasted 6 years the one in the Highlander lasted 5 years. I'm currently running Advance Auto's Autocraft Gold batteries in both vehicles. I've only had them a few months so I can't really report on how long they last. I learned a long time ago not to buy the cheapest battery but to pick one with the most cold cranking power.
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348 Posts
Jim,
Very honorable and nice for you to inquire, unfortunately it made me go to my receipt file and I realized there have been five failures instead of the 3 I had posted about. To be fair the first two the car did have Steeda underdrive pullies. The car is a 99 Automatic GT $60k miles, all power with the Mach 460 stereo. The car is garage kept and sees maybe 6K summer miles a year. The original Optima purchase was in 2004 and I did have Steeda underdrive pullies at that time. This battery was replaced with another red in 2005 and again in 2008. Due to these issues I removed the pullies thinking this was the issue. In 2010 this one failed and again in 2012 this time I chose to pay $136 to upgrade to the yellow top deep cycle. The yellow top Deep Cycle failed in Oct of 2013 and I was given a replacement free of charge, most of the others required a pro-rated charge. Of these 5 failures/replacements all except the last one, I was required to leave the battery while they (Autozone) ensured it was fully charged, then load tested to check if they would hold charge, which they did not. I have also had the cars charging system checked several times and it has always passed. The non start conditions are not after sitting overnight. They occur after the car has sit a few weeks. I only went to the detail of describing these issues as I hope maybe this may help your company in some way on design or otherwise. My experience has been these batteries do not hold charge when left sitting or 6K miles a year.
SSG Pate, thanks for getting back to me and I apologize for the poor service you received from our call center. mellis, if by “a few years ago” you mean 14 years, then yes, we were acquired by JCI 14 years ago. I totally disagree with your suggestion that the quality of our batteries has decreased in any way. While Optima quality has always been outstanding, the batteries we are manufacturing today (and we do manufacture all of our own batteries in our own facility) are the best we have ever made.
BOSSMAN2888, I appreciate you responding and acknowledging the presence of an underdrive pulley in your application. Do you happen to know what the key-off load is on your car and what kind of battery maintainer do you use when your car sits for long periods of time?
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries
BOSSMAN2888, I appreciate you responding and acknowledging the presence of an underdrive pulley in your application. Do you happen to know what the key-off load is on your car and what kind of battery maintainer do you use when your car sits for long periods of time?
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries
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