Battery recommendations
- Thread starter Marcozi
- Start date
Napa has a 20% off sale right now.
Costco works for me.
Costco
I just run an AGM
Order online from NAPA and pick up at the local store. That will get you 20% off.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
You have four solid choices for a group 49 H8 AGM for your BMW: (AGM is the way to go, and all BMW supplies with their ICE engines) I retrofitted one in my 2001 E39 540 M-Sport over five years ago without issue.
Walmart with a four year free replacement warranty. Depending on your location, it will be an East Penn on the east coast, and out west it will be either Korean or possibly a Varta (will have a "made in Germany" sticker).
Sam's Club or Batteries Plus: Both sell the Duracell AGM made by East Penn with a four year free replacement warranty (three years at Sam's Club).
Costco. Weak warranty, three year "pro rated" warranty. So you start losing warranty after the first month. Clarios supplier. From my observations, it can be either "made in Germany" marked (Varta), unmarked (probably made in USA) or "made in China" (unknown quality). Sometimes you will see all three on the shelf depending on the size AGM.
AC Delco (can be purchased online from Amazon for around $200 (price fluctuates between $185 and $220). Three year free replacement warranty. Made by Varta and will have a "made in Germany" sticker on it. These are #1 rated by Consumer Reports in Group 49 H8 size. I have had mine for 5 years now and still exceeds its 900 CCA rating (around 1000 CCA).
My advice? Invest in a battery tester, best $30 you will spend. Test your car batteries every 6 months and you will never be stranded and never prematurely replace a battery. There are many recommendations on threads in this section of the forum. I have owned one for years and in fact recently bought this one as a back up for $26: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0ARG3X?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
(they have coupon discounts on this all the time, today they are offering 30% off ($12) so net is $28).
People poo poo the accuracy of this type of "resistance" tester, but they work well enough for me the past 18 years or so. I like the simplicity. My Tundra battery tested weakly when I was performing an oil change, so I replaced it. I got over 14 years out of the factory battery. Under my old school of thought, I would have unnecessarily replaced that battery twice by then.
Walmart with a four year free replacement warranty. Depending on your location, it will be an East Penn on the east coast, and out west it will be either Korean or possibly a Varta (will have a "made in Germany" sticker).
Sam's Club or Batteries Plus: Both sell the Duracell AGM made by East Penn with a four year free replacement warranty (three years at Sam's Club).
Costco. Weak warranty, three year "pro rated" warranty. So you start losing warranty after the first month. Clarios supplier. From my observations, it can be either "made in Germany" marked (Varta), unmarked (probably made in USA) or "made in China" (unknown quality). Sometimes you will see all three on the shelf depending on the size AGM.
AC Delco (can be purchased online from Amazon for around $200 (price fluctuates between $185 and $220). Three year free replacement warranty. Made by Varta and will have a "made in Germany" sticker on it. These are #1 rated by Consumer Reports in Group 49 H8 size. I have had mine for 5 years now and still exceeds its 900 CCA rating (around 1000 CCA).
My advice? Invest in a battery tester, best $30 you will spend. Test your car batteries every 6 months and you will never be stranded and never prematurely replace a battery. There are many recommendations on threads in this section of the forum. I have owned one for years and in fact recently bought this one as a back up for $26: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M0ARG3X?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
(they have coupon discounts on this all the time, today they are offering 30% off ($12) so net is $28).
People poo poo the accuracy of this type of "resistance" tester, but they work well enough for me the past 18 years or so. I like the simplicity. My Tundra battery tested weakly when I was performing an oil change, so I replaced it. I got over 14 years out of the factory battery. Under my old school of thought, I would have unnecessarily replaced that battery twice by then.
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This very good advice except for the portion that I have highlighted in orange. Any battery can have an internal short at any time. The chances of that happening are rare but where batteries are concerned the words 'never' and 'always' should be used sparingly.
Have your battery “properly” load tested and if it shows any signs on the test that you could be needing a battery soon, get a new battery.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
Whatever...
That THE best, though pricey.
Wow...7 years. My take...any battery is fine. Seriously. Having said this, I don't understand the strategy of getting every ounce out of a battery to save $$. Yes, you can test it periodically, but I've had experience doing that and having it fail within 6 months! My 2 cents....Replace the battery every 3 years for peace of mind. $250 (AGM) spread over 3 years is peanuts.
An AGM should last well past that.
Walmart isn't putting 4 yr. warranties on them to lose money.
I changed the one in my F150 after 6.5 years......and it still had not left me stranded.
Just wasn't allowing start/stop to activate and was close to failing a battery test.
Depends on location. Here in Las Vegas you're lucky to get 4 years on AGM. Having said this...do whatever you're comfortable with. I will never risk the slightest chance of wife getting stranded...so it's a no brainer for me.
I look at price and warranty. Warranties vary a lot. I have a private label Road Runner battery ( built by East Penn) with a 2 year free replacement and 72 month pro rated. Costco out the door is 3 year prorated. Batteries Plus has 4 year replacement on a AGM style with a current one week sale of 15% off. My wife's 2020 outback is 4 years old so I started to look and compare. All of our cars have a battery jumper in them in case there is a need for a jump.
OP: What brand is the 7 year old original?
Odyssey is the only premium brand Ive seen/used/ witnessed thats worth the money.
I bought an odyssey in anticipation of my 2017 Honda battery taking a crap.
I (think) Im on 15 years now on my truck battery.
