Difference in battery or difference in warranty?

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May 7, 2018
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Location
Northern KY
My wife's 2015 battery was getting sluggish so I replaced it before it left her stranded somewhere. Wally World has a group 35 'value' battery for $60 or the 'plus' version for $100. For the extra $40 you get 525 CCA vs 490 and two years of warranty rather than one. And the plus version only weighs about a pound more so there's probably not much difference in terms of construction or plate thickness.

It seems to me that buying the cheap one is the smart move economically since any battery that lasts a year is likely to last two. Even if it only lasts 2.5 years you're still coming out ahead. Were it not for the slight difference in CCA and weight I would assume they were the same battery and the extra cost is just paying for a better warranty.
 
I like the way you think. The CCA numbers are within the marketing exaggeration margin.
 
When I buy a motorcycle battery, I always go for the higher capacity. For example, the Harley brand battery has a cca rating of 320 cca's. The one time I bought a Harley battery, it lasted 2 years almost to the day. The aftermarket one I bought had a cca rating of 400 cca's. Beside costing less than half of the Harley battery, it lasted almost 8 years. I would only use a cheaper battery if I was selling a vehicle and it needed a battery. You can't have too much tread on your tires, too big a gas tank, or too big a battery, in my opinion.,,
 
What battery I put in depends on how much longer I am going to keep the vehicle. If I plan on keeping the vehicle I will go with the higher CCA and better warranty.
 
they are almost certainly the exact same battery. if you took a tester to the store they'd probably both measure 600cca +/-. the difference in advertised capacity and warranty is just marketing.
 
I have one of the "value" walmart batteries in group 27 I bought about a year ago for $55 bucks.. The one thing I found when I brought it home on day 1 was that my tester said battery health was only 80%. It hasn't dropped much since then, but it started much lower than it should have. Still starts the car fine after a year though.

The better walmart batteries I have bought all started off on better terms, but the longest I ever got from one was 3 years anyway, so who knows.
 
My wife's 2015 battery was getting sluggish so I replaced it before it left her stranded somewhere. Wally World has a group 35 'value' battery for $60 or the 'plus' version for $100. For the extra $40 you get 525 CCA vs 490 and two years of warranty rather than one. And the plus version only weighs about a pound more so there's probably not much difference in terms of construction or plate thickness.

It seems to me that buying the cheap one is the smart move economically since any battery that lasts a year is likely to last two. Even if it only lasts 2.5 years you're still coming out ahead. Were it not for the slight difference in CCA and weight I would assume they were the same battery and the extra cost is just paying for a better warranty.
Since a 24F fits in my Group 35 application, I just installed a Value 24F in my Mazda to replace the 5 year old plus. Voltages seemed to be low in short order after sitting with the car on ACC listening to the radio waiting for oilBabe, so off to Wally World to replace the 5 year old WM Plus series battery.

I got good service out of the Group 65 unit I installed in my old '99 Grand Marquis.
It was 25 months old and -5F outside when I recorded this video:

If I get 25 months out of the one I just installed today, I'm money ahead as I'm not sure I'll have the car more than 2 more years.

And if I do need a replacement, I'll just replace the one in oilBabe's RAV4 with a new battery and demote her Group 35 to my Mazda.
I replaced hers with the Sam's Club Duracell Group 35 a month or two ago as she had the Factory battery from 2016 and I figured I'd rolled the dice enough.
 
Sam’s Club is the same way, the 3 year Duracell Gold warranty is only valid as long as you’re a member.
Were actually costco members but I won't get a battery from there -since with Walmart I simply photocopy the receipt and stuff it in the glove box. If I am travelling almost everyplace has a walmart. Costco's and Sam's are a big city thing.
 
"any battery that lasts a year is likely to last two. Even if it only lasts 2.5 years you're still coming out ahead"

I have no idea what you're talking about. In our climate, even 4 years is a low lifespan for a decent battery. If you get 2.5 yr out of a $60 battery, that is a false economy. At the same time, if you want to change it more often, you might get a similar cost/year.

If I were forced to over-generalize, in our climate, the difference between the Everstart value and maxx (not plus) is about two years but also depends on the vehicle manufacturer, how much they tried to shrink the battery group size which is more common on newer cars, not so much the K1500.

This generalization also depends on time of year. If I have a battery that can get me through winter, it will usually last until the next winter.
 
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"any battery that lasts a year is likely to last two. Even if it only lasts 2.5 years you're still coming out ahead"

I have no idea what you're talking about. In our climate, even 4 years is a low lifespan for a decent battery. If you get 2.5 yr out of a $60 battery, that is a false economy. At the same time, if you want to change it more often, you might get a similar cost/year.
I was referencing the warranty replacement times of the two different batteries. A defective battery is likely to fail within the one year warranty and if it doesn't then there's no reason to expect it not to last more than the two years the more expensive battery would be warranted. My point is that there's really not much of a financial penalty for choosing the cheap battery even if it doesn't last terribly long.

Other than one that was killed by a bad alternator I've never had a battery last less than seven years.
 
True, not much of a financial penalty.

I just don't buy the argument that the cost difference is about the warranty, as much as the warranty reflects t he expected longer lifespan. Granted, this would have been more relevant before WM dropped their Maxx warranty period, but I still don't see the point to pick the cheaper battery in a climate where it does get down to ~10F at night on occasions, then a single no-start would swamp my appreciation of cost savings, jumping it at 10F.

The cost/year versus fewer battery swaps and jump starts, seems like an easy choice considering the TCO of a vehicle.
 
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True, not much of a financial penalty.

I just don't buy the argument that the cost difference is about the warranty, as much as the warranty reflects t he expected longer lifespan. Granted, this would have been more relevant before WM dropped their Maxx warranty period, but I still don't see the point to pick the cheaper battery in a climate where it does get down to ~10F at night on occasions, then a single no-start would swamp my appreciation of cost savings, jumping it at 10F.

The cost/year versus fewer battery swaps and jump starts, seems like an easy choice considering the TCO of a vehicle.
One of the major battery retailers used to offer three different levels of battery. According to their rep they all came off the same line and the only difference was the sticker they put on the case. The cost difference was because of the difference in how long the company was on the hook should it go bad. You were paying for a difference in warranty not a difference in quality.

Since the plus battery isn't much heavier there's no reason to believe it's built with better materials/thicker plates/etc.
 
One of the major battery retailers used to offer three different levels of battery. According to their rep they all came off the same line and the only difference was the sticker they put on the case. The cost difference was because of the difference in how long the company was on the hook should it go bad. You were paying for a difference in warranty not a difference in quality.

Since the plus battery isn't much heavier there's no reason to believe it's built with better materials/thicker plates/etc.
So based on some hearsay from one rep, about what they used to offer, we should apply this as truth across all batteries from all brands, forever after? There's bound to be more reps, that state the opposite.

Stating "isn't much heavier' is still an acknowledgement that it's a different battery, unless you attribute the weight difference to a larger sticker? ;) Besides, I don't trust walmart weight specs, too much copy and paste error going on there. There are many simple things that Walmart can't get right.

Walmart's specs:

Everstart Maxx: 38.2lb - 9.56 x 6.87 x 8.9 (L x W x H)
Everstart Plus : 39.2lb - 7.20 x 6.40 x 9.04 (these L W H may be out of order but that's how they list them)
Everstart Value: 39.2lb - 9.1 x 6.9 x 8.9

Either these specs are wrong or they are different batteries, not same thing with a different sticker on it. I suspect both.

Stating thinner vs thicker plates is oversimplifying the situation. There's # of plates, height vs the sludge catch area clearance (determines life till short out), grid plates, honeycomb or sponge structures, patents on some of them, and more expensive processes to make them.
 
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Been using the Walmart Everstart Platinum AGM to maximize interval between changes as funky stuff happens when I disconnect the old battery to replace. Yes, you guessed it, German cars, but learning and all good at the moment. OEM original replacements are exorbitant.

Other thing I would mention is that it is critical to do it correctly when commissioning a new battery. Can make a big difference on it's life. I know....another discussion.
 
So based on some hearsay from one rep, about what they used to offer, we should apply this as truth across all batteries from all brands, forever after? There's bound to be more reps, that state the opposite.

Stating "isn't much heavier' is still an acknowledgement that it's a different battery, unless you attribute the weight difference to a larger sticker? ;) Besides, I don't trust walmart weight specs, too much copy and paste error going on there. There are many simple things that Walmart can't get right.

Walmart's specs:

Everstart Maxx: 38.2lb - 9.56 x 6.87 x 8.9 (L x W x H)
Everstart Plus : 39.2lb - 7.20 x 6.40 x 9.04 (these L W H may be out of order but that's how they list them)
Everstart Value: 39.2lb - 9.1 x 6.9 x 8.9

Either these specs are wrong or they are different batteries, not same thing with a different sticker on it. I suspect both.

Stating thinner vs thicker plates is oversimplifying the situation. There's # of plates, height vs the sludge catch area clearance (determines life till short out), grid plates, honeycomb or sponge structures, patents on some of them, and more expensive processes to make them.
I’m still of the opinion that paying 40% more for the plus battery doesn’t buy you a 40% better battery no matter what metric you use to measure better. That’s especially considering the long service life I’ve gotten from previous samples of the value model. I suspect this battery will outlast the car given how frequently she drives it.
 
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