The Resurrection of Exide

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The new CEO of Exide was formerly the COO and president of AutoZone. So it would not be surprising to see the full line
of Exide batteries at AutoZone.
 
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Last month my Honda replacement battery went bad after just under 24 months. Stranded me on Christmas Eve. I bought a Rural King (made by Exide) group 51 battery for $60 everyday price. 450 cca, one year free replacement, good enough at that price for a four banger.
 
Originally Posted by NormanBuntz
Last month my Honda replacement battery went bad after just under 24 months. Stranded me on Christmas Eve. I bought a Rural King (made by Exide) group 51 battery for $60 everyday price. 450 cca, one year free replacement, good enough at that price for a four banger.

I got a Deka 551MF for $76.61 plus a $1 state battery fee and sales tax last Feb from Lowe's. It was weird though. If I needed it ASAP I couldn't have gotten it in time. Had to be ordered online and sent to the store, or I could have had it delivered from a store to home for $70. They also don't carry car batteries in stock (like Home Depot does) and the manager said they couldn't accept the core for a return. He was also telling me not to abandon my old battery in the parking lot because the local police would fine them when customers left hazardous waste behind. The manager did refund my core fee when I sent a message to Lowe's corporate.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Deka-12-Volt-560-Amp-Farm-Equipment-Battery/50183737

Only an 18 month manufacturer's replacement period though with no prorated replacement. I think I could have gotten an equivalent Duracell with a longer warranty from Batteries Plus Bulbs, but it didn't seem like it would be worth it.
 
Originally Posted by NormanBuntz
Last month my Honda replacement battery went bad after just under 24 months. Stranded me on Christmas Eve. I bought a Rural King (made by Exide) group 51 battery for $60 everyday price. 450 cca, one year free replacement, good enough at that price for a four banger.


I had good service out of one of those for a little over six years. It was still starting fine but I didn't want to chance it any longer. It did leak and cause corrosion under the battery and couldn't keep the corrosion off the+ terminal for long. Until I put the felt washers on and that kept it at bay for years. The leaking from the positive terminal could have been caused during installation. When the guy at RK put it in and was tightening the negative clamp the wrench touched the positive clamp causing an arc of sparks. It gave both of us a scare and I just wanted to get out of there. It was a group 35 and the price was $55 back then which I don't think has changed. Never put on a charger but car used daily.

For the replacement I went with an East Pen WM Value battery for $49. If that wasn't available I would have gone with another RK battery.
 
Originally Posted by Nick1994
Originally Posted by StevieC
I wouldn't buy an Exide if you paid me. Their Automotive batteries are terrible.

I keep hearing this over and over on this forum, but it's the opposite of what I've seen here in the desert.

My mom's 2012 Jeep Patriot has had an Exide for almost 3 years, no other battery has lasted this long in it, especially the OEM battery, or the AutoZone battery it replaced.

My Sonata has had an Exide non-AGM (OE was an AGM) in it since October 2017, while not a real long time it hasn't had an issue yet.

My aunt's 1970 VW Beetle has had an Exide in it since August 2016, no issues yet.

Just put an Exide in my Jeep a couple weeks ago.

A friend of mine owns a mechanic's shop and for years has used Exide batteries exclusively and is very happy with them. This is also in his 02' BMW 525i.



Tell me about car batteries. I can not keep any AutoZone batteries going 3 years around here.
 
Originally Posted by dave1251
Originally Posted by Nick1994
Originally Posted by StevieC
I wouldn't buy an Exide if you paid me. Their Automotive batteries are terrible.

I keep hearing this over and over on this forum, but it's the opposite of what I've seen here in the desert.

My mom's 2012 Jeep Patriot has had an Exide for almost 3 years, no other battery has lasted this long in it, especially the OEM battery, or the AutoZone battery it replaced.

My Sonata has had an Exide non-AGM (OE was an AGM) in it since October 2017, while not a real long time it hasn't had an issue yet.

My aunt's 1970 VW Beetle has had an Exide in it since August 2016, no issues yet.

Just put an Exide in my Jeep a couple weeks ago.

A friend of mine owns a mechanic's shop and for years has used Exide batteries exclusively and is very happy with them. This is also in his 02' BMW 525i.



Tell me about car batteries. I can not keep any AutoZone batteries going 3 years around here.

I don't think any battery will last much longer than 3 years here.

The exception is an O'Reilly's battery in my great-aunt and great-uncle's 1998 Plymouth Breeze. I think it's over 5 years old now, but the car sits from early April-end of October every year. Last 2 years I've topped it off with a good battery charger every 6 weeks and it still starts.

Exides from Parts Authority are my choice for now, but I also get a good discount with my mechanic's account.
 
I don't necessarily understand the hate. I had a DieHard Group 51R from 1999 back when Exide was their sole supplier. It was fine for 4 years. I only replaced it for the heck of it with an ACDelco, back when GM still made batteries.

Now I can't figure for the life of me who would trust Varta batteries. Bought Varta made alkalines from Ikea and it seemed that every single one eventually leaked. That and Renata silver oxide cells. Their lithium coin cells work fine though. I used those in my car remote.
 
Originally Posted by tiger862
My local home depot has all excide batteries.


I'm also in the "I've never met a clean, corrosion-free Exide battery" camp. Those things got dirty fast. Menards used to handle Exide batteries, but they switched to ACDelco within the last year. There must have been a reason.
 
I've had pretty decent luck with Exide batteries, especially as of late. I have a group 24 in my Maxima and a group 65 in the Pacifica. Both are clean as the day I bought them and have had no issues at all. I buy them at Rural King, best price around for batteries. The group 24 was less than $40 IIRC, the gorup 65 was around $50-60.

About 6-7 years ago, I had a group 78 in a Dodge Caliber that only lasted about a year and a half. I left the lights on or something that drained the battery, and there was no bringing that battery back to life. Only time I'd ever run the battery down; I realize it's bad for the battery, but a nearly new battery should certainly survive a single full discharge and still be functional enough to start a car.
 
So what would be the next size up from a group 35 battery? My guess would be a 24 but not sure on that. Thank you in advance.
 
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