No problem with Walmart batteries for me. A store is close by too. Everything is getting expensive. Keep my batteries on maintainers at night. That seems to help make them last longer.
Walmart Batteries Are Getting Expensive
- Thread starter macarose
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Elkins45
Site Donor 2026
If I could get one of those I wouldn’t be talking about batteries on an oil forum.
I encountered the same problem when I jumped back into casting seriously 15 years ago. I finally just bit the bullet (pun intended) and bought some virgin blended ingots from a company that primarily makes shielding for the nuclear industry. I was surprised they sold to me honestly.
JHZR2
Staff member
I don’t want this to be a referendum on Costco… we do have a membership, and buy all our gas there, and a lot of other stuff as well.
However, the entry and exit process is obnoxious. Now I have to scan a code to get in, not just show a card… and the line to exit by the two checkers is ridiculous. That makes use of Costco much less convenient because it’s busy at any non-middday time, and I refuse to deal with the lines.
Walmart is equally obnoxious, especially in that they used to claim to open a cashier line if more than three people are in line, and that’s clearly not the case. But their lines, especially with self checkout are not as bad as Costco. But more people reak of marijuana, and the stores are always messy.
So… now that this is off my chest….
The batteries from Walmart and Costco are commodity items. There’s very little differentiation between models and batteries. There are high/medium/low spec batteries from the major manufacturers, and vendors slap labels on them. The Costco batteries are faux interstate, fwiw. The Walmart batteries are relabeled deka/east Penn. at least around here, and may differ geographically.
The right move associates with a warranty if needed, and convenience of the local store. For tires I’ll buy at costco. For batteries, the hassle of going there is t necessarily worth it.
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Yes, WM Value model buyers are indeed kicking the "battery failure can" down the road, but there could be some logic to that (and I'm testing it now).
The most common argument made in support of the WM value batteries is that the price difference between them and other batteries is so large that the breakeven point is well-within their average lifespan (which indeed is fairly short).
To my mind, even if the above argument makes actuarial sense, I wasn't wild about the idea of being stranded somewhere with a dead battery. So, here's the test I initiated:
Last year I decided to go with an Everstart Value in my F-150. The Everstart MAXX (which lasted 8 years nearly to the day) was considerate enough to die (catastrophically) during a start attempt in my driveway, and I didn't want to count on that sort of luck with the new Value model I replaced it with.
So, I got the cheap Harbor Freight load tester, and I test the new Value battery monthly in the hope that I will be able to detect degradation leading to failure in advance and change the battery before that happens.
So, my strategy is to hope the Value lasts 3-5 years (i.e., well beyond the cost breakpoint) and use regular testing to help avoid any bad surprises.
This is an experiment to see if I can find a way to harvest the value out of a Value model without taking on the risk of being stranded.
But if the Value does not last beyond the breakpoint or my regular load testing fails to detect failure in advance, then the result of the experiment will be negative, and I'll bail on the Value and go back to the MAXX.
Braver than me. I'd be replacing that battery right stinking now, or expecting to replace the alternator as well when it goes.
All good points, Thank you for sharing them. I go for the MAXX level mainly for higher CCA than the lower tiers so there's another reason to go that direction. I'm all for getting a good value out of something & it sounds like you have it all in order. Yeah, you did get lucky on that battery failure. ha!
Actually the price at Walmart was $29 for at leat five years.
According to Google AI, which is often wrong, only 90% of domestic battery production lead needs are met by recycling with the remaining 10% being imported.
I did that several years back with Linotype. I bought from an outfit, United American Metals. I can't remember what I paid, but it was good metal. It lasted me awhile, because I was cutting it with pure lead.
Back when I started casting, good hardcast bullets were hard to find. About all that was available were those Speer swaged lead .38 Special wadcutters. And they were filthy.
Now with outfits like Berry's, it's almost easier to buy them. I have several bullet molds wrapped in cosmoline, that I haven't used in years. I would like to get back into it now that I have the time for it.
You and I differ on our feelings about Walmart. Yes, I buy some things at Walmart. But if I can buy things elsewhere, I do.
Yup, Walmart definitely has more big boxes than any other discount store type retailer.
Costco growth has changed their customers significantly, but overall I would still rather interact with Costco customers than Walmart customers. I've never seen Costco customers bring their kids to the store in pajamas. Nor have I seen adults wear pajamas to Costco. I try really hard to treat everyone with kindness and respect, and most people reciprocate similarly, so that isn't the issue. It is the ability to carry on a conversation with a cashier on an intelligent level, and get something more than "I don't know" or "This isn't normally my department. I'm just filling in". I also like to have an employee at the auto service counter, something that is hit or miss, all too often miss, at the Walmart stores that I have visited.
I don't like buying a cheap battery, so no problem for me. And it was my experience that the best batteries at Walmart were a few dollars more than the same battery at Costco. Yes, imho Costco really did their customers a raw deal when they went to the prorated 3 year warranty. But even if you are right on prices being equal, I will take my chances with the Costco warranty, so I can avoid the automotive counter at Walmart.
4wd
$50 site donor 2026
How many Costco stores do you visit ?
There are probably a majority there that speak English - not at mine …
You can buy wherever you like. The battery is the same, the warranty is better at walmart.
The people in Costco are often entitled jerks that feel its my job to get out of there way. But I will spare you those stories.
If I must visit walmart I go before 7AM. Anyone in there doesn't want to interact with me, nor I them - so we get along great. Anything I can order online I do.
If I have to return a battery I go in the back auto entrance and the ladies at the counter buzz me in and are very nice. Maybe its a Southern thing, or maybe because I treat them nicely first. Maybe both?
There are four Costco stores that I frequent. One being closest, is the one I frequent the most. Yes, communication has never been a problem.
I would not like it at all if an employee at any store acted entitled, and treated me, the customer, as anything less than the reason they are there. I've never experienced that at a Costco.
You are so fortunate that there is a lady at the counter to buzz you in. More than once I have went to the auto service door at a Walmart, and no one has been inside, to buzz me in.
P.S. I used to live in Cheraw SC, so I totally know what you mean about a Southern thing. So it really surprises me that the people at SC Costco would be any different.
The employees are fine at both stores as mentioned. The customers at Costco are the entitled ones. I think there not from around here if you catch my drift.
Did you work for Schaeffler in Cheraw by chance - or maybe Delta faucet when it was open?
There is a walmart in Cheraw. No costco.
Did you work for Schaeffler in Cheraw by chance - or maybe Delta faucet when it was open?
There is a walmart in Cheraw. No costco.
I worked for Highland Industries. It's been over 25 years now. Never heard of Schaeffler. I'm guessing they bought out INA? Oh, I see. A quick search shows that INA is a division of Schaeffler.
The battery is simply for starting, and a bit of a buffer. The alternator runs everything.
The Audi Q7, and a few others have two 12v batteries.
So often though, you see newer cars that go haywire when their battery isn't 'capable' enough. The dashboards light up like Christmas trees and every sensor is triggered and shows failures (ABS, electric power steering, safety sensors, and so on). 9 out of 10 times, it's just a battery that needs replaced, not a failing alternator. I thought once the car is running, as long as the alternator is charging at 13+ volts, all should be okay.
- Joined
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- Messages
- 516
Best part of the Walmart battery is the bar code is the warranty on the last few times i had to use
Nationwide warranty
Nationwide warranty
I suspect only 1-2% of car owners who drive daily or even weekly will regularly use a trickle charger or other technology to over-maintain their batteries, to answer OP's question. And those who use them now probably have a classic car or something that sits all winter and have been using trickle charges already now.
WM's value have been Deka for me in my neighborhood, and super awesome. Costco is Interstate/ Clarios, whom I regard as slightly worse, but above Exide.
The big philosophical question is, if the public regularly gets 3-4 years out of an unmaintained battery, will you trust yours and "the system" of charging and periodic testing, for a significantly longer period of time? Heck, I try, but when things crank slowly or show other symptoms (Prii just act weird) they're getting replaced ASAP.
WM's value have been Deka for me in my neighborhood, and super awesome. Costco is Interstate/ Clarios, whom I regard as slightly worse, but above Exide.
The big philosophical question is, if the public regularly gets 3-4 years out of an unmaintained battery, will you trust yours and "the system" of charging and periodic testing, for a significantly longer period of time? Heck, I try, but when things crank slowly or show other symptoms (Prii just act weird) they're getting replaced ASAP.
I always wondered how a car battery at $40-$50 could be that cheap.
