Walmart or Costco Batteries

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HowAboutThis

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Like the title says---Walmart or Costco? AGM or regular? 2017 Forester. Batteries seem to last about 4 years before testing "meh" and I'll push about 5 before they sound scary starting the car. And we're about at that point.

It seems Walmart warranty is better. $10 more expensive than Costco. Who makes each and are they a toss up?

Opinions only, no facts please. Facts make choices too difficult. But seriously...waddya think?
 
I know you don't want "facts", but this is still pretty important to know:

"Costco primarily sells Interstate Batteries for automobiles. These batteries are manufactured by Clarios (formerly Johnson Controls Power Solutions)".

"Walmart car batteries, known as EverStart, are primarily manufactured by Clarios (formerly Johnson Controls Power Solutions), East Penn Manufacturing, and Exide Technologies. Clarios is the largest supplier."

In short, it really doesn't matter.
 
Walmart. Costco switched to their pro rated warranty which I’m not a fan of. I get it people were taking advantage of their prior generous policy and now the rest of us get it taken away.

I’ve had good luck with the value line from Walmart. They last about 4 years as you say. By then I got my money’s worth and I’ll just go buy another replacement.

Buddy of mine has their AGM (H8 size I think) that’s going strong 3 years on.
 
jsean said:
Walmart. Costco switched to their pro rated warranty which I’m not a fan of. I get it people were taking advantage of their prior generous policy and now the rest of us get it taken away.

I’ve had good luck with the value line from Walmart. They last about 4 years as you say. By then I got my money’s worth and I’ll just go buy another replacement.

Buddy of mine has their AGM (H8 size I think) that’s going strong 3 years on.
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I'm a "dollars per year" thinker. So if the $190 AGM can't last more than 6 years, may as well go with their flooded version.

Any other brands y'all recommend for the Subaru battery eaters?

I've shopped around online, and most are a lot more expensive than these two options.
 
HowAboutThis said:
Like the title says---Walmart or Costco? AGM or regular? 2017 Forester. Batteries seem to last about 4 years before testing "meh" and I'll push about 5 before they sound scary starting the car. And we're about at that point.

It seems Walmart warranty is better. $10 more expensive than Costco. Who makes each and are they a toss up?

Opinions only, no facts please. Facts make choices too difficult. But seriously...waddya think?
Click to expand...
Walmart. More places to return.
 
Chris142 said:
5 years? Lucky to get 2 years from a battery here.
Click to expand...
It's great battery weather and the car does 70 miles highway per day. So it's probably the max anyone could get from a Subaru.

The other issue is that Walmart has been out of a lot of batteries when I check...including group 35. Costco has 4 billion in stock.
 
I've bought one AGM at Costco and Walmart in the past 3 months. I regret buying the Walmart AGm, despite having no problems with the MaxxStart lead acids.

After a full charge inside on a charger, the Walmart AGM discharges to 80% overnight. The Costco stays at 100%.

The Walmart AGM's condition isn't bad enough to trigger a warranty. and even if it did, the local Walmarta are out of stock for H5 AGMs. what good is the warranty if they don't have any in stock?

YMMV. of course for every bad Walmart story, someone will tell you the opposite. good luck!
 
HowAboutThis said:
It's great battery weather and the car does 70 miles highway per day. So it's probably the max anyone could get from a Subaru.

The other issue is that Walmart has been out of a lot of batteries when I check...including group 35. Costco has 4 billion in stock.
Click to expand...
Get a Walmart AGM, I've had good luck with them. It is Clarios made on the West Coast and East Penn made elsewhere. Both are well respected brands. The warranty is great. If you are having supply issues, just order online, they will ship it to you for free.
You have to go back to a store to get your core fee back...which will be in the form of a Walmart gift card.

Rather than arbitralily replacing batteries based on age, purchase an Ancel BA101 battery tester and simply test your battery every 6 months, or more often if you like. It takes only a minute or two. You may be surprised that some batteries can go far longer. I got 14 years on my Tundra and currently have several that are 7 and 8 years old (all AGM).
 
Walmart AGM. It was my second choice before I bought Odysseys for my Subaru. I do have a Walmart AGM in my Audi but that car isn't drive and it's on a CTEK maintainer. In my area, it looks like the Walmart batteries are made by East Penn. Good warranty and price. Costco is pro-rated the day you buy it.
 
f355spider said:
Get a Walmart AGM, I've had good luck with them. It is Clarios made on the West Coast and East Penn made elsewhere. Both are well respected brands. The warranty is great. If you are having supply issues, just order online, they will ship it to you for free.
You have to go back to a store to get your core fee back...which will be in the form of a Walmart gift card.

Rather than arbitralily replacing batteries based on age, purchase an Ancel BA101 battery tester and simply test your battery every 6 months, or more often if you like. It takes only a minute or two. You may be surprised that some batteries can go far longer. I got 14 years on my Tundra and currently have several that are 7 and 8 years old (all AGM).
Click to expand...
I have a tester. Was showing mid quality. Dealer's Midtronics showed very similar. I'm not in a hurry, but it's losing life. My Honda used to go 8+ years. My Toyota was 9+. Both started load testing in the yellow and I replaced. Those were just standard flooded.
 
HowAboutThis said:
I have a tester. Was showing mid quality. Dealer's Midtronics showed very similar. I'm not in a hurry, but it's losing life. My Honda used to go 8+ years. My Toyota was 9+. Both started load testing in the yellow and I replaced. Those were just standard flooded.
Click to expand...
Both Honda batteries died within 5 years and were like dead dead. No notice, no slow crank just started one day and nada the next. I'm on my third honda battery and it is gonna get replaced with either a Walmart AGM or a Deka AGM.
 
HowAboutThis said:
I have a tester. Was showing mid quality. Dealer's Midtronics showed very similar. I'm not in a hurry, but it's losing life. My Honda used to go 8+ years. My Toyota was 9+. Both started load testing in the yellow and I replaced. Those were just standard flooded.
Click to expand...
You may be able to extend life by using a Battery Minder brand battery tender occasionally. I put the ring mounts with the pig tail sticking through the grill on my cars to make it convenient to connect them. I try to plug them in every week or other week. I also will leave them connected if the car is not going to be driven for a while...when I'm on a business trip or vacation.
 
Wheel366 said:
Both Honda batteries died within 5 years and were like dead dead. No notice, no slow crank just started one day and nada the next. I'm on my third honda battery and it is gonna get replaced with either a Walmart AGM or a Deka AGM.
Click to expand...
Some car/battery combinations can do that. On my Tundra it was cranking just fine, no indication of the battery getting weak. But when I put it on my Ancel BA101 test, it was showing about 100cca lower than the last time I tested it...about 4 months prior. The indicator said "weak". I tried putting it on a batter tendery for a few nights, but no change in testing results, it was definitely losing capacity. Went and got a new battery. Probably would have left me stranded had I let it go a few more weeks or months.
 
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