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April 10, 2009

Car Battery Reviews and Buying Guide:
The majority of car batteries are created by 3 manufacturers - Delphi, Exide and Johnson Controls Industries. Delphi makes some EverStart models sold in Walmart and ACDelco. Johnson Control Industries makes Duralast seen in Autozone stores, Diehard - sold in Sears, Kirkland - the Costco brand, Motorcraft - which Ford sells, some of the EverStarts, and Interstate. Exide makes Exide batteries, Champion, Napa and even a % of the EverStart batteries. A car battery is one of the few things that you will most likely have to replace if you own a car more than about 3 years. Most other parts and accessories will last longer, but the battery in a car needs replacing every 3 years or so. If you need to get a new battery installed, go to Goodyear, Sears, Firestone or Pep Boys. All these car stores carry large inventories and can install your battery onsite. Other retailers like Target, Kmart, and Walmart might offer cheaper prices for their batteries, but rarely do they install them.




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As we searched online for car batteries, we found only the Optima car batteries for sale. Lowcostbatteries.com/optima-batteries.asp has a nice selection with the Optima Car Battery - Red Top 75/25 Sealed Automotive Performance Starting Battery ($102), Optima Car Battery - 34R Redtop Battery ($122), Optima Car Battery - 34M Blue Top Battery ($131), Optima Battery Car - D35 Yellow Top Deep Cycle Battery ($133). We were able to find some DieHard and Plus Start batteries on the Sears.com site. The top sellers were the DieHard SUV, Truck and Van ($97), Plus Start Automotive Battery ($40), DieHard Gold South ($93). The top Exide batteries are the Exide Select Orbital XCD, Champion Automotive - long life and high power starting battery, Champion SubZero - built to handle the most extreme cold temperatures, and the Exide 60 - an all-climate battery for hot or cold weather. The top Interstate batteries are the Interstate - 65 Months - 575 CCA ($89), Mega-Tron Plus - 85 Months - 650 CCA ($89-$106), and the Workaholic - 675 CCA ($89-$103). Instead of shopping online for a battery (as we found out they are hard to buy), we recommend going down to your local automotive store (ours is Les Schwab Tire Center) and buy the battery from them. Most likely you are going to have the shop install the battery for you, so ordering online only makes sense if you want to install the battery yourself. We suggest going to Amazon for the best selling car batteries. We especially recommend the Optima Batteries which deliver consistent performance in all weather climates.


How often do you need to change your car Battery:
Most car batteries will last 3-5 years depending on the quality and maintenance involved. It's really hard to know when your car battery needs replacing unless you have signs like "it doesn't start easily in the morning" or it cranks over slower than usual. You can take the car to a local shop and have them do a "load test" to determine how well it is holding a charge. I have found that I need to replace my battery every 3 years (I have had 2 go bad after the 36 month warranty). I keep a note in my maintenance files as to the date I should be replacing the battery. At only $85 to buy and get a battery installed professionally, it's a very inexpensive portion of car maintenance. You can also buy a car battery charger that will get you that extra live from your battery even if it is not holding a charge very well. A car battery charger will cost about $30 and you can buy them online at Amazon.com if you want. See the entire list of top rated car battery chargers online.

What is Car Battery RC - CCA:
Reserve Capacity (RC) is just an industry rating for car batteries. It is a technical term for a batteries capability to power the car with an alternator or fan belt that is not working. The higher the reserve rating the longer the automobile can run should your fan belt or alternator go out. The CCA stands for "cold cranking amps" and determines how well a battery will start an engine in colder temperatures. If you live in an area where temps are below freezing, make sure you purchase a car battery that has a high CCA rating.


How to Jumpstart your Battery:
More than likely you will have to jumpstart your car battery at some point. It's really pretty easy if you have jumper cables. I recommend to all car owners that they keep a pair of jumper cables in their automobiles trunk at all times. They can be a lifesaver if your battery ever goes dead. When you want to jumpstart your car battery, you need to pull a car with a good battery up next to your car. The cars should not be touching and both ignitions should be off. Put the positive (red cable) on the positive terminal of the dead battery. Then connect the other positive (+) terminal to the live batteries positive connection. Next, put the negative clamp (black) on the "live" batteries negative terminal. Put the other negative clamp on a metal surface (like the engine block). Once all the clamps are secure, start the car providing the jumpstart and wait a second before trying to start the car with the dead battery. Hopefully it will start with no problems, although you still need to get your battery check for bad connections or corrosion. If it doesn't start you will need to get a new battery. Buying a new battery and having it installed should cost about $85. A pair of jumper cables from Sears cost about $29.99. Amazon carries a huge inventory of the most popular jump starters online.