Car Battery Warranties are a SCAM : Buy the Cheapest Battery at Walmart

Walmart Battery Warranty: Everstart Value, Plus, or Maxx?
Which battery should you buy for your vehicle, the cheapest or the one with the better warranty? I'm tired of automotive battery sales tactics Let's talk about it here.

[Sci-Mon]

I specifically look for a Walmart that doesn’t have a Auto care center so they can’t test it. That’s the key.

[halc.]

The $55 Walmart battery is now 70 bucks as of 08/23.

[Guillotines_For_Globalists]

Can't remember the last time batteries were $55. I used to remember when Advance Auto parts used to have significant coupons where you could get $25 off of $100. But now it seems to me that batteries have doubled in price and are at minimum $200 now. None of these places have decent coupons anymore, they are always filled with exclusions for the higher priced stuff (the stuff where a coupon would make the biggest difference.) Don't believe me, see Harbor Freight coupons of 2022 lol.

[cujoedaman]

I found out that most car batteries are made by like only three different companies (aside from specialty batteries like lithium or gel), so what might cost you $200 at the parts store will only cost you $100 at Walmart, they're almost all the same thing (I'm being very generous with those prices, though, your mileage will vary).

[mikebavoso]

You are correct. Other auto stores have baterries with longer warrants, but you are paying 2-3 times more. You are just pre-paying for the next batery that you may or not receice with the longer warranty.

[forks]

I only buy from Wal-Mart. Been doing so for over 20 years. I have never had a problem returning a battery under warranty,
even without the receipt, as long as the date sticker is still on the battery.

[joegee]

I bought the diehard top of the line for my diesel truck, I had to buy 2 because it has 2. I spent about $500 on those suckers. So far they've lasted 10 years. No signs of slowing. Sometimes the good battery is worth it. Diesels are hard to start compared to gas engines and I do live where it gets cold.

I agree with your solution, but it's not the right one for everyone.

[mrDmastr]

My brothers Maxx Ever Start is over 5 years. When he bought it it was a heat of the moment thing, and even joked saying I’ll be lucky if I get 2 years out of it lol. Once in a while things work in your favor and you’re shocked.

Project farm did an extensive test on batteries and the Walmart brand came out on top like 2nd or 1st place if I recall.

[davidmiller]

I bought the Ever strat battery from Walmart in the early 2000s, and it has outlasted 3 vehicles. I'm still using it in my father's car today.he left his lights on yesterday, and it had 5.8v .slow charged it overnight with my victron charger.tested, and it 💯 %passed 😊

[nordicpride]

Here’s a PRO tip. Every month or so put your battery on an overnight charge. You’ll be shocked how much longer it will last. Remember: Alternators ARE NOT chargers, they are maintainers.

[atikovi]

The biggest battery scam these days is if you don't have a receipt, you're screwed. Buy a used car and someone just replaced the battery? If it dies 6 months later and you take it back to Walmart, Sears or Interstate, they say no receipt no warranty. Even though the date sticker shows its 6 months old or the date is molded on the case.

[ericknoblauch]

I bought a car in 2010, and still have it. The service history showed the battery was replaced in 2009. The battery was a reconditioned Econo Start brand. It lasted 14 years, and just started to show a weak cranking amperage on a load test. I never had any battery last 14 years, and it was not a new battery when it was installed. It was reconditioned.

[thecuss]

Agree: in the Arizona heat, 3years of life is good for a battery. I also buy the Walmart batteries for my 6 vehicles.

[briantracy]

The 3 batteries at the start of the video are identical except for the stickers and warranty, the cheapest ALSO has the higher CCA capacity, they just downrate the cheaper ones to get you to buy the more expensive ones. Trust me I used to work in auto parts.

[lanfin]

I put the Everstart Value on my dad's Camry and it's still working okay at year 4. Occasionally, he would left the lights on, so I had to put a charger on it. Still, we replaced it today for peace of mind. After doing some comparisons, I decided to buy the Everstart Value once again. I picked it for the same reasons this guy did. On group size 24F batteries, the Everstart Value has 585 CCA and came with 1 year warranty while the Everstart Plus has 600 CCA and came with 2 years warranty. So, basically, you pay 50% more for one more year of warranty. Lead Acid battery technology is old. For a given size battery, you can only pack so much in there. You either pack this, or you pack that. The differences are small, so just buy the cheapest battery and replace them ahead of time. The most important is how you use your battery that will decide how long they last.

[stevenle]

Costco is the only place where they haven't tried to give me trouble with a battery warranty, and the price is just as good as Walmart.

[xxxxx]

I have worked in the battery industry for 7 years. Actually it will be 7 year tomorrow. Wow. Anyways there are differences in the tiers. I'm not sure about walmart but at other places yes. The build quality and amount of lead is different. In oklahoma I bought a 3 year warranty battery from my store and it lasted till this past fall/winter and I only swapped it because it was old. It was still outputting above its rated cca but winter was coming. I know from experience 2 year warranty batteries do die faster than our 3 year ones. But that doesn't always ring true. There are a lot of factors in this. Environment, how often its driven, alternator output, etc... But one thing I will say batteries made in 2020 and 2021 are lesser quality due to shortages. Hopefully quality returns but it probably wont. The other thing to look at is the type of warranty. Some places are full replacement like how my store is others are a pro rate. That is why you see batteries with 86 month warranties. Those are almost always pro rated which sucks. But look into fine print on warranties. Most of them don't cover if the owner lets the battery completely die. Car batteries don't just suddenly drop to 4 volts and not recover. They call that owner misuse and wont cover it. Then you can get into AGM/Gel batteries which are way higher quality but on older cars generally not worth it unless you have a specific need. But with all that said walmart batteries are fine. Especially if you plan on getting rid of the car in a year. But if its a daily driver and you have different seasons of weather I'd look into better batteries. Also never buy batteries on amazon/ebay. There are some situations where thats fine but if you have to order any battery online read reviews on it first. Check the specs. Weight is generally a sign on quality. The more weight the better the battery, sort of.

[davidholmes]

Higher cold cranking amp batteries have thicker lead plates. They usually last longer and of course cost more. In many vehicles these days you will find it difficult to install a battery. In my wife’s Ford the battery is up toward the firewall. It required removing cowling and wiper blade arms to remove additional plastic coverings. Total pain in the arse. Could not even connect to the negative battery terminal to jump start. It has a separate bolt stud mounted to the frame and connected with a dedicated cable to that stud. If you do not want to deal with all this or pay someone else to do it, it then makes more sense to just put in the longest lasting battery in your group size.

[morrisster]

If you have a LKQ junkyard they have a program for $50 for lifetime replacement battery. Bit of a gamble finding the exact one you need but most batteries are pretty close... if it ever goes bad go swap for another.

[WaterDR-twre]

I live in Minneapolis. I get 7 plus years out of a quality battery. And don't need ti worry about being stranded.