Joined
·
263 Posts
These are all largely anecdotal examples of quality. The Enersys Odyssey batteries are arguably supposed to be the best batteries on the market, and for the price they should be. Yet I had one fail after less than 2 years. The warranty on that battery was only 2 years, too (It was a powersport battery and was connected to a Battery Tender whenever it was stored).
That's why I stick to the cheapest battery with the longest warranty being the best battery. As luck would have it, that actually hasn't resulted in any problems or shorter-than-expected battery life. Interstate has had one of the best reputations in the industry for a long time, but that's not why I bought the Interstate for my truck. It was cheaper than the auto parts store house brand by about $20. Sold!
The punchline for me is that for many products I'm brand agnostic. Pretty much the only exception to that is when it comes to oil and fuel filters, I stick with OEM as I've had problems with non-OEM filters in the past. So when someone says "X is better than Y" I tend to question it and often times the claim can't really be qualified by the person that made it other than "I haven't had any problems with it." That doesn't really prove anything, but I also get sticking with what has worked. So not questioning your decision, was just wondering what criteria you were using.
Historically, I'd bought Walmart's in-house branded batteries because they came with ridiculous warranties and a price that couldn't be beat. Basically, on average, I could expect the battery to start to fail within the warranty period and get a free replacement. The batteries didn't last shorter than others, they tended to last 4-5 years which was typical and the warranty was 6 or 7 years.
Well, those days are gone. 3-4 years are the longest battery warranties I can find and an Odyssey H8 for $311 has a 4 year warranty vs $177 for the Interstate I bought with a 3 year warranty. I highly doubt the Odyssey will actually last nearly twice as long as the Interstate so paying nearly twice as much doesn't make sense to me.
That's why I stick to the cheapest battery with the longest warranty being the best battery. As luck would have it, that actually hasn't resulted in any problems or shorter-than-expected battery life. Interstate has had one of the best reputations in the industry for a long time, but that's not why I bought the Interstate for my truck. It was cheaper than the auto parts store house brand by about $20. Sold!
The punchline for me is that for many products I'm brand agnostic. Pretty much the only exception to that is when it comes to oil and fuel filters, I stick with OEM as I've had problems with non-OEM filters in the past. So when someone says "X is better than Y" I tend to question it and often times the claim can't really be qualified by the person that made it other than "I haven't had any problems with it." That doesn't really prove anything, but I also get sticking with what has worked. So not questioning your decision, was just wondering what criteria you were using.
Historically, I'd bought Walmart's in-house branded batteries because they came with ridiculous warranties and a price that couldn't be beat. Basically, on average, I could expect the battery to start to fail within the warranty period and get a free replacement. The batteries didn't last shorter than others, they tended to last 4-5 years which was typical and the warranty was 6 or 7 years.
Well, those days are gone. 3-4 years are the longest battery warranties I can find and an Odyssey H8 for $311 has a 4 year warranty vs $177 for the Interstate I bought with a 3 year warranty. I highly doubt the Odyssey will actually last nearly twice as long as the Interstate so paying nearly twice as much doesn't make sense to me.
