Just a Hunter
Bought an X
- Location
- Georgia
I hope I'm not the only person here which considers price vs value/quality when making a costly purchase.
This decision can be awkwardly difficult when choosing a battery for your vehicle.
As an example, there are only three battery manufactures which supply the overwhelming majority of todays retail brands regardless of where your shopping.
To be clear, im making reference to Johnson Control, Exide and Eastern Penn/Deka.
Of these three, Johnson Control has the majority of the market share.
As often happens, people tend to become brand loyal and you will often hear opinions such as "If it was me, I would purchase an NAPA battery rather than a Interstate, Duralast or Everstart. However, all four of these batteries may be manufactured by Johnson Control.
To further cloud this situation, your likely to find the specs of these four batteries to be basically identical, but your warranties may vary as widely as their prices.
It's possible the companies which are branded on the labels may request different specs to their battery, but in this case I honestly doubt they could be very different between one and another.
Auto parts are a very competitive market where the profit margin may not be as large as some might assume.
For this reason, todays auto part retailers are very focused on the price point vs profit margins of the products they sell.
In the battery market, this can be especially true.
For example, lets look at a few similar batteries. [2017 prices]
Autocraft Gold 640cca size 35. (Said to be a JC) Advance Auto. $141.99
Duralast Gold 640cca size 35 (said to be a JC) Autozone $139.99
Diehard Gold 640cca size 35 (said to be JC)item # 51835 Sears $142.00
Everstart Maxx 640cca size 35 (said to be JC) Walmart $94 (everyday price?)
Obviously, it should be no coincidence that all four of these batteries are rated as having 640cca's.
In addition, besides the Walmart battery, the other three batteries are very similar in their prices.
Lets not overlook the warranties of these batteries all include a standard 3yr replacement.
I suspect there is very little if any difference in at least three of these batteries.
If there was, you would likely see a larger price spread and or difference in their cold cranking amps in an attempt to differentiate themselves from their competition.
It may be that Walmarts purchasing power has allowed them to purchase their batteries at a lower priceline which in turn is returned to the customer in savings. It's also possible their batteries have been manufactured with some cost savings changes.
So what is a person to do?
I would suggest making your purchase based on the company which manufacturers your battery rather than the store name branded on its side.
With this in mind, focus on length of warranty and price.
Lastly, refer to the list below to help determine whom makes your battery.
Re: Who makes my battery:
Warning: Retailers are fully capable of changing from one manufacturer to another and the below list may not be fully accurate.
For this reason, I would suggest performing your own research prior to making a purchase.
Autocraft: Johnson Controls
Sears- Diehard: Lead Acid- Johnson Controls, Platinum AGM- Odyssey, Gold Advanced AGM- Eastern- Penn.
Interstate- Johnson Controls.
Walmart Everstart- Johnson Controls (Exide Contract Cancelled).
Autozone Duralast- Lead Acid- Johnson Controls, AGM- East-Penn.
Pep Boys (including Bosch)- As of Aug 2012 Exide
Napa- Lead Acid- Johnson Controls; AGM- East-Penn.
Optima- Johnson Controls.
Varta AGM- Fall 2012- Johnson Controls in a new US plant.
Costco-Johnson Controls.
Northstar- Northstar and also distributed by Batteries Plus as the X2Power and Exide under the Northstar label.
Duracell- East Penn (Deka)
Rayovac (Batteries Plus)- Lead Acid- Johnson Controls; AGM- East Penn (Deka)
Deka- East Penn
This decision can be awkwardly difficult when choosing a battery for your vehicle.
As an example, there are only three battery manufactures which supply the overwhelming majority of todays retail brands regardless of where your shopping.
To be clear, im making reference to Johnson Control, Exide and Eastern Penn/Deka.
Of these three, Johnson Control has the majority of the market share.
As often happens, people tend to become brand loyal and you will often hear opinions such as "If it was me, I would purchase an NAPA battery rather than a Interstate, Duralast or Everstart. However, all four of these batteries may be manufactured by Johnson Control.
To further cloud this situation, your likely to find the specs of these four batteries to be basically identical, but your warranties may vary as widely as their prices.
It's possible the companies which are branded on the labels may request different specs to their battery, but in this case I honestly doubt they could be very different between one and another.
Auto parts are a very competitive market where the profit margin may not be as large as some might assume.
For this reason, todays auto part retailers are very focused on the price point vs profit margins of the products they sell.
In the battery market, this can be especially true.
For example, lets look at a few similar batteries. [2017 prices]
Autocraft Gold 640cca size 35. (Said to be a JC) Advance Auto. $141.99
Duralast Gold 640cca size 35 (said to be a JC) Autozone $139.99
Diehard Gold 640cca size 35 (said to be JC)item # 51835 Sears $142.00
Everstart Maxx 640cca size 35 (said to be JC) Walmart $94 (everyday price?)
Obviously, it should be no coincidence that all four of these batteries are rated as having 640cca's.
In addition, besides the Walmart battery, the other three batteries are very similar in their prices.
Lets not overlook the warranties of these batteries all include a standard 3yr replacement.
I suspect there is very little if any difference in at least three of these batteries.
If there was, you would likely see a larger price spread and or difference in their cold cranking amps in an attempt to differentiate themselves from their competition.
It may be that Walmarts purchasing power has allowed them to purchase their batteries at a lower priceline which in turn is returned to the customer in savings. It's also possible their batteries have been manufactured with some cost savings changes.
So what is a person to do?
I would suggest making your purchase based on the company which manufacturers your battery rather than the store name branded on its side.
With this in mind, focus on length of warranty and price.
Lastly, refer to the list below to help determine whom makes your battery.
Re: Who makes my battery:
Warning: Retailers are fully capable of changing from one manufacturer to another and the below list may not be fully accurate.
For this reason, I would suggest performing your own research prior to making a purchase.
Autocraft: Johnson Controls
Sears- Diehard: Lead Acid- Johnson Controls, Platinum AGM- Odyssey, Gold Advanced AGM- Eastern- Penn.
Interstate- Johnson Controls.
Walmart Everstart- Johnson Controls (Exide Contract Cancelled).
Autozone Duralast- Lead Acid- Johnson Controls, AGM- East-Penn.
Pep Boys (including Bosch)- As of Aug 2012 Exide
Napa- Lead Acid- Johnson Controls; AGM- East-Penn.
Optima- Johnson Controls.
Varta AGM- Fall 2012- Johnson Controls in a new US plant.
Costco-Johnson Controls.
Northstar- Northstar and also distributed by Batteries Plus as the X2Power and Exide under the Northstar label.
Duracell- East Penn (Deka)
Rayovac (Batteries Plus)- Lead Acid- Johnson Controls; AGM- East Penn (Deka)
Deka- East Penn
