Car battery - recommend a place?
 

Hey guys, my car is taking longer and longer to start and I think it's time to change the battery. What is the best brand to go for and where should I go to get it done? I'd rather let someone help me install / dispose of the battery.

I have a BCAA membership. Anyone use their brand battery and if so, are they any good?

Before you go and replace the battery, have it tested. You can do this at Canadian Tire or many other shops.

To get a replacement battery you can go almost anywhere. More CCA is better.

What do you drive?

Costco Kirkland batteries are supposed to be pretty good, they are made by Johnson Automotive controls.

Else try Interstate Batteries.

Yes, Costco Kirkland battery.
You can beat their warranty

I drive a Honda Accord.

2006 HONDA Accord L4 2.4L recommended battery is a: 51R with 475 CCAs (Cold Cranking Amps)

CAA Member Price: $135.95

Is that a good deal? Or go with Costco? The only thing is they don't do installations

Polar battery vancouver

give them a call and see how much your battery would be and ask if they can install

i jus pick up a 51r from costco. $79.99. cant beat that price
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Installing a battery is very very very easy. All you need is a wrench.

Go to costco (or any auto parts store, even your dealer). Buy a battery. Take it into the parking lot, pop the hood. Undo the old one. Stick in the new one. Then take the old battery back into Costco and they should dispose of it for you.

Don't forget that when you disconnect your battery, your radio will reset and you'll need to enter a code to reactivate it, which you can get from your dealership usually.

if it takes a long time to turn over your car, it isnt the battery.

Just bought a battery myself. Went to Honda for my acura rsx. $130 taxes in.
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I'm gonna make a pretty good guess that it's your starter....

If its hard to start when cold, it could very well be the battery.

If the battery is weak the cold will cause it to produce less CCA. Often times I see people who have no issues in the warmer months all of a sudden have hard starts in the colder ones.

Like I said, you should get it tested before you pay for a new one only to find out there is more of an issues than just a bad battery.

Go to Canadian Tire, get it tested, pay them to put a new one in. Yes, its not the cheapest, it is CanTire and they are know for crap work, but its a battery and not hard to do. If you dont know how or have the tools then you will end up paying more than just to buy a battery.

If it was an issue with the starter you would get the classic *click click click*. It would not turn over at all.

The car is probably not getting enough amperage to the starter due to an old battery.....but it could be a bad contact in the starter, poor ground, loose terminal, insufficient lubrication..... there could be any number of things contributing to a hard start.

TAKE IT TO A SHOP!

but he said it takes a long time to turn over, not hard start.

hard start, very well be the battery. battery weak, then it should sound like the car is slower and slower to turn over. if you hear a clicking sound, it means the battery is too weak, and not enough amps to turn the starter and or the starter is seized.

but a long crank, usually means the battery is healthy and should look towards fuel system and or starter.

Not with Honda's... mine just slowly but surely failed. On Honda's it makes it seem like the battery is going. It just turns over super slowly, no clicks.

Strange, out of the 11 Hondas I have owned over the years it has done just that.
Its a good thing I don't get paid to fix cars everyday.....oh wait, I do :badpokerface:

Bottom line, be smart, get the battery tested BEFORE you buy a new one, otherwise we can all bench diagnose your issue for the next week or so.

lol, not meaning to undermine, just something similar I went through with mine. I changed my battery and it didn't help, went online everyone said it was the starter, changed the starter, it worked.

But I agree with you, It was just a suggestion as everyone was offering theirs.

:badpokerface:

Last time I bought a Canadian Tire Motomaster battery, it caused my car to burn down. Seriously.

Interstate and Kirkland are brands I'd recommend. I used to love Optima's but they've gone to shit over the last few years.

But as everyone else has stated, bench test your battery first. I'm assuming it's the OEM battery that came with the car, so chances are it's nearing the end of it's useful life anyway. If it still cranks, though, chances are it's still strong enough for the time being. Your issues could be fuel or spark related.

I do have to second Nab's comment, though. When the battery died on my '03 Accord, I didn't get the typical starter click-click-click. Just did the very slow "whirrr..... whirr.... whirrr..." and then refused to do anything. Swapped out with a new battery and it was good to go again. No issues with battery connections, fuel or spark.

HAHAHA Yeah, I could see that, CanTire screws up everything else, may as well screw up a battery.
Sucks about the car, hope it didn't burn to the ground.

Yeah, Optima batteries have gone down hill a lot. I killed two red tops in one year on a healthy car with no additional electrical draw. Wont ever get one again.
Kirkland ones are great actually. Cheap yet good, hard to ever find that these days.

+1 for Costco batteries.
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FYI - a higher CCA does not make it a better battery.

We don't live in an arctic/sub-arctic environment nor do all of us drive vehicles that warrant one with higher CCAs. Buy the battery that is suited for your vehicle and environment (i.e close as OEM spec as possible.) OP drives a Honda Accord. Not like he's driving a Ford F350 and lives in Fort Mac.

OP - I've had good experiences with Interstate batteries. My folks use Costco. I've dealt with Polar Battery before but on the consumer electronics side of their business and they were helpful and knowledgeable.

Thanks for the responses everyone. Tried this morning and my car won't start at all.

It does make the click click click noise (and my dashboard flashes, similar to when I left my lights on a few years ago and the battery died), so I think it's likely my battery, not my starter.

I've heard so bad things about CT so I'm going to check out the Kirkland brand. If it's not the battery then I guess I can always return it and get my car checked.

You can't return batteries, fyi. Many places have a fantastic exchange policy, but batteries are one of the few items that you're unable to return (though Costco may have a different view on that... I've never tried).

Chances are they will not let you return the battery as it is an electrical item.
Once installed you own that one.

Yes, chances are its the battery.
CT is like hell for a car, but if your in a pinch...

I would offer to do it for you but sadly I'm way out in Chilliwack.

Buy one that offers decent warranty. I bought the motomaster ones from CT for my Civic, I exchanged a new one before warranty expired :fullofwin:. I told them, car wouldn't start and to give me a new battery and they tested it, still good condition. Then they were kind enough to exchange me a new one anyways, since I told them I bussed all the way here carrying the battery LOL!! (Even though I drove my parent's car there).