O.kay, i was just wondering if anyone on here has used, or is currently using the optima brand vehicle batteries. the reason i ask is because mine crapped out on me today, and i've only had for a little over a year now. i mean, it worked great the whole year i had it, but i was surprised to see it crap out so early. i ended up having to buy an everstart battery from wal-mart because sears was already closed by the time this happened, and i need my car for work tomorrow. but, the thing that gets me is my yellowtop came from sears w/a one year full replacement warranty, and cost me 140 bucks...the one from wal-mart was only 40 bucks and has a 2 year full replacement, i'm kinda kicking myself in the a$$ right now, lol. i think i'm gonna skip the expensive batts from now on...i'm gonna try to get the optima replaced and have it for a back up...but the wal-mart one impressed me tonight...the only problem i ran into was that the terminals were at the rear of the battery instead of the front, and my negative battery cable was too short, so i had to relocate the grounding point for it. i just wanna know if anyone else here has had the same problem with the optima batts dying out so soon. maybe sears gave me a used one? i'm just surprised because every car battery i've ever owned has lasted me well over 2 years most of the time. i thought optima batteries were supposed to be the best money could buy...or maybe i'm missing something here. thanks for any helpful info you all might have
Idk sometimes you just get a crappy battery, i never owned an optima so I wouldnt know. But I owned a Diehard Weathermaster and it only lasted 4 months and diehards are supposed to be good, my mechanic replaced it and the current no name battery has been under my hood for almost 2 years.
yeah, i think i just had the luck of getting the odd ball dudd battery. i know optima is a reputable company, and their batteries usually last a very long time. hopefully the wal-mart battery lasts longer, i'm liking the whole $40 for a new battery thing...still debating on getting the optima replaced as a backup with the full replacement warranty being finished and all.:ermm: we'll see.
Well here my opinion on batteries: Car batteries for the most part are just like any AA battery you pick up off the shelf. They may look pretty different but most of them are made 95% the same and I wouldnt be suprised if a lot of them came from the same exact factory that just throws on a different sticker. I sell batteries all day as part of my job and to tell you the truth there really isnt a battery thats gonna last more than 3 years of regular use, unless of course your battery is located in the trunk or cockpit, in which case it may last about 5 years (what kills batteries the most is the heat from your engine) Optimas are good batteries, no doubt, I have one myself infact, but as far as their warranty, I believe it is only 1 or 2 years. The thing that makes optimas stand out from the rest is the fact they are deep cycle batteries and are gelcells not liquid. (you can drill a hole into an optima and it wont even affectit!) Deep cycle batteries are good because they take a long time to discharge so you can have your system bumpin for a little longer before its gonna start to run low, but on the other hand it also takes them a lot longer to charge up. As far as your battery dying so quickly it was probably just a dud like you suggested, that shit happens, it just sucks it wasnt under warranty! In the end I wouldnt really reccomend an optima over a regular battery with a good warranty unless you have a lot of electrical items on your car like a system or whatever. Just my 2 cents!
hey thanks man. yeah, it does suck that the warranty ran out before it died on me. i agree that the optimas are good batteries because they are deep cycle. it worked great last winter, never had a problem starting the car in subzero temps...i'm talking like 20-30 below. it would always start right up no problem. i may get an optima later on down the line if the wal-mart battery gives me any troubles. but hey, i got two years on this battery for the warranty we'll see how it goes i guess...so far, no problems (knock on wood)...and i do have somewhat of a system, but i never really crank up the volume in my car, so my sub and amp shouldn't be working the battery too hard..when i first got the optima i had two 10" rockford punches and a 1500 watt amp...and when i first got the system installed i used to crank it up...so that most likely contributed to the battery's shorter life span. now i'm just running one 12" rockford punch with the same amp, and i get just enough bump with the volume down low. but hey, thanks for the input mang, i appreciate it a lot.
