Hello out there.....this inflation thing and the falling value of the US dollar has me just a bit unhappy....there has to be an alternative that isn't so spendy. Please share what you know....thank you very much!!!
gg

Yup they have. Hoping my optima makes it a few more years.

Your basic battery these days is $160. No way around it. Group 42 is an odd battery size these days

The cost of possibly repairing the car down the road far exceeds the cost of a new AGM battery, so I'd suggest you stick with that.

Just buy the Optima; it'll hurt today but you'll forget about that expense soon enough...and it's worth the lack of worry.

Is the group 42 battery the only size to consider? My current Bosch battery has one dead cell out of six but it cranks great....just not for very long.
Thanks,
gg

Isn't the Optima 34/78? So a 34 or 78 should fit the same.

The Walmart yellow top is the best bang for the buck for standard type. Usually $100-110, but no 42.

I have this new/ recently purchased Die Hard, and stored on a battery tender that you might want...check your pM for the Local pick up deal <<

Click to view attachment

Call me cheap, or call me lazy but I've had great experience with NAPA batteries for years. Cars, trucks, boats. They have the 42. Make a copy of your receipt and tape it to the battery in case you ever have warranty issues.

Some places will NOT sell you a battery that is not listed for your car. Just a heads up.

So the talk of inflation and battery prices made me look. I have only purchased Optima battery's for many years they are usually not listed for my cars so I get the least expensive and make it work. They have been $220+ for the last 4 or so years. My local Advanced auto has 3 sizes in stock for $239 no shipping and could pick up tomorrow. Doesn't seem like current pricing is that far from where its been.

That said I was pissed when I had to replace the "new" Optima in my turbo that I put in when I purchased the car. Then I realized I purchased the turbo over 10 years ago. Time fly's.

john

Then don’t buy from one of those places.

you guys are fancy.
down here those optimas run around about the $500 range (aud).
thats a lot of 6 packs of asahi at $14.99.

i run batteries made by a local mob.
i keep them on trickle chargers.
i'm a third world citizen pretending to be in the first world.

Y'all still positive-ground down there...

The 6-packs of Asahi at $14.99 bothers me more than the battery cost...

only the fools who still drive mgs and worship the mutha f$6*ing country are inverted.
in all respects. and are a dying subgroup of civilisation.

whats a 6 p worth in the states these days.

the $14.99 is the discount price at the wine cellar / bulk bottle shop - if i go to the supermarket its $19.99!

if you smoke down here, you need to be a billionaire. a million won't cut it.

fuel hit $2.00 + a litre. thats $7.60 per US gallon = $5.60 USD per US gallon. possible it got closer to $6.00 USD per gallon at peak.

Just replaced the Walmart 26R battery I bought in 9/14 (yes that was the date code on it..). New one was $60 out the door.

[quote name='wonkipop' date='Apr 19 2022, 07:15 PM' post='2996353']
only the fools who still drive mgs and worship the mutha f$6*ing country are inverted.
in all respects. and are a dying subgroup of civilisation.[quote]


[quote]whats a 6 p worth in the states these days. the $14.99 is the discount price at the wine cellar / bulk bottle shop - if i go to the supermarket its $19.99![/quote]

Good craft beers are US$14.99 or so a 6-pack of 16oz cans. Your typical American lagers are about US$25/case.

You know things are rough when I compare each expense with how many cases of beer it would cost me...

In 2003 I purchased a nice West coast 356, recently sold, and it came complete with an Optima 6V. Drove her with that battery until 2019, and changed it with another Optima. Now that's what I call value. I am not sure if others have had the same experience.

What is cheap in these days of high inflation??

[quote name='GregAmy' date='Apr 19 2022, 07:40 PM' post='2996402']
[quote name='wonkipop' date='Apr 19 2022, 07:15 PM' post='2996353']
only the fools who still drive mgs and worship the mutha f$6*ing country are inverted.
in all respects. and are a dying subgroup of civilisation.[quote]


[quote]whats a 6 p worth in the states these days. the $14.99 is the discount price at the wine cellar / bulk bottle shop - if i go to the supermarket its $19.99![/quote]

Good craft beers are US$14.99 or so a 6-pack of 16oz cans. Your typical American lagers are about US$25/case.

You know things are rough when I compare each expense with how many cases of beer it would cost me...
[/quote]

@GregAmy

yes, you're running a bit cheaper on the beer front than prices here.

you know you are in trouble when you fill your car up at the gas station and think to yourself that your car has a very expensive drinking habit.

@930cabman

pretty good going out of that optima your have.
they would make a lot of sense to me down here if only they were USA prices.
i can get about 8-9 years out of a good local regular battery in my renault rs if i keep it on the trickle charger. equates to around 30 years out of a single optima.
sounds like you got more than half way to that. wonder if they can last that long?

I have used optima batteries in the past. They hit a window in time when performance dropped dramatically. Watch this video. Project Farm Battery Test It changed my thinking regarding AGM/ Flooded cell.

I think that someone had posted that a group 24R will fit. I will be testing this this weekend.

Regards,

Carlos

I bought a JC Penney lifetime battery 3/5/1981 for $126.43 which was a lot of money back then.

After JC Penney got out of the automotive repair business Firestone assumed the warranty and since then they've replaced my JC Penney battery 4 or 5 times under warranty.

Probably the best 914 investment that I've ever made.

Thank you for your post! Given my current economic status I am getting off my Optima kick and going Walmart. WTF and my car has had a lead/acid battery in it for almost 50 years....if it ain't broke don't fix it. The money I save will go toward the new Pertronix I will probably need.
All the best,
gg

I have a 24. Had to hammer the trunk side lip down to fit, plus it's kinda tall.

But it was free as I pulled it from the Nissan.

Alot of battery dimensions are common. Find a size chart and pick one that fits better. Depth is really the most important one as the clamp needs to fit.

Plus if you have replaced most of the bulbs with LEDs and don't have a banging stereo you can go smaller. Batteries had fewer CCA back then.

Here’s a possibility for those in the eastern states. In store only, no shipping, $65.

https://www.ruralking.com/catalog/product/view/id/28438