My car is 100% dead, no power and I've already had to jump it once... I tried recharging it with no luck, and today it's completely dead which means that I have to have a friend take me to work, and go somewhere locally to buy a new battery. I'm in downtown San Jose at Adobe, is there a place close by that I can buy a new/good battery? I'd like to get a smaller/lighter one but I want one that has the same if not MORE power than the stock one. Anyone have any recommendations? There's a SEARS and Pepboys, as well as the stealership near by, but I don't know of any other places that might have performance batteries.

I have a 2007 STi, please help! I'm already sooooo late to work and have to use my lunch hour to go buy this battery so I can drive tonight (I have to go somewhere really important tonight and I only have my car to drive since my wife wont be around).

Any relevant help is GREATLY appreciated! (Perhaps someone local has a spare batter that they could sell me?) I'd like to save some money on the purchase since I'm saving for some personal things (back surgery).

 

I'm next door at the small building across the park if you need a ride to a local store to buy it, of if you find one on CL. I need to grab some lunch anyway. Let me know.

 

Not sure how feasible this would be but I have class at SJSU at 3-415, then 6-845pm. If you find a battery that isn't sold at someplace near your work and can some how pay by cc over the phone or something, I can pick it up on my way to sjsu and drop it off to you or something. I'll be coming from fremont so plenty of places on my way. LMK.

 

i know you want smaller but more power and reliable is better. I would go with an Optima Redtop or unless you have a lot of car audio, i would go with a Yellowtop. Mine has never let me down and i love it, only thing is that it's pretty heavy. You could always relocate it to the trunk later down the road to. Sears carries Optima.

Crap, just noticed you wanted to budget the battery purchase.

 

Oh wow, you guys are really friggin amazing and I REALLY appreciate the offers of help!!!

My good friend is going to drive me to get a battery at lunch, so I have a ride I just need to know a place that sells decent batteries. My budget is around $120ish tops, so I doubt I can get some great batter for that price. I have my old battery so I can give it to them as a core which should save me some money. It's been a long time since Ive bought a battery so I'm not sure what I should get.

The only mod I have is upgraded speakers which are usually blasting really loud, other than that my car is stock in terms of electronics.


Thanks again for the offers, I REALLY appreciate it, and it's why (great people) I have been a member of this forum for well over 10 years now (almost 11 years!!!). You guys rock and just know that I'd do the same for you to help you if you were in a bind like I am right now.

 

If I went to sears, how much do you think I could buy a yellow top optima for? Also, what about the standard red top version? You think it's better to buy an optima rather than the sears brand battery?

If I'm spending the money, I wouldn't mind spending a little more to get something that is better especially if it's a significant difference. Battery heads, can you advise?


Thanks for the help, I'm leaving to get the battery at around 11:30am so all advice before then is REALLY appreciated.


i-club ROCKS!

 

If you buy an Optima pay special attention to the poles and their configuration. It can be a PITA to find the right one and an even bigger PITA to mount the wrong one. Die Hard batteries are just fine. No matter what you get it's going to get replace sooner or later. Red tops are fine too. The CCA of a yellow are a little over the top for this climate with such a small displacement motor.

 

Costco also sells Optima Yellowtops.
I think they're anywhere from ~$150-$210.

I had my yellowtop for about 3 years, then it started losing charge. Put it on the trickle charger for a couple of days twice, before I gave up on it.

Look into getting one of those Braille or Odyssey half-size batteries Lightweight and half the price too!

 

Good to know, I've used the Die Hard series in the past without fail in all my old cars so I'm thinking of just getting another for the STi... I'm currently using the stock batter that came with the car in 2007, so it's due for a replacement. Thanks for the info Jeff, I appreciate it.

 

Hmmm, 3 years eh? After what you and Jeff just told me, it looks like I'll be staying away from optima batteries and sticking with the old Die Hard battery that has served me well in all my previous cars. Do you have any stereo mods that could have contributed to the early death of your yellow top? Perhaps you left your dome lights on for a period of days or something? Or did it just die a natural death after 3 years?

I've been using the die hard series since 1999, from my old Honda to my 2.5RS, to my old WRX and they worked great... So I guess I'll just get another die hard. Is that a sears specific battery or do they sell die hard elsewhere like Costco?

How much of a discount is there when you provide them with your old battery? Anyone know off hand? IIRC, Sears gave me like $30 towards a new battery with my old battery as a trade in, but that was like 5 years ago so I don't really remember exactly. I'm sure someone knows.../

Also, does sears accept core trade ins or do they just sell the battery to you without a core?

 

I got my Die Hard Battery at Orchard Supply Hardware. So happy that they had it as that place is literally right outside my apartment complex. If they didn't have them that would have SUCKED walking carrying a battery a few miles.

Sears is the main distributor of Die Hard, but you should be able to find it other places as well.

 

Die hard is a sears exclusive. Just a name with a decent warranty and access for service. TO my knowledge there is not a core charge or credit. I do think they charge for disposal. I think that most auto parts store take them for free to recycle.

Witness the vagueness. Haaa

 

Diehard, Duralast (AutoZone), Interstate, Kirkland (Costco), Motorcraft are just different "brand names" all made by the same manufacturer, Johnson Controls. If you like diehard, i would just go to the nearest place with any of these and get the lightest one that fits the specs of your car.

 

Dude... Don't waste your time on an optima, you have ZERO need for that.

Go to any local store, go to Walmart, pepboys, autozone, sears ETC... and get a battery.

I'll tell you what, take the battery that's in my RS for a set of short J hooks. I need some short J hooks from autozone so I can install my Odyssey. That'll be like a $10 for you. That one I have is less than two years old, slightly smaller than OE, and has enough cranking amps to turn over in frozen hell.

So, take my cheap offer, or go buy a $60 or $70 battery. Cause that's all you will need dude. All Batteries have a life, and most WILL go 5-8 years, sometimes longer. That's why they have such long warranties like 4-7 years.

 

Ah, that's awesome! My wife works for the corporate OSH headquarters in San Jose which means I get a 35% discount on anything I buy, which means I get to save a bundle of cash on the battery!!! YAY!!! Thank you for posting this, I had NO IDEA that OSH sold car batteries, you saved the day!!!