Re: Interstate Megatron Battery
howdy all. just wanted to share some facts and when its just an opinion i'll give you a heads up. i have 30 years in the battery biz (where did i go wrong?). i have worked for the majority of the major manufacturers in several capacities and have witnessed the good the bad and the ugly.
first things first, there are only a few manufactures left. like many industries in the 80's and 90's mergers friendly and un-friendly were semi-common. today the two major players are exide and johnson controls. there are several smaller or regional builders.such as deka/east penn, u.s. battery, trojan etc. all have a niche and there are NO bad or b grade manf'ers left. technology and EPA have had such a huge financial effect only the strong survive, the weak have perished and fallen by the wayside.
part two, the big guys produce almost all of the name brands you see in the market place, johnson controls (JCI) makes: the majority of sears diehard, 90% of walmarts line, interstate, motorcraft, duralast, the after market OE replacement batteries for toyota, nissan, mopar, mazda, lexus, subaru, saab you get the idea. exide makes batteries for many private label accounts such as TBA (tire battery and accessories) tire stores, chain marine stores, parts houses (high volume low margin biz).
so what does all this mean to me? think of picking a battery like ordreing food from a menu. all the manf'ers have everything from steak to peanut butter and jelly. you should make your order to fit your appetite. the most expensive isn't always the "best " thing on the menu. you should know what cca ,cold cranking amps,( not ca or mca or hca. ALL bogus measurements) and reserve capacity your application requires. also your "side order" should be warranty. if you live in a hot climate pay particular attention to FREE REPLACEMENT. last but not least, how easy is it to get warranty service? physically call the 1-800 number. pretend to have a warranty situation. how good/ easy was the situation? of course money plays in but most folks are willing to pay a bit extra for quality products and services.
opinion time: best quality to value ratio Interstate Battery.