Car Battery Cost

 A car battery cost is usually around $100 not including installation, unless you buy those reconditioned ones or handed down from a friend who wants to replace his battery. That is why you must remember to keep your receipt in case your battery died before the warranty expires. Your receipt can give you some saving on car battery cost if you need to replace your battery before the warranty expires. But what are the factors that determine the cost of a car battery?

For starters the car battery cost is determined by the CCA (cold cranking amps) CCAs are the discharge load measured in amps that a fully charged battery at 0 degrees F can deliver for 30 seconds and while maintaining the voltage above 7.2 volts. Batteries are sometimes advertised by their Cranking Amps (CA) measured at 32 degrees F or Hot Cranking Amps (HCA) measured at 80 degrees F, which are not the same as CCA. Do not be mislead by CAs or HCAs of the battery in question. The higher the CCA and the HCA rating, the higher the price of a battery: you need higher rating if you live in an extremely cold or extremely hot environment.

The next most significant consideration in buying a battery is the Reserve Capacity rating because of the burdens of an expanded parasitic or "key off" load produced by electrical devices, e.g., fans, clocks, computer, etc., that function after the engine is stopped. RC is the number of minutes a completely charged battery at eighty degrees F can be discharged at 25 amps until the voltage declines below 10.5 volts. More RC is better in all cases. For example, if your car has a 360 OEM cranking amp requisite, then a 450 to 500 CCA rated battery with one hundred twenty minute RC would be more suitable in a warm climate than one with 700 to 800 CCA with 90 minutes of RC.

Because car battery cost so much, you need to take good care of it. A brand new car battery can last 3 to 5 years if properly taken care of. Proper care and maintenance of your car battery include regular cleaning and checking if the electrolyte level is right. You want to handle it with care when cleaning because dropping your car battery could do some major damage - it could even die entirely.

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