Came out to my car on Wednesday and battery was dead... still had interior lights, but not enough juice to start the car. Got a jump, wouldn't start immediately...waited about 5 minutes after being hooked up, and it started and ran fine...

Until this morning--came out to start my car, and same thing. Called AAA, started a membership (I should have one anyway since I'm out of warranty) and got a jump. The guy used some little tester and it said the battery has a bad cell.

The car is an early 03 coupe 6MT, meaning the battery is 4, almost 5 years old now... so I'm assuming this is standard and I just need a new battery.

1) Does this sound about right?
2) Where do you recommend going to replace it-- any place better than others? (Sears, Kragen, Walmart, etc.)
3) What KIND of battery do you recommend?
4) Is there a certain size I need to get?
5) What's a reasonable amount to pay?

Thanks!

 

Yes. Five years is probably an average life expectancy. I usually replace a battery automatically at the four year point just to avoid the inconvenience of encountering a suddenly dead battery.
I'm sure lots of people will chime in with recommendations, including higher performance and lighter weight types (Optima, etc.). But for average typical use, look at Interstate or Delco. Also, batteries are one thing that Consumer Reports may actually publish good data on (unless you want/need high performance types).

 

I had a Interstate Megatron battery that lasted me about 7-8 years. I loved it.

 

Since mine just happened to die in a walmart parking lot (listening to stereo and accidentally left headlights on for about an hour), and it was the only thing open, I bought one there. It's yellow, and it was about $70.

 

optima red top...stock battery has to be serviced, people forget to add distilled water to them