$500 for a battery?? They must be ripping you off on the labor, no way just the part costs that much.

When I replace batteries in my cars I use Interstate from Costco. Currently don't have any AGM batteries, they're all flooded lead acid, but most of them have been in use for 3-4+ years in cold Wisconsin winters and are working fine. My 850 had a pretty nasty battery drain at one point and took over a year to kill one if that tells you how tough they are.

I'd stay away from Duracell, Oreily's, or other auto-parts store batteries. Interstate, OEM, or Optima if you want to be super duper fancy .

 

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As far as I can remember there were only 3 car battery manufacturers in the U.S.

In terms of price Costco will be the cheapest with Walmart in 2nd. Costco sometime in the last 2 years changed their 36 Months Exchange to 36 Months Limited Warranty. Former being full free replacement with the current a pro-rated exchange warranty.

Walmart is still full exchange as I exchanged a battery a couple months ago and just helped a neighbor with a Walmart battery purchase. We currently have 3 to 4 Costco batteries in the 7 cars, lost count.
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"As of 2021, most Interstate Batteries in the United States come from Exide Technologies, one of the three major manufacturers of automotive batteries."

One moment, please...

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I went optima

 

Walmart Everstart for value, higher-end Interstate for best quality.

 

Do you have some reference to the Walmart being a higher end Interstate. Costco's is now Pro-Rated vs Walmart's Free Replacement warranty.
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Has anyone here had issues with batteries fitting properly? my previous battery before this one was an h7 but was ultimately too large So I had to shave down the batteries plastic handle to fit the strap over. The one after it was the right size but was too short for the top battery strap to hold it down.

I ended up putting a thick piece of soft-ish rubber between the top of the battery and the hold-down strap. (I will look at what brand both where. Sadly purchased both after leaving my lights on the inside for 12 hours and it killed em dead lol. atleast it happened 4-5 years apart each time.)

 

Has anyone here had issues with batteries fitting properly? my previous battery before this one was an h7 but was ultimately too large So I had to shave down the batteries plastic handle to fit the strap over. The one after it was the right size but was too short for the top battery strap to hold it down.

I ended up putting a thick piece of soft-ish rubber between the top of the battery and the hold-down strap. (I will look at what brand both where. Sadly purchased both after leaving my lights on the inside for 12 hours and it killed em dead lol. atleast it happened 4-5 years apart each time.)

Yeah, been there on both accounts. Last battery I bought…. I can’t remember as I haven’t seen the car for 7 months. I’ll check in a few days.

 

Interstate ...........✅TESTED......AAA uses them as well (under the AAA badge).

 

i just installed the large H7 everstart AGM and the big battery adapter parts into my V50. fit just right.
walmart shipped it to my door in a few days time for less than $200 total.
i like the idea of being able to easily find a place for quick replacement in most areas i may find myself travelling.
I was a little worried about not being able to inspect the batt before purchase, but they sent me a very new one. also missed out on the $5 core refund, but the old battery was still somewhat good so i'll use it in something less critical.

Usually i would go to the nearest chain retailer and poke around the racks to find the freshest USA made AGM battery.
I've also seen batteries manufactured in Germany and of course China, and i think once even Saudi Arabia ?? they should be date stamped and I wouldn't want to get one more than two months old because the warranty usually goes by the date on the batt and not your receipt (if you even still have it in three years time)

 

AGM is the only way to go