Should I perform a preemptive battery change?

I don't like the term cheap, but I guess you could say I'm very frugal and it seems batteries and being very frugal don't go well together, especially at winter time.

 

I don't have a place, sadly. Only guy I know has same limits sadly.

 

Nothing wrong with being frugal but if you don't have some type of service like AAA, it can cost more than the cost of battery to get a service truck out. Of course if you have good friends, they can always help you out when needed.

 

So hard to find a competent shop. When my cousin worked for Sears, I did my own alignment.

 

I hadn't considered that...good point. I can remember a video on Youtube, which shows a battery exploding when being charged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgfwH6zRmRA

 

Not sure if he still has it, that old battery did a lot of sitting too cause i do not drive the car much.

 

I did use AAA to have a flatbed truck bring it to the dealership, so it does come in handy when you need help.

 

Summer heat is what kills batteries. But most folks don't realize it until winter. Even though the battery is dying rapidly during the summer it doesn't have to work hard then. The 1st time it gets cold it'll fail. Seven years is about the max life. You might go another winter, you might be stranded. I'm often in places 20+ miles from a paved road and cell service. If it were me, I'd replace it LAST year. If you're never far from help, then you might push it.

 

Yup. Gotta find someone who really understands how it works and what the target goals are. Unfortunately, for a truck like mine, I need a shop that has it's shit together.

 

AAA does come in handy once in a while. Used it for locked keys inside an older vehicle, flat tire, and tow for an old truck I purchased that needed a fuel pump.

 

Funny thing was I had AAA and never realized the auto shop I was having worked performed, gave a 10% discount for AAA members, so it's worth checking that out too. I gave my parents a 2-week trip to Hawaii on Tauck tours, through AAA for their 40th wedding anniversary. It was the best thing I ever did, as my mother was healthy enough having breast cancer and it was before my father was diagnosed with lung cancer, about 6 months after their trip the same airport is where the 9/11 hijackers took off from and I know my parents would never go on an airplane alone or be healthy enough to enjoy the trip like they did then.

 

Wow. I would not replace a perfectly good battery. I don't live in the outback. I would never wheel alone. I am rarely out of the city, I do carry cables, always have but the only times I've needed them is for others or for a flat spot on my starter. I live in Canada, it gets cold here. There's always someone around willing to give a jump start to a guy standing with cables in his hands. If for no other reason than to give a wee bit more back to the planet.. Why replace a perfectly good battery??

 

same reason people buy warranties - peace of mind.

 

For peace of mind, I'd replace it. If you want to play roulette, don't replace.

Just make sure you are packing if you get stranded on the side of the road late night in a sketchy place for wild animals or questionable people.

 

The battery keeps a charge, but it's not "perfect" and the question is when will it die and do I want to get the very last starts from it or do I want to give up that last starts for the peace of mind of not having"what if's"?

 

Warranties are for suckers!!

Just sayin!!

 

i proactively change mine every 24-36mo. why? I don't want to be stranded in the desert with no cell service because my truck battery died on me.

 

I would imagine that for you, if you're worried enough to scribe a post about it, It's a concern for you already. Replace it then..

 

Yeah and as embarrassing as it is to say I don't have a cell phone, so that adds to the drama. I think I'm the last person not to have one and not elderly.

 

WOW, that is extreme replacement, have you ever considered reselling them with full disclosure?