AAA Car Battery Review – Is It Worth it? [Owner’s Opinion!]
When looking for a good battery for your car, you will eventually find yourself flooded with so many options that you don’t know what to get. Several people would recommend anything but AAA batteries, while others are swearing up and down the road that AAA batteries are good.
AAA batteries will usually last for several years, with strong warranties that are honored when proven the battery has failed. AAA car batteries are good batteries to measure other batteries against; being US-made means that they are a good standard of quality.
There are several caveats that you will need to remember when buying AAA brand batteries that we are going to discuss. Many people have horror stories online, while others are defending the batteries completely, making it hard to know the real quality of AAA batteries.
Should You Get AAA Batteries?
Simply put, if you need a battery, AAA batteries will work just fine for your vehicle, whether it is a car, a truck, your boat, or even just for your solar power system. Batteries for vehicles have become so well refined and similar that most car battery companies can provide high quality without higher costs.
The problem we have found is that AAA batteries are mass manufactured, which means there is a slight chance that some faulty batteries are not caught in quality assurance. Further, with the batteries mostly being provided in North America, those that are bad will usually be in a group of mostly vocal people.
AAA batteries also have a comprehensive warranty that makes them well worth it, but it is the buyer’s onus to prove something is wrong with the battery. This can be a problem when you install the battery on your own, drive for a week or more, and then the battery dies without any testing.
Who Makes AAA Batteries?
The company makes AAA batteries in the United States of America, with as much of the manufacturing done locally as possible. The main manufacturing hub in Pennsylvania is a big part of why many people have started using AAA batteries.
The simple belief is that because it is locally made, the battery warranty guarantee will be much better than batteries from other countries. However, this is not always true, and the AAA battery warranty is similar to most other battery brands on the market.
The AAA brand batteries are much more attractive because it is an American brand, which means they are also much easier to get. We recommend that you remember this when choosing your battery, as the actual ease of getting a battery does change the warranty level.
Why Are AAA Batteries Worth It?
Now that we know whether or not you should be getting a AAA brand battery, we will look at why they may be worth getting. One of the things that people point out first will be the lower price of the batteries in many states of the US, which is something to remember.
We have listed four reasons as being worth the cost of the batteries, with many of them being the main reason many are using AAA batteries. We always recommend that you keep these in mind when reading ranting reviews of why someone is unhappy with their battery.
1. Ease Of Getting
Because AAA brand batteries are made in the US, they are available almost anywhere, with many people finding them at their local petrol station or Walmart.
Especially when some shops are trying to get rid of stock and sell a battery that has been on the shelf for months or years, the availability of these batteries is a double-edged sword that makes them exceptionally easy to use but can also mean that your battery is dead on arrival.
2. Quality Of Manufacturing
Depending on where you stay, the fact that AAA brand batteries are made almost entirely in the US will be a good sign of high-quality batteries. Many people across the US are specifically looking for parts that are locally made to ensure they know the quality of the parts.
You should remember that these batteries will most likely be accepted as higher-quality parts in the US and Canada. Only when moving to countries where there is much more variety is the quality of AAA batteries being questioned.
3. Warranty Periods
The standard warranty period for all AAA brand batteries is 36 months, usually around three years of constant use. However, this warranty is subject to many clauses you will have to remember, with many people finding their use cases cause the warranty to be broken.
One of the easiest and most dangerous reasons that AAA brand batteries are not honoring a warranty is when a car’s alternator is not working. Causing the battery to be drained completely, causing it to be severally damaged, and the warranty does not cover such types of damage; no battery brand covers this.
4. Variety Of Batteries
One of the important things to remember about AAA brand batteries is that they have almost every shape, size, and strength you can imagine. Many people have been reminded of this when they recommend batteries; AAA batteries are third-party suppliers, and they have almost every type you may need.
This means that if you have a classic car from the 1950s or a car that rolled out of the factory yesterday, you will be able to find a battery. We recommend keeping this in mind, as many times you will need to match the exact voltages and amperages that your car needs.
What Have Been The Experiences With AAA Batteries?
Several people have reported issues and challenges when buying AAA brand batteries that need to be considered. We have had our own positive experiences with the batteries, which may have changed how we are talking about them overall.
To ensure that everything is being understood about the batteries, we have taken a look at all the general reviews and discussions that have been made. These will give you a good idea of the good and bad things associated with AAA brand batteries that you need to remember.
1. Outlasting Any Other Warranties
One of the things we have heard and experienced with AAA brand batteries is that many of them, when fitted, last a few years after the initial warranty period. Usually lasting a year or more until the battery starts to die, with many people swearing to the batteries specifically because of this.
It should be noted that the warranty rarely indicates how long a product will last, with batteries regularly lasting a few years after the warranty has ended. This has caused situations where the battery is several years out of warranty, and the owner assumes it should be replaced because it had a warranty.
2. Trouble Claiming Warranties
One of the main things to remember that AAA brand batteries are that the warranty depends on who is testing your car and battery. Many people note that the battery is not covered by warranty because other problems are detected in the car’s electrical systems.
Because of this, we recommend testing everything in your car before installing the battery, as a constant drain on the battery caused by your radio or lights is not covered in warranties. We always recommend you consider this when trying to get your AAA brand battery replaced under warranty.
3. Improving On The Cold Start Of OEM Batteries
We have noticed this with most third-party batteries, especially if you have an older car. The new batteries dramatically increase the cold start ability of the car over what the original manufacturer battery had been able to do, which is often noted by buyers.
This is because a new third-party battery that has been fully charged provides the exact amperages the car needs to start. If the battery is kept charged with the alternator and other parts of the car, it will provide a better cold start experience right until the end.
4. Quality Differs From State To State
This is one of the biggest issues with AAA brand batteries, caused by the batteries being made in the US. But, depending on the state that you are in, the batteries may be of lower quality than the batteries you find in others, with the installation services also being affected.
The reasons for this have been very unclear, with the only clear connections so far being that when you live in a larger city, the quality of the battery increases, but the service decreases. While more remote areas, the overall service is fine, but the battery may have gone flat while left on a shelf.
5. May Have Trouble Replacing Under Warranty
People have had trouble convincing their AAA service engineers that the battery was faulty on delivery. While we have not experienced this personally, it should be considered when choosing your battery, as many people have heard their voices quite well.
The problem usually comes in when a battery has already been installed and worked for a day or two and then stopped working completely. We recommend that you properly have the battery tested if you are afraid of it not working, going to a battery test center to buy it rather than stopping at Walmart just because it is convenient.