Are Costco Interstate Marine Batteries the same as what's sold at Marine Dealer?

JoeMX1825 wrote:

old thread, but important again as some guys will try starting their boat soon and realize they have a bad battery.

I found a similar thread from a few years ago and here’s the answer given by a tech who works for Interstate…

“The only difference is the label and maybe the stock and/or part number. Your question about warranty is a good one. Most dealers will not warranty the sams club bats as they will not be engraved and that’s a requirement of interstate if they are not sold through our direct dealer network”

side note – Sams/Costco both offer the same 1 year replacement warranty any other Interstate dealer offers, you just need to return it to Sams/Costco…

I just bought 3 group 29s from the Interstate Batteries store in Coon Rapids on Wednesday. I had a 45 minute conversation about this and pretty much everything else related to marine deep cycle batteries.

I asked, are the Interstate Batteries sold st Costco the same as these?

His answer was a resounding no. Yes, specs are the same. Weight is the same. The difference is on the quality as mentioned earlier. One example for Interstate brand sold at their store is that the plate bonding method is different. Essentially more durable. He also said that the geometry of the plates and the cases are slightly different resulting in a more durable battery.

He also said there are 3 things that make a battery fail.
1. Mfg defect. This will appear very quickly and will definitely be covered under warranty.
2. Misuse or poor maintenance. Too deeply discharging the battery. Not keeping it charged. Not maintaining the fluid level. Excessive vibration or major impact.
3. End of life.

A better quality battery will benefit in all 3 categories.

Also he mentioned that ALL batteries are made to a price point. You can make a group 27 to a price point of $60 but it will not last.

I failed to get the guys name but I HIGHLY recommend anyone to go there and speak to a manager or expert thay have on hand.

We also got into the AGM vs flooded discussion. I’m not going to get into that but I can tell you I walked confidently out of there with flooded cell batteries.

Fleet farm also has these. I got a new starting battery there when they were offering a gift card with a percent back.

However I will be keeping my green tops for my trolling motor batteries.

The deal I got is use the $20 coupon at Northern for a spend of over $100. Then get your neighbors cards as well.

Batteries are one of those things where I don’t try to cheap out on. Like the other poster above, I get mine straight from an Interstate shop. It’s just the peace of mind knowing that I got the best of the best straight from the manufacturer. I’ll cheap out on other things, but I am so over having batteries leave me stranded or without power.

More important is ……………IF…………. you got one made as it was supposed to be made. NOT the ones on a line that is known to produce rejects.

McDonald’s does have the best tasting Coke iv ever had!!
My original deep cycle Interstate battery in my boat lasted 8 years. Wish I could buy another like that but I bet I could never get one to last that long again.

biggill wrote:

We also got into the AGM vs flooded discussion. I’m not going to get into that but I can tell you I walked confidently out of there with flooded cell batteries.

I’d actually love to hear this. I’ve went AGM some 10+ years ago and would never go back…boy do they hold a charge and last!

ClownColor wrote:

I’d actually love to hear this. I’ve went AGM some 10+ years ago and would never go back…boy do they hold a charge and last!

Start a new thread and I’ll consider it.

LOL…the threads 6 months old!

You can only warranty the Costco interstate battery at Costco. You get what you pay for they are not the same internally according to my interstate rep.

catnip wrote:

You can only warranty the Costco interstate battery at Costco. You get what you pay for they are not the same internally according to my interstate rep.

This is like the 6th time in this thread someone sites their info coming from an “Interstate Rep” or the local “Interstate Store”. You guys seriously believe them?! What half decent salesman is going to tell a potential customer they can get the same product somewhere else for almost half the price? Consider the source here fellas. Has anyone asked a Costco Employee if they are the same batteries?

“Thicker Plates” are going to weigh more, so if the batteries are the same weight that’s BS. This has to take significant business away from Interstate stores… if the batteries truly are different then why don’t they have a “real” interstate battery and a Costco battery at ever store that’s cut in half to prove and show exactly how they are different. “Build quality” is such a sales term.

tswoboda wrote:

This is like the 6th time in this thread someone sites their info coming from an “Interstate Rep” or the local “Interstate Store”. You guys seriously believe them?! What half decent salesman is going to tell a potential customer they can get the same product somewhere else for almost half the price? Consider the source here fellas. Has anyone asked a Costco Employee if they are the same batteries?

“Thicker Plates” are going to weigh more, so if the batteries are the same weight that’s BS. This has to take significant business away from Interstate stores… if the batteries truly are different then why don’t they have a “real” interstate battery and a Costco battery at ever store that’s cut in half to prove and show exactly how they are different. “Build quality” is such a sales term.

Finally someone else gets it…

So your saying the Interstate reps are flat out lying to our face? Are you saying the only people with actual expertise are wrong?

What proof do you have that they’re the same?

I spoke with 2 guys at Costco & Sam’s club guys working the auto counter, they both claimed the batteries were close if not the same..

I also spoke with 2 guys who work directly for Interstate, they told me the chemistry is the same, but there will likely be minor differences in the casing (black vs white/green case differences we’ve all seen) & plate thickness…

They BOTH have identical 1 year warranties, you just can’t return a Costco/Sams club battery to an Interstate dealer…from lifting both, I would say they feel like they weigh the same…but I didn’t put them on a scale…

I ended up getting 2 batteries from Northern Tool because I had giftcards to use and the $20 off $100 purchase coupons…so my price difference was only $20 vs Costco/Sams Club… If I would have purchased from Costco, I would have felt fine about it and $40 more in my pocket…

biggill wrote:

So your saying the Interstate reps are flat out lying to our face? Are you saying the only people with actual expertise are wrong?

Are you saying that salesmen have never been known to bend the truth?

biggill wrote:

What proof do you have that they’re the same?

None, but I also have no skin in this game. I didn’t even claim they are the same, just that I’m skeptical of where information is coming from. I certainly wouldn’t trust a Costco employee to tell me they are the same either. I personally think a salesman should be able to prove it one way or another when it’s as simple as having a couple dissected batteries on hand, or at least some pictures of them. But why stick your head up a bull’s ash when you can take the butcher’s word for it.

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Try not to choke on the very large grains of salt you need to take along with any claims made by a salesman comparing the battery he’s selling to one with a different sticker or color of plastic.

For example: Interstate is a marketing and sales company – they don’t actually make the batteries they sell. Theirs are most likely coming from a company/factory owned by Johnson Controls. Which is to say…a company like Costco could also be buying something with those same specs from Johnson Controls.

When it comes to lead-acid batteries, my experience is that I’ve been fine getting ones with the right specs for my need regardless of brand. I look for a good warranty, and somewhere that will be easy to get to when/where needed if I ever have to replace a battery. I’ve had good luck with Interstates and Northerns, and I particularly like EverStarts from Wal-Mart (made by Exide mostly), because Wal-Mart is everywhere and has an easy exchange process.

And if you really really want to know who makes what, this list is kept up-to-date:
http://jgdarden.com/batteryfaq/batbrand.htm

when I asked my rep (not a salesmen, order taker) he told me our black cased MOPAR (Interstate) battery was lessor quality than the white/green ones. meh

This is a great thread. Surprised it fizzled out.

Just curious what kind of lifetime everyone got out of the Costco batteries? I purchased one Costco DC 27 in March 2017 and it finally died after many many hours and miles of trolling in May 2020. Costco has raised the price to $88 at my Costco. I purchased two batteries this week and plan to wire them in parallel hoping for longer run time and less discharge per cycle. Costco battery guy said they typically get 3-3.5 years out of these batteries. My Interstate store guy said the same thing about their battery being higher quality. I am skeptical.

All you have is the value of your reputation. I say “zippo” what is the reputation? Buy it anywhere, if their is a problem they will fix it, If go out to the middle of the road and see a crumpled up piece of metal, but I can read ‘zippo’ they will fix it or send me a new one, no receit needed. They can see their name, enough. Should not matter where Interstate is sold, IMHO

ClownColor wrote:

Actually…did you know Coke at McDonalds is different then anywhere else??? It’s also been rated the best tasting coke…

The coke is not different than anywhere else, exactly the same. The difference is the water. Mcdonalds has the best water in the restaurant industry from the way they filter it to the way they put the fizz in.

Also bought my interstate batteries from Costco and seem fine.