Do You Need A Costco Membership To Buy A Car Battery?

Costco is well known for its excellent deals on a wide range of products, including car batteries. The warehouse store carries a huge selection of battery sizes and brands at unbeatable prices, but do you need a Costco membership to buy one?

Yes, you need a Costco Membership to buy a car battery from the store. You can become a member for $60 a year. Car batteries at Costco are typically around $15-40 cheaper than at other retail stores and come with a limited 36-month warranty. However, Costco doesn’t offer battery installation services. 

While Costco has some of the best deals on new car batteries, the lack of installation services may be a deal-breaker for some. Let’s take a closer look at whether Costco is the best place to shop for a car battery, how the membership works, and how much they charge for batteries, so that you can make an informed purchase. 

Do You Need a Costco Membership to Buy a Car Battery? 

Yes, you’ll need a Costco membership to purchase a car battery from one of the store’s many outlets.

Costco doesn’t sell batteries to non-members, but if you’re still hoping to take advantage of the great deals, don’t worry.

You can quickly and easily become a Gold Star Costco member for around $60 per year. 

There’s also an Executive membership option for $120 per year. You can see the details and apply for your membership on Costco’s website.

Is Costco a Good Place to Buy Car Batteries?

Costco is a great place to buy car batteries since it always tries to offer the best value to its members by selling its products at reasonable prices. 

The store offers Interstate battery brands at every location, and you’ll find car batteries in the automotive section, usually on one of the lower shelves.

However, since Costco doesn’t offer a battery installation service, you’ll either need to hire a technician for the job or do it yourself. 

How Much Does Costco Charge for Car Batteries?

Costco offers car batteries at a much cheaper prices than other big-box stores, including Walmart.

Costco charges around $60 to $100 for its Interstate batteries brand, which is around $15 to $40 cheaper than at other retail stores. 

It’s important to note that Costco charges a $15 core charge for batteries. However, you can easily avoid this fee by returning your old car battery to the store for recycling. 

How Long Is the Warranty on Costco Batteries?

Costco batteries come with two warranties: one from the car battery manufacturer and one from Costco itself.

The store offers a limited 36-month warranty on most models, and you can easily purchase a battery without waiting in line or scheduling an appointment. 

While a car battery typically has a lifespan of around 4-6 years, this timeframe can vary depending on your driving habits, vehicle usage, and weather conditions. 

Costco’s Interstate batteries also come with a free battery replacement warranty. This warranty period varies greatly depending on the type of battery purchased. 

If you find any defects or experience battery failure within the warranty period, then you can get a partial refund or free replacement.

However, keep in mind that you’ll need to provide documents of your original purchase to qualify for the warranty. 

Does Costco Install Car Batteries? 

As we mentioned earlier, Costco doesn’t offer its own battery installation service, so you’ll either have to do it yourself or hire a mechanic for installation.

While most Costco locations will replace and maintain your tires, they won’t offer much other installation options. 

Installing Your Own Car Battery

Installing a car battery yourself may sound daunting, especially if you’re a vehicle maintenance rookie. However, the process is very simple; you can install your own car battery by following these steps: 

1. Put your vehicle in park and turn off the engine. If you’ve parked your car on an incline, make sure you use wheel chocks (on Amazon) and the emergency brake for additional safety.
   
2. Pop the hood and locate your vehicle’s battery. It’s usually located in the front right or left corner near the headlights.
   
3. Identify the battery’s positive and negative terminals. The positive terminal should have a plus sign and a red cord or cap, while the negative terminal should have a black cord or cap and a minus sign.
   
4. Loosen the bolt on the negative terminal with a wrench. Make sure you choose the right-sized wrench before performing this step. Then, loosen the bolt on the positive terminal.
   
5. Push the cords away from your car’s battery to prevent any sparks during the installation process.
   
6. Carefully lift the battery out of your car. Keep in mind that the battery may be heavy; some models weigh up to 50 pounds. If there’s a handle on your car battery, make sure you use it to make the process easier.
   
7. Check both terminal caps for corrosion. If you notice any white crystals or green coloring on the terminals, clean them out with a terminal cleaning solution (on Amazon) or a thick bristle brush, so the corrosion doesn’t spread to the new battery.
   
8. Place your new battery in the exact same spot you removed the old one from. Make sure the black and red terminal posts are aligned in the same manner as they were in the old battery.
   
9. Connect both terminals to the new car battery. Connect the positive first, and then attach the negative side. Securely tighten the bolts so that your car has a solid connection to the new battery.
   
10. Close the hood and turn on your car to test the connection.