My Justy's 3 yr battery lasted almost 4, but it wont hold a charge.

 

The quandary, is it worth buying an extra fancy battery (yellow top) for a smple car that doesnt get driven alot, or a cheapo battery and a battery tender? 

 

I've been wallowing in self pity for the last few months so I havent been around  

Get one range above cheapo and a battery tender and sleep well.

What I run is mid quality conventional battery, but I get the biggest one that will fit in the battery space. This gets you some extra reserve, some extra cca. And, at it's end of life, (about 5 years) it still has enough to start the car, so you can still let it go a bit longer. I looked at those fancy batteries a while back. They cost about double a conventional one, last about twice as long. Doesn't make financial sense. I haven't priced them lately, so check.

Options:

* They sell POC batteries at the upullandpay for almost as much as new batteries run.  

* If you have a pal that's preparing to upgrade his/her battery you might buy it as a core and save some money to tide you over.

 

I avoid the high-end batteries unless I'm going full production on cabin solar panels, a long haul rig, hospital backup, ambulance, etc. little commuter cars don't get that treatment.

 

...And think of it this way - you already got a free year out of your dead one, right? That's good!