Five questions that sort it out
Answer these honestly and the choice usually makes itself:
- Do you know why it died? A dome light, headlights left on or a door left ajar is an explanation. A battery that dies for no reason you can name is a different story.
- How old is the battery? Under about three years, a one-time drain is probably a one-time problem. Past four years, it is suspect.
- Has it happened before? Once is a jump. Twice in a few weeks is a battery.
- How did the car start before it quit? Slow cranking or hesitation on cool mornings means the battery was already fading.
- What does the battery look like? A swollen case, a leak, heavy corrosion or a rotten-egg smell means replace it.
When a jump is enough
If you know the cause, the battery is young, and the car started normally until that one incident, a jump and a good drive is a reasonable fix. See whether it starts the next morning. If it does, carry on.
Be honest about the one-time cause, though. People often count a battery's first failure as a freak event when it had been fading for months. If you remember slow starts in the weeks before it died, that was the battery telling you.
When to go straight to a new battery
A battery that is old, has needed jumps before, shows physical damage, or sat completely dead for days or weeks probably won't come back. Jumping it again buys you a day. A swollen or leaking battery shouldn't be jumped at all.
Heat history counts too. A battery that has lived through three or four DFW summers has had a harder life than the same battery in a cooler state, so the age at which it becomes suspect arrives sooner here.
How the two compare in cost
A jump start is $49–$75. Battery replacement is $239–$255 for eligible vehicles and batteries, with the new battery and the installation included. Each one carries the $19 dispatch fee, charged once per job, so the expected total for a replacement is $258–$274.
The jump is cheaper on the day. Over a few months, the replacement costs less than a jump every few weeks on a battery that keeps dying.
If you already suspect the battery is finished, a jump is a trip you pay for that leaves the problem exactly where it was. That is the situation where going straight to a replacement saves money.
If you can't tell
Request the jump start and tell dispatch what has been happening. The driver can advise on site if a replacement turns out to be needed. If you already suspect the battery, request the replacement instead, and dispatch will confirm which battery fits your car, and your total, before a driver is sent.
A rough rule for the moment itself: if the answer to why it died is something you did, like a light left on, jump it. If the answer is that you don't know, plan on replacing it.
Common questions
Not for long. Each jump is a separate trip with its own dispatch fee, and the battery is no closer to being fixed. A few jumps in a row add up to roughly what a replacement costs, and the battery is still on its way out.
Sometimes. A battery that was drained once and is otherwise healthy often recovers with a full charge. One that is worn out, or that sat drained for a long time, may not.
A jump start is a quick way to find out. If the car starts and keeps running, the battery was the issue. If it doesn't, the trouble is elsewhere.