[midfield99]

I'm currently driving a 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid with a bad battery. The battery is out of warranty. I use it mostly for town driving. I've gone a few days without starting the car before realizing that was impacting the battery. I've done a little bit of research and it seems like I have three options.

1. Get a grid charger. This has the benefit of being the cheapest. The downside is I still might need to get a new battery later on. The other downsides are that I'm currently in the midwest and do not have access to a closed garage. So I am dealing with hot summers,cold winters, and the possibility of bad temperatures for charging.

2. A non-OEM battery. I've looked at a few companies and bumblebee seems to be pretty good. The price seems to be competitive, and the warranty is good. I'm not particularly looking forward to installing it though. The one downside is that I do not really want to spend that much money. Also, is the bumblebee battery significantly better than an OEM battery?

3. An OEM battery. I could take it to the dealer and get an OEM battery. Would this be a good option if the price ended up being in the same range as a bumblebee replacement battery?

I do have another question concerning driving the car. Would it be ok to take an 800 or 900 mile car trip without a working hybrid battery?