One thing is for sure - your auto battery life will eventually end. Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, are the causes why its life is shortened. Sulfation, also known as sulfur build up on the lead plates in the battery, is another common factor that limits auto battery life other than it being exposed in excessive conditions.
Initially, sulfur build up reduces the capacity of the battery to function well and after a period of time when the build up is too much, your auto battery life fails. Corrosion on the plate also occurs when there is a sulfur build up.
Reconditioning is advised to recover back your dead car battery instead of buying a new one. Check with a voltmeter to see if your vehicle battery can still be reconditioned. You can still recondition your auto battery if the meter reads from 10 to 12 volts. If the meter displays any reading below that limit, your battery cannot be repaired anymore.
The process of reconditioning is not exclusive for the recovery of auto battery life but also to other batteries that people commonly use. Same test procedure (checking with voltmeter) is used to determine if your battery is worth such reconditioning.
Reconditioning car batteries is just a practical approach to recover auto battery life especially nowadays that batteries are expensive. Actually, there's a chance that you may never have to purchase a new battery as you may recondition discarded batteries back to life. Best of all, these discarded batteries are free in most cases.