What's a reasonable price for a replacement Battery?

Dunno what batteries cost. My dad seemed to have found a reasonable source on ebay. I think the exotic big big batteries for the likes of the Saab and the Audi were about £70 each, delivered.

More normal stuff, like the Polo was about £35. I think I paid about £40 for one from Halfrauds for the BX a couple of years ago.

Heh, there's no reasonable price to pay a garage to fit it because it's a piece of piss to do yourself. (c:

Failing that, you could bung someone a fiver to do it I guess.

How long is a piece of string?

I sell batteries Or I did... I get offers of cheap batteries from suppliers all the time. I mean cheaper than you can possibly imagine. But I wouldnt sell one or use one myself...

I chose to use AGM Starting and Deep Cycle batteries at great expence because I understand and care about the difference.

Scuse the crap spelling...

This isn't what you're looking for..

Shame the range/performance is so s**te.

Batteries have gone up like a rocket in the last couple of years. The cheapest 063 for a 1.9 BX is now £59.99...

Wondered why you were quoting the Optima sales speak.

You must have more money than sense.

Hmm, I dunno, what ever the garage just round the corner charges I guess. Or the Renault dealer probably because it's unlikely to go elsewhere that's ever going to diagnose a failing battery. I'd like to think it would be less than a tonne, but if it's not, it's not like I can just choose not to have it done is it heh.

I have not sold or wanted to sell any batteries for years. I no longer need to.

I have money. But also more "sense" than you have especially about batteries. I suspect if you keep this up you are going to look more stupid with every post. I have forgotten more about batteries than you seem capable of understanding.

As others have said, "it depends." And battery prices have gone up a lot too; I don't know why but would speculate there's a anti-car or carbon footprint reason in there somewhere. :-)

If you regularly use the garage they may only charge you a token amount.

Or you can find out what model battery your car needs and

it? Halfords too?

Lead prices. Batteries used to be around £30 for a MK2 Golf GTI, if you look at GSF's website they're now way beyond that point. OTOH scrap batteries are worth weighing in again...

How about the way the cost of lead has gone up loads? Y'know how old knackered batteries are now worth money as scrap - they cost more new for the same reason.

Once a salesman, always a salesman.

You've certainly been taken in by the hype. Personally for something as mundane as a battery I prefer value for money - and spend the difference on things that matter.

To be fair, I'd say that Burgerman is probably much more dependant on battery technology than most, so he'd be more acutely aware of the shittier batteries out there.

For my money, Varta car batteries have always done me proud. In Canada however, the pick-up trucks would get through one a year. Cold weather really does f*ck batteries, so it was never really worth splashing out for anything other than the minimum.

Not at all I undferstand the data and understand the difference. You on the other hand appear to not quite get it. Or maybe now you do but have no reply.

FFS. We're talking about car batteries here. A normal decent make will do at least 5 years of average motoring and never need maintenance or let you down. Assuming the car has a well designed electrical system and you have some common sense. The only reason to pay twice as much would be if the Optima lasted twice as long - and even then probably not worth it as few keep a car that long.

You won't find Optima used in industry. They're purely a hobby thing. Ask yourself why.

Tell that to my GF whose honda accord just had to be jump started at school about 3 months ago. It was exactly 4 yeas old. She left something turned on. And even though it reads 12.3v on the bench it reads about 4v when you turn the key. Charge it up and it would be "fine" but its the internal resistance that stops it spinning the engine over when a bit low. Guess what its got on now. At 12.3 volts an optima is equally discharged but it can still start a truck. What part of better are you not understanding?

Which modern cars dont they drain too much from the battery with all the crap that has to be run. Everything from the fuel system to the alarm/imobiliser to the sensor that listens for the key signal and the radio/clocks, imobilisers all use power. This causes a slow battery deterioration problem especially on vehicles left for long periods. It causes permenant damage to starter only batteries until one dark cold day it wont go. Cars today do this much more (drain) than ever before.

and you have

Its not related to how long it lasts although since the deterioration will be slower they probably will last twice as long. No its about the fact that its as good as having a battery that can withstand abuse. And abuse means leaving the lights on. Or not driving it for a month because its sat at the airport. It will start your car even if all but flat wheras a cheap starter batter cant due to its awful internal resistance once low on charge. Even if your cheap battery has the same capacity and even if it has a large enough rated CCA it wont be able to do that same CCA when half flat. The optima will piss it...

I dont care if its ten times the price its just better. This is a modded car group its supposed to interest people to improve on the nasty starter only cheap battery. Not make it worse. But if you want to fit crap go right ahead, your choice.

I used to sell them to airports, services, war corospondents (hummers) in several countries, radio stations (no idea why) for off shore beacons and repeaters and pro photographers because they have the AMPS (low internal resistance) in a smaller package to run fancy overpowered flash guns, road works power systems for lighting, manufacturers of industrial back up generators, police (they bury them to run something or other???) Electric karting guys, EV conversion people, humber bank factories and oil refineries for computer back up and plant machinery back, forestry guys in their vehicles, bae systems for some kind of armoured car power or something, etc etc. Please get a life, you have absolutely no clue.

For dave

Quality Varta replacement battery. What I call a cheap basic battery. Its conventinal technology. 80 quid.

This is Vartas same sized straight swap alternative AGM battery - same technology as the optima (but with less good flat plates like the Hawker) at about 90 quid dearer than the normal battery. Its a better battery its lower resistance it uses better technology and its about the same price as the Optima... Why do you suppose that batteries are all gradually going AGM and Recombinant???

Clue, it not because they are worse! Its not because they are cheaper!

See if you can work it out.

Many manufacturers are now starting to offer AGM recombinant batteries now. Because of the undoubted advantages? Or because its a "scam" or whatever it was you called them? Another clue compare CCA and resistance, etc... They dont quite match Optimas or Hawker Odyssey yet but they are getting there.

Right. So with an Optima I can leave the headlights on for a week and the car will still start?

Think you need to realise that *any* battery is like a fuel tank - when that tank is empty the car won't go. A larger tank holds more petrol - but just the same happens unless you fill it up. 'Leaving something on' is the same as leaving the engine running in my analogy - sooner or later the petrol will run out.

BTW, if the battery was reading 12.3 volts and it wouldn't start the engine it's fooked. Perhaps you need to tell her not to leave things on

- they last longer than way.