OEM battery??? vs Aftermarket battery???

[whiteglock]

Hello all you BMW wizards!

I have a 2008 528 that is still under the CPO warranty 6yr or 100k. My battery was acting up and not holding its charge. So I took it in to the dealership. They ran there tests and told me it was a bad cell and that I need to replace the battery. They quoted $269 for the battery and $510 for labor and programming. An arm and a leg.... So my question, is there a big difference from a battery I can get at autozone or pepboys or sears from the OEM one they are trying to sell me? The service advisor said that if i got an aftermarket battery some of my car functions wont work cause it isnt made specifically for the car like the OEM one... Thoughts??? Advice? Which direction should I go? Pros vs Cons? THANKS for all the help in advance!

[aericks2]

I just checked into the same thing for my 08 550i. Also CPO and less than 1 year in my possession before the battery started holding less and less charge. Was really surprised at the cost of a new battery. I didn't expect the battery to be cheap, but $750 seemed a little much--especially because so much of it is installation.

The service adviser told me that my battery problems were most likely due to a lot of short trips and in-town driving that wear the charge down and don't allow the battery to recover, which makes sense. $750 is good motivation to take better care.

Hooking up a trickle-charger by night now when i don't get her out for a good drive. Trying to get every last bit of life out of that battery. Good luck on the battery quest. Will be staying tuned to hear what people say.

[h100250]

Originally Posted by whiteglock

Hello all you BMW wizards!

I have a 2008 528 that is still under the CPO warranty 6yr or 100k. My battery was acting up and not holding its charge. So I took it in to the dealership. They ran there tests and told me it was a bad cell and that I need to replace the battery. They quoted $269 for the battery and $510 for labor and programming. An arm and a leg.... So my question, is there a big difference from a battery I can get at autozone or pepboys or sears from the OEM one they are trying to sell me? The service advisor said that if i got an aftermarket battery some of my car functions wont work cause it isnt made specifically for the car like the OEM one... Thoughts??? Advice? Which direction should I go? Pros vs Cons? THANKS for all the help in advance!

Check your local batteries plus they have an AGM compatible battery for far less $$$ and they will install it also. Now as for the programming there is a LOT of controversy on that matter, you can take it to the dealer for about ~$70.00 they will take care of it.

Whatever battery you get just make sure its an AGM style, that's another stinky area of getting the wrong battery and they it dies less than a year later.

Friend of mine has a E60 also and his battery was dying he replaced it with a Batteries Plus AGM and no problems since, Oh he did have the dealer do the controversial programming for about $70.00.

[dking]

I'm new here, but there are a few older threads regarding battery replacement. You can change the battery yourself, but BMW says it should be registered with your car or you may run into problems. The registration is $50-$150 depending on where you go. Some have had no issues without registration where others have had problems like the battery dying again in a short time or other electrical problems. Seems like a rip, but probably worth doing.

The cheapest I've found batteries for is close to $200, but other have found them around $130. Most recommend buying and installing the battery yourself then having someone do the registration.

Here are some links to a few other threads:

http://e60.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=515767

http://e60.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357450

this post from that thread has some interesting specific background info...
http://e60.5post.com/forums/showpost...4&postcount=10

this thread is a bit of a flamewar at first, but has some good info in the end...
http://e60.5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=176853

Remember, search is your friend. Good luck.

[vash68]

Originally Posted by whiteglock

Hello all you BMW wizards!

I have a 2008 528 that is still under the CPO warranty 6yr or 100k. My battery was acting up and not holding its charge. So I took it in to the dealership. They ran there tests and told me it was a bad cell and that I need to replace the battery. They quoted $269 for the battery and $510 for labor and programming. An arm and a leg.... So my question, is there a big difference from a battery I can get at autozone or pepboys or sears from the OEM one they are trying to sell me? The service advisor said that if i got an aftermarket battery some of my car functions wont work cause it isnt made specifically for the car like the OEM one... Thoughts??? Advice? Which direction should I go? Pros vs Cons? THANKS for all the help in advance!

Welcome to the club of battery consuming cars!

I had my 2009 535 xit for 6 months with Interstate battery running low and the car exhibiting strange problems every a few weeks until I replaced it with OEM battery AGM type and all the problems are gone now.
It ran me $280 + $150 coding/install at Schomp BMW in Highlands Ranch, most I ever paid for a car battery, but going strong for 2 months now.

Interstate battery (Megatron, acid type) was still under warranty but they would not replace it since "it is still within specs" so warranty shmarranty...

I also learned a few tricks with my car having Comfort access option and having to work on it for hours:

1. always lock the car and never keep your remote closer than 40 feet from the car, otherwise it wakes up.

2. if you work on your car for a few hours - hook it up to a power supply, 10-20Amp worked for me

3. any electrical aftermarket accessories must be properly connected to the car's electrical system

4. hook up your battery to a trickle charger every months, twice a month if you do not drive it regularly.

Good luck!