New car battery

psd99

psd99

psd99

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Joined
7 Sep 2008
Posts
5,666
Hi all
I got a c220 mercedes that has a message on dashboard as follows:

‘Start engine see owners manual’

The log book says take it for a long drive as the battery is low but i was considering to change it over ie get a new battery

I have no idea about car batteries but the official one is about £250/300 but I found a cheaper one for £169

Is there any bad points about choosing the cheaper one and not buying the official battery? To be honest christmas broke me financially and im waiting for payday which is ages away
 
I saved over £100 buying a Bosch one from Tayna rather than ECP or CP4L. The only brands I'd consider are Yuasa or Bosch TBH. I believe Halfords are rebadged Yuasa, or they certainly used to be.
 
I've used Exide and no issues with those. Usually a bit cheaper.

Quite a few brands source their batteries from the same manufacturer afaik. I don't think Bosch make their own.
 
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Nasher said:
I've used Exide and no issues with those. Usually a bit cheaper.

Quite a few brands source their batteries from the same manufacturer afaik. I don't think Bosch make their own.
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Did a bit of digging, Bosch don't make their own cells, but do out them into their own batteries made at their own factory.
 
psd99 said:
Is there any bad points about choosing the cheaper one and not buying the official battery?
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Generally speaking, no. Obviously the battery should be identical in terms of underlying battery type. A cheaper battery may not have as high manufacturing standards and quality of materials, meaning it may fail sooner, but normally non-official batteries are just as good at the job. Try and buy from a manufacturer with a good reputation.
 
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basically i just need to match the numbers on the current battery

How can sites like exide and tayna sell bosch batteries so cheap though?
 
psd99 said:
basically i just need to match the numbers on the current battery

How can sites like exide and tayna sell bosch batteries so cheap though?
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Because not every battery is made to the same quality standard.

OEM batteries usually outlast replacements because the car manufacturer puts at least a “decent” battery in at the factory.

Important battery things:

Is the car a start-stop model which needs a special battery? What is the capcity and cold cranking amps (CCA)? What terminals and terminal layout does it have?
 
Terminal_Boy said:
Because not every battery is made to the same quality standard.

OEM batteries usually outlast replacements because the car manufacturer puts at least a “decent” battery in at the factory.

Important battery things:

Is the car a start-stop model which needs a special battery? What is the capcity and cold cranking amps (CCA)? What terminals and terminal layout does it have?
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yes it is a stop start

12 volts
800 amps
AGM

according to the pic i took of the existing battery

I think the battery is original

today the car did not complain - is there a way to test the battery?
 
Should be ok as long as you go with a decent brand battery. Have you had any issues starting? Possibly just needed a decent drive as the voltage had dropped a bit if not been getting used as much over Xmas.
 
Heisenberg said:
Should be ok as long as you go with a decent brand battery. Have you had any issues starting? Possibly just needed a decent drive as the voltage had dropped a bit if not been getting used as much over Xmas.
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Nah no issues so far

U r right prob that time of year

It said in the logbook to take the car on a longer journey so that the battery recharges
 
psd99 said:
How do tayna sell it so cheap
Is it a legit site? Bosch is about £160ish too
madness
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I've been buying Varta and Yuasa from Tayna for years and never had a problem (other than the DPD guy hates me).

As a gross generalisation a lot of car batteries come off the same manufacturing services graded and branded, a few have their own manufacturing but then there is some crossover where they make batteries for other brands, IMO worth spending a little more for a Varta or Yuasa battery, Bosch generally the same as Varta just slightly different branding.

EDIT: For clarity this is for different vehicles not regularly replacing batteries.
 
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Genuine Mercedes batteries for the C class are usually Varta. Had mine replaced by the dealer earlier this year and it's got both Mercedes and Varta branding.
OP, does your stop-start work at all? It's a common symptom if the main battery is weak. How old is the battery?

Mine had a slightly weak main battery and took some resolving
Car always started fine but got voltage warnings from the tracker occasionally when parked for more than 2 days.
Just cleaning the car with the doors open used to set off the 'start engine' warning on the dash.
3 attempts at diagnosing the issue at the dealer including having it for 3 days to deep charge the battery finally showed the battery was at fault.
Battery was flat when I viewed the car at the dealers so this may have killed it off. Car was 4 years old at the time.
 
g60dubster said:
Genuine Mercedes batteries for the C class are usually Varta. Had mine replaced by the dealer earlier this year and it's got both Mercedes and Varta branding.
OP, does your stop-start work at all? It's a common symptom if the main battery is weak. How old is the battery?

Mine had a slightly weak main battery and took some resolving
Car always started fine but got voltage warnings from the tracker occasionally when parked for more than 2 days.
Just cleaning the car with the doors open used to set off the 'start engine' warning on the dash.
3 attempts at diagnosing the issue at the dealer including having it for 3 days to deep charge the battery finally showed the battery was at fault.
Battery was flat when I viewed the car at the dealers so this may have killed it off. Car was 4 years old at the time.
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I dont know if the stop start works because…. I dont use it
The only reason i dont use it is because my car has three pedals!

But perhaps i will test it out

As for the battery i think it is original 10 years or so old now what u reckon:

 
If it's only happened once, then try giving it a charge up (or a good run say over 50 miles)
then see if it reoccurs. If not, then good news.
10 years is good going but it's worth seeing if it can be charged before replacing it.
 
Personally I'd change it - 10 years old and showing an issue in colder weather likely means it'll go proper next bit of proper cold we get even if it charges/reconditions fine now.
 
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