How can buying a battery be so difficult?

[leahandsteve]

Z3 has been off the road 6 days now

Ring up Euro Car Parts tell them i want a 70Amp battery for a Z3.

'Nah computer says you need 55 Amp mate'

'No i want a Bosch, 70 Amp as i have the electric hood and the battery should have a vent'

'What's a vent?'

Anyway they order me one and i picked it up last Friday.

Went to fit it, it is a 70 Amp, Bosch with vent hole but no feet at the ends so you cant clamp it down.

Ring them, 'You been given an 068 type, you need an 069, we got them in, we'll reserve you one'

Took it back yesterday 'We've got none in, we'll order you one'

Asked where the one i reserved was and got a blank look.

Went back today, and they've ordered the exact same 068 type that i was given on Friday

No apology or nothing, all they said was 'we cant keep getting batteries in for you to see if they are the correct ones'

The bloke in there had a real attitude problem, i wont say which branch it is but its the one closest to junction 3 of the M40.

Told them what they could do with their battery and got a refund.

So the car is still dead, and i'm battery less and fuming.

i'll try GSF tomorrow.

[321bhp]

go to the main dearler at least
1.they would have one in
2.it will be the correct type
3.it will be the correct vented type

sometimes you pay a little more but you get what you ask for
the new battery for my m was about £70 from bmw

[SpunkyM]

I think you are being a little over fussy to be honest. The 55amp and 70amp that you talk about is the capacity of the battery in amp hours. This has little to do with the amount of electrics you can drive like the roof - it is more to do with the amount of 'standy time' you get when the engine is off and the car is sat unused. If you drive the car regularly, it isn't much of an issue at all.

Just get a reputable brand that fits properly and has the +ve and -ve terminals at the right ends. The vent is not important IMHO as most batteries are sealed anyway and the amount of hydrogen gas given off is very small.

What is desirable with a battery is low impedance when cold. This is sometimes referred to as cold cranking amps. Then again, on petrol engines which are lower compression than diesels, even a modest figure is adequate.

There are fancy materials creeping into cell technology these days such as calcium, platinum and silver. These can help with battery life in terms of plate oxidisation, but most of it is marketing hype.

[Guest]

You do get what you pay for though, particularly in terms of Cold Cranking Amps. You will find a 55 ampere-hour battery with what seems to be a higher CCA than a 70 ah, but if the higher CCA is measured under the SAE or Japanese system, it only has to pass the rated current for 30 seconds.

A Bosh etc battery has tomeet DIN standards, and so has to pass the CCa for 60 seconds - which means that it is a lot better battery.

Also remember that a lead-acid battery loses 50% of its 20 degrees C capacity when the temperature falls to 0 degrees C, so a 70 ah battery is a far better deal in winter.

I don't know if it's true, but some people claim that the Z3 OE battery is used as a vibration damper, and has vibration-absorbing material between the plates. It will therefore last longer than most cheaper after-market types.

True or false? I don't know - but my battery is amost 10 years old in in fine fettle.

[Robert T]

I was led to believe (by a BMW Emergency Service guy!) that the original batteries fitted to the Z3 were rubbish yank things. The one he replaced it with was a european BMW one and it has now been on my zed for 7 years. Oh, and it has the vent tube. So is all this parping around really worth the tenner that you will save on a battery that probably won't last as long?

Cheers R.