Anybody checked the price of a battery?

[K1W1]

Needed a new battery for the S3 which is the same as the one in my vRS (looks like it's a very common VW group battery) so I rang the Skoda/Audi dealer to cross check the price. After I had picked myself up off the floor I asked (jokingly) if a Skoda battery was any cheaper only to be informed that it was the same part number and price.
At least when I recycle what must be 17kg of gold plate that is in the old battery I may come out with a reasonable changeover price.

Having said all of that it actually doesn't worry me because as I sell batteries for a living (not car ones) I got a replacement for less than 1/3 what the Audi dealer wanted but this is just a warning to people if your battery goes be prepared for a shock. Our Audi is coming up for it's fourth birthday btw and most of the driving it does is trips over an hour long so usage style has not killed the battery.

[dArK5HaD0w]

so u going to reveal to us wat the floor dropping price was?
will give us an idea (when its our turn) of how much to laugh.....or swear!

[gldgti]

I got a new one last year for $140 after the original failed after ~5 years.

That didnt make me fall over.

I would say the best place to buy a replacement battery is a reputable auto electrician.

[Jake02]

Our RS battery failed on the weekend for the first time in 5 years; a replacement from a rural dealer (we were in Coffs Harbour) was $160.

[Tigger]

my previous Tiguan (same motor and battery as the RS) battery died THREE days before the three year warranty expired...(even though I was over the KMS, but they didnt ask about that...)

Was just replaced by the roadside service guy (NRMA) sent out by VW 'roadside assist'.

No charge to me as it was within the three year period...

If I had to pay for it, he said it would have been $190 installed, including erasing error codes etc from the dash.....

That is not too bad a price I reckon.

[donweather]

my previous Tiguan (same motor and battery as the RS) battery died THREE days before the three year warranty expired...(even though I was over the KMS, but they didnt ask about that...)

Was just replaced by the roadside service guy (NRMA) sent out by VW 'roadside assist'.

No charge to me as it was within the three year period...

If I had to pay for it, he said it would have been $190 installed, including erasing error codes etc from the dash.....

That is not too bad a price I reckon.

Same here for my Tiggy. All included under warranty. So does that mean with my Occy 5 yr extended warranty, the battery should also be included in this?

[woofy]

My memory with batteries was that they come under a separate warranty that isn't necessarily the same length. I recall when Ford in the early 90s had just a 1 yr warranty and no battery warranty at all. Our brand new EB Falcon cooked a battery at the 6 mth mark due to a design flaw Ford made and we had to cough up for a few more during it's life.

I don't know whether it makes any difference to battery life, but I once had a 12yr old battery in my first car when I started doing this. I always turn the key and wait until all checks etc are done before cranking the engine. I suspect the Skoda defies this a bit though as the headlights come in stealing amps in a darkened garage and my Santa Fe does whatever it likes due to having a start button. But it seems I tend to get longer than usual battery life. When the battery went in our Mazda 6, the guy who replaced it saw surprised about the MY as most of them had gone years before.

[Ryan_R]

Here's a quote I was emailed a few months ago:




Haven't replied yet

[K1W1]

.I don't know whether it makes any difference to battery life, but I once had a 12yr old battery in my first car when I started doing this. I always turn the key and wait until all checks etc are done before cranking the engine. I suspect the Skoda defies this a bit though as the headlights come in stealing amps in a darkened garage and my Santa Fe does whatever it likes due to having a start button. But it seems I tend to get longer than usual battery life. When the battery went in our Mazda 6, the guy who replaced it saw surprised about the MY as most of them had gone years before.

None of what you do above will have any affect on the life of the battery.
Things that will affect the life are the ambient temperature, lead acid batteries deteriorate very, very quickly over 25C so Melbourne will be better for battery life than say Darwin and having a vehicle in shade during the day will be better than one in the sun (a light coloured vehicle will also be better than a dark one) and usage. If the battery is not kept charged for whatever reason it will quickly fail. SLA batteries do not recover well from "going flat".
Battery life span is somewhat variable. The battles fitted to a car have a 5 year design life so generally you would expect to have to change them after the cars fourth birthday and before its fifth but some people may only get 3 years and others 8. There is no real way of judging how long a battery will last.
As far as warranties are concerned I do not believe that batteries are covered I think they are listed as consumables like tyres and brake pads. Obviously if a battery fails in 2 weeks that's one thing but I suspect that after 2 1/2 years you may have some problems getting a replacement.
I was quoted $311 without installation by the Audi/Skoda dealer, I paid under $100 and even though I had never looked at installing a battery into a VW product before I had the job done in about 20 minutes so the 15 minutes labour quoted above is reasonable IMO. The last time I paid $300 for a battery they were special 270aH units that weighed 70 kg each and I needed 60 of them.

[K1W1]

Warranty:

I just read the Skoda Australia warranty on line and it has this clause:

What is not covered by Warranty
Repairs that do not fall under the term “defects from manufacture” such as:
Wear and tear. Any parts that wear out as part of their normal operation (e.g. clutch linings, brake discs and
pads, brake linings, wiper blades, globes of all types (including Bi-Xenon and LED), fuses, trims brakes, diesel
particulate filters, catalytic converters, all belts, tyres, wiper blades, spark plugs, filters, Satellite Navigation
update disks and all other parts of your vehicle that have been subject to normal wear and tear).

Obviously batteries are a wear item in the same way that many of the items listed are but for some reason they are not specifically excluded. I reckon that could lead to some interesting discussions if one did fail towards the end of the standard 3 year warranty period.

[Transporter]

The Varta battery in my T5 is now 7 years old and still cranking strong. When measured, it has the capacity close to that writen on the label.

Bear in mind that the battery in cars with stop start systems is AGM and it will be much more expensive to replace than the std battery.

[K1W1]

AGM batteries are not expensive these days. The GM part is simply a fiberglass Matt that sits between the lead plates to stop them touching. It adds virtually nothing to the manufacturing costs. We buy small AGM batteries for $6 each and one with the same sort of aH rating as cars (70) for about $40. The problem with those ones is that they don't have the CCA rating required for a modern high compression car.

[Bob51]

I would not be going to any car dealer to replace a battery unless it is a warranty claim - it will be a recipe to be overcharged.

Century Batteries make replacement batteries in Australia for VW/Audi/Skoda vehicles. The replacement for a Skoda Octavia TDI is code DIN65LH and has a retail price of $209 but I've seen it for $179. Petrol models will probably use a smaller and therefore cheaper battery. There is an online catalogue on Century's website to tell you the right battery for your car.

No doubt there are cheaper batteries from Asia but I have always got good life out of locally made Century batteries.

[donweather]

With regards to warranty, I can't vouch for Skoda, but I can say that when the battery went in my Tiggy, within the 3 yr warranty period, I just rang VW assist (RACQ in disguise) and they came out, tested the battery, said it was dead and needed replacing. Because I was in VW assist, they just said it was covered under the warranty, gave me a new battery and then RACQ just charged VW.

So based on that, I'd say it's covered under warranty, or if not, I got it free anyway!!!

[Tigger]

As I already mentioned too, my experience was exactly as donweather described...on the last day or two of my three year warranty and the odo showing 110,000kms...

no charge including delivery, fitting and all within 30mins...