Battery Dilema

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Trickythemerc

MB Enthusiast
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Joined
Feb 1, 2015
Messages
4,037
Location
South Manchester
Car
CLK 220 CDI Sport 2009
My CLK is showing signs of battery failure, stone flat after 5 days parked up.
It is the original one, so it has done well. Question is do I go for a premium £100.00 job or a cheapo ? Common sense says £100.00 job but the cheapo's seem to carry the same warranty as the more expensive stuff :dk:
 
That depends on how long you intend to keep the car.

The original battery lasted you for 8 years. So if you buy an original MB battery (made by Varta/Johnson) now, it will likely last 8 years again... but you may not care if lasted that long.

Said that, personally I would always buy the best battery I can get.
 
Replaced mine recently with a Yuasa one from Halfords, it is a more powerful one than the MB one and costs less and it also has a five year guarantee.

I prefer to source batteries locally as if there is a problem with it the it saves sending it away for a warranty claim.

The car has never started so well.

Kenny
 
Halfords (if you can get trade discount) or MB is good.

Agreed , my Trade Card saved me around £30 on the battery pricing it below MB or ECP.

Kenny
 
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Replaced mine recently with a Yuasa one from Halfords, it is a more powerful one than the MB one and costs less and it also has a five year guarantee.

I prefer to source batteries locally as if there is a problem with it the it saves sending it away for a warranty claim.

The car has never started so well.

Kenny


Been working with Yuasa industrial batteries for many years now, they are very good, just not that well-known in the consumer market (unless you own a motorbike...).
 
MB for me everytime. The price can be sometimes cheaper than other too, albeit I know the are normally Varta or Bosch items.
Definitely get a price from your stealer, you may be pleasantly surprised.
 
You may well need a new battery although mine is still fine at 8 years old. But there might also be a fault that is drawing excessive current when the car is stood which will flatten your new battery.
 
If you call MB Grangemouth they will give you a very good price on the original MB Battery....
 
Best price from MB was £120.00 so not too bad. Just had an Exide EA1000 fitted for £99.00 I had a similar spec one on my last Jag and couldn't fault it. The new one is 100ah with 900cca so it is a proper jobbie.

Thank you guys for your input

Tricky
 
The original battery lasted you for 8 years. So if you buy an original MB battery (made by Varta/Johnson) now, it will likely last 8 years again... but you may not care if lasted that long.

Said that, personally I would always buy the best battery I can get.

The MB one in my SL is 13 years old now, and our Vito still has the original battery (10 years old) :thumb:
 
The MB one in my SL is 13 years old now, and our Vito still has the original battery (10 years old) :thumb:

My own personal record is my 2006 W203 which I recently sold to another forum member, and still going strong on its original MB/Varta (now 11 years old) battery :thumb:
 
I believe the battery in our 2007 S203 is also original, but we haven't had the car from new so I don't know for sure.
 
On my W203 MB marked the battery contact with a spot of blue/green dye.... it will tell you if the battery connector has been removed. Of course if it has, it does not necessarily indicate that the battery is new, but if the original dye is intact then chances are it is still the original battery.
 
Replaced mine recently with a Yuasa one from Halfords, it is a more powerful one than the MB one and costs less and it also has a five year guarantee.

I prefer to source batteries locally as if there is a problem with it the it saves sending it away for a warranty claim.

The car has never started so well.

Kenny
If you have bought a battery from Halfords with a 5 year warranty photocopy or photograph the receipt NOW.

In 2 years time the original receipt will be a blank piece of paper due to the fact that it is one of those 'thermo electric' non ink print outs (or some such bo**ocks), ask me how I know...yes and it was a battery.
 
If you have bought a battery from Halfords with a 5 year warranty photocopy or photograph the receipt NOW.

In 2 years time the original receipt will be a blank piece of paper due to the fact that it is one of those 'thermo electric' non ink print outs (or some such bo**ocks), ask me how I know...yes and it was a battery.



Had same issue with the wife's car some years ago, Halfords initially refused to honour the warranty without the invoice, in spite of the fact that it was a Halfords-branded(!) battery with the date of manufacture stamped on it.... eventually they agreed to accept a credit card statement as proof of purchase (even though it only showed that I made a purchase at Halfords on said date, and not what I actually bought....).
 

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