MB Brooklands and battery problems.

[Will]

What do you guys reckon?

Battery on the CLK is getting on for five years old now I reckon. It's very seldom used these days and has gone flat a couple of times from general lack of use (ie a few weeks at a time)

Checked for current drain and all seems okay - around 0.03A after an hour plus whilst locked up etc. I suspect the battery is weak due to it having been heavily discharged a few times over the years (mainly when not used over the winter - sometimes for a couple of months at a time in the garage)

I was going to stick another genuine MB battery on it, phoned my local dealer (Brooklands) who reckoned they had stock.

Went down to buy one and noticed that the battery they wheeled out was made in 2013 week 44, almost a year old already?

This seemed odd for me considering the size of the dealership, it's a fairly common fitment battery from what I understand (100Ah, standard '019' fitment) - they must sell loads down there.

Girl on the parts counter says that they don't sell many at all. After querying this it turns out that they do in fact, and had new stock delivered that month which had gone straight out again within days so they obviously haven't been rotating their stock..

I wouldn't usually mind, but considering the circumstances of me wanting to replace the battery I felt this was quite poor. If you're paying top dollar for a genuine 'MB' battery (£144 before discount) you don't really want one that's already a year old.

I asked if they do any maintenance, ie periodic charging and she said no. It had been sitting on the shelf since February gathering dust (and covered in sticky labels)

So asked about either a) ordering a fresh battery (ie one made sometime this year ) or perhaps some kind of goodwill/discount on the old one they had which had been sitting for months - nothing offered.

Now tempted to look elsewhere. GSF/ECP (or CP4L) do a 95Ah Bosch for around £80-90 with discount. Not sure if a MB branded battery is worth the extra? Works out 40-50% more approx (I should be able to get 10% off MB price)

I think Brooklands have gone downhill a bit recently. Used to always get very good service a few years back - now nowhere near as helpful or customer focussed. I have spent thousands in there over the years, seems a pity to me.

Any other recommendations for a MB battery or decent aftermarket suppliers?

Thanks,

Will

 

[Will]

Just phoned local MB commercial place nearby to where I am working. They do 100Ah batteries for around £100+vat.

Said I'd need a part number to cross check (understandable) but seems like a good start (no pun intended!)

Anyone got a MB 100Ah battery part number? Or access to EPC?

TIA,

Will

 

[BTB 500]

A year old battery should be fine - they are supplied and stored fully charged, and self-discharge (when not connected to anything) is minimal.

If you have mains in your garage it's worth getting a maintenance charger ... they cost less than a new battery My SL is hooked up to an AccuMate all the time, and the battery is nearly 10 years old now so I reckon that was a good investment at about £40!

 

[sjmaxwell]

I've found MB batteries do last so stick with them and as suggested get a trickle charger on it to keep it topped up. Although my charger switches off I do usually disconect it from the car for a couple of weeks before putting it back on to give the battery a bit of a cycle

 

[stevehg]

Given your use, you may want to go for a battery like Odyssey or Exide Maxxima...
Odyssey Extreme Racing 35 Battery - PC925 - Demon Tweeks

More expensive, but these will cope with infrequent use and still have the power to start ok. They also cope with large capacity drain well. We use these on our electric winches off road for exactly these reasons.

cheers, Steve

 

[Will]

Cheers guys

I'd definitely have a trickle charger but no easy way of getting mains power to my garage so sadly not an option for me

I'm sure a 2013 battery would work okay, but it doesn't excuse the poor stock rotation and lack of product knowledge. Brooklands have gone downhill in recent times IMHO. Considering the current MB battery hasn't lasted all that long then I would prefer one as new as possible - not one covered dust and stuck on labels from months back and made a year ago. No excuse IMHO.

I think I'll try the MB commercial place tomorrow. If they can supply a fresh 100Ah battery for £100+VAT (or less) whilst making a profit then Brooklands can keep theirs on the shelf for a bit longer

I might look at selling the CLK at some point soon anyway bearing in mind how little it's getting used. I think I'll just go for a standard replacement for now

Thanks,

Will

 

[grober]

I would reckon about 6 months max shelf life from date of manufacture is a good rule of thumb for a battery at full retail. If they had offered to chop a bit off the price to reflect a potential reduced working life of old stock up to say a year old ---maybe. but otherwise. Try VARTA they make the batteries for Mercedes - or used to.

 

[RWDpetrol]

Have you tried Costco for Bosch batteries?

 

[Will]

I've checked the part number on mine - it's A 000 982 33 08. Was made week 44 of 2009.

There's an official MB dealer on eBay offering them new for £98.99 including VAT (£5.95 postage).

£144 at Brooklands looking expensive now especially for a 2013 made item that been sitting uncharged since before February.

 

[gbjeppm]

Brooklands are miles ahead of Epsom on the other hand though Will.

What was the warranty they were offering on it?

 

[grober]

Search | VARTA
Reckon the mid range Silver Dynamic 577 400 078 = 77 amp hour would be fine its CCA figure of 780 A will probably be better than your old 100amp job.
Price around £75

 

[Will]

Have just ordered one today from Mercedes-Benz in Ipswitch. Identical part number to what Brooklands were offering and at a much more reasonable £80+vat.

Very helpful over the phone - called me back promptly after painless initial enquiry. If they can operate like this I can't see why others can't.

Will report back once delivered but should be here by Friday which suits me

Will

 

[Will]

Just to conclude this thread - the new battery arrived safely today on time and as promised. Great comms from MB Orwell Truck & Van.

The new battery is the correct part for my car (2001 CLK55 AMG) and is identical in every way including part number. New one was manufactured in Germany and the old one was made in Spain.

Was manufactured week 25 of 2014, so fresher than the one being sold by MB Brooklands who also wanted to charge 50% more for the same item.

Here is the link to where I found it for anyone else who may need one:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=141376268279

The very helpful guy I dealt with was David Wells but I'm sure if you call them on 01473 618000 and ask to speak to the parts department any one of them would be able to help.

It's a pity that other places seem to be getting a bit lazy when it comes to customer service these days. Just shows that there are still good helpful people out there but you sometimes have to shop around

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I've generally found the parts department in the commercial side of Mercedes to be a little bit keener to please the customer.

Good ending.