My dad suffered a battery failure on his camper van last Sunday and when the RAC turned up to sort his van out after towing  his van out of the garage because we couldn't get to the battery they stuck their kit on and said the battery was scrap - 0 volts,  a dead parrot-something I already knew as there wasn't even enough in it to power the warning lights on the dashboard up and they charged a similar amount to Halfords for a new battery which then made me wonder about Halford's prices.

 

So as the Octy is now 4 years old and the battery is a bit sluggish sometimes after being in the garage for a few days I decided to see what a decent new one would cost, so see if you can spot the difference

 

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/bulbs-blades-batteries/car-batteries/yuasa-12v-silver-car-battery-hsb010-5-yr-guarantee

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ybx5100-Yuasa-12v-75Ah-680A-Silver-Car-Battery-HSB010-5-year-warranty-/221639883111?hash=item339ac43967:g:QRgAAOSw0vBUlDc4

 

 

In the meantime I got a battery charger/monitor off ebay for £20 to see if that will help improve the performance of the OE one currently  on my car.

Edited 19 December, 20169 yr by littleade

Whoaaaa that's a bit of a mark-up. So how much is the ebay seller buying them in at as they'd have to make a profit too.

 

RAC were on Watchdog the other week for selling batteries unnecessarily BTW

Whoaaaa that's a bit of a mark-up. So how much is the ebay seller buying them in at as they'd have to make a profit too.

 

RAC were on Watchdog the other week for selling batteries unnecessarily BTW

Yes I saw that too, but dad's battery was 10 years old and was completely shot as the van's not been driven for months. So getting him a new one there and then worked for me too as I have to sort all his problems out for him and the VW garage were coming the following day to take it for it's MOT so without one we, i.e.me would have had to sort that out too!

I would ensure you are getting a genuine Yuasa from the ebay seller and not a knock off. Halfords often have offers on batteries too.

 

Have you checked ECP? They constantly run 30% 'sales' too.

Good points Dan, though as I've got the charger/monitor now I'm not looking to get a new battery at the moment but will keep an eye on any offers available to see if I think it's worth changing it before it finally dies.

One's Gold, the others Grey,

 

Do I win ?    :notme:

Edited 19 December, 20169 yr by Auric Goldfinger

The other option is to try local auto electricians too - got a new battery for my disco from one for £70 - £50 cheaper than ECP, with a 3 year warranty as well.

One's Gold, the others Grey,

 

Do I win ?    :notme:

No, happy christmas :D

You can get a Varta E44 for that money which are far superior batteries.

I'd highly recommend Tayna.co.uk. My father used them a few years ago and I've just bought a Varta Silver (E44) for mine this month with no problems. I wondered about that Yassa as it had higher capacity, but decided as Varta is fitted to most VAG cars by the factory I'd go for that. Far cheaper than Bosch ones from ECP.

It's also worth noting that the Bosch S5 is the Varta E44 with a very expensive Bosch sticker on it!

I'd highly recommend Tayna.co.uk. My father used them a few years ago and I've just bought a Varta Silver (E44) for mine this month with no problems. I wondered about that Yassa as it had higher capacity, but decided as Varta is fitted to most VAG cars by the factory I'd go for that. Far cheaper than Bosch ones from ECP.

Cheers Jim, The 61ah OE varta on my vRS is strugging after 4 years, dropping down to 12v after a couple of days so I might just get one before i go skiing in January as I'll be leaving it in the open at the airport