Neded a jump start for the third time in two weeks. Ramps back up to full in no time with a bit of a drive around so I’m happy it’s the battery. Besides, it would seem the battery is physically too small for the car (the car came with the wife) so no harm in replacing it.

Anyway, seen a Varta at advanced battery supplies on line. Anyone know a better option before I hit buy? Battery is a D47.

Do you not have a decent car electrical outlet near by – bet even kwick fit can test cranking amps of your battery to see it is broken.

see what they can do price wise

Local guy wants similar money for a lower spec battery. Kwik-fit and affords are a similar story.

Mine has died twice this winter in the last 3 weeks and the car is now 9 years old and I have had it for 3 so I really do not know how old the battery is, so I bought a new one from Halfords. They were doing 10% off when you do the reserve and collect thing online when I bought mine on the 23rd.

Some of the varta ones are very good apparently.
I always use Bosch ones from Costco and have had no trouble with them.
If the battery is over 5 years old and has been deep discharged (flattened!) a few times then it has probably had its day and its time for a new one. UK stocks of batteries must be low at the moment, I know several people who have needed new ones in the past month.

just buy any one that has the cranking current required. there’s nothing complicated about them and often the the unbranded ones are built on the same lines.
your best bet is usually a motor factor or ideally a battery specialist for the best prices.

Maybe a daft question, but how do you know it is full again and not just holding enough charge for lights for a minute or two, or one start of a warm engine?
Oh, and a similar situation with an old battery not starting up in an old Micra (M reg), just got a new one and no trouble since (3 years ago now).

I have a Varta Silver on my car,Has been fine for 3 years.Got mine from a local battery specialist.

Good tip for reusing your old car battery,recharge the old battery and get a length of old cable fit a switch anywhere along this cable,at the other end put a 12 volt dc lamp, eg old spot lamp etc,connect the other free end to the battery either with crocodile clips or clamps you now have a cheap light for the dark shed or garage with no power supply, works well for me.

Also works well on camping holidays, just remember tocharge battery up before you go.

but how do you know it is full again and not just holding enough charge for lights for a minute or two, or one start of a warm engine

test it for cranking amps and duration.,
Any battery wiill show and hola surface charge but it is what it can “drop” for howlong that matters starting it

OP my advice was to get the battery tested for free to make sure it was kaput first

Well, we got a jump the other day and put it on he charger when we got home. Took hardly any time to charge so I assume the charging system on the car is okay. It’s the wrong battery for the car anyway. Seems it’s been like that since she bought it.

So you take the battery to a shop that sells batteries, for them to test the battery, and they sell you a new battery surprisingly after telling you the old one was knackered.

Varta is a quality make.

Its not hugely expensive so might be worth replacing it just to rule out the problem. But a proper battery tester will test it properly, just volts can be missleading.

One of my summer jobs when I was 16 was working as a cleaner in a Varta battery factory. That was a long time ago.

Sorry for going OT, but I was just hit with quite a few flashbacks!

Took hardly any time to charge so I assume the charging system on the car is okay.

That’s a symptom of being knackered. It reads full when you’ve only put a little bit of energy into it because it won’t store a lot of energy.

Last time I needed one I bought from here :

clicky

They were the best price and delivered next day ( may not be possible this time of year of course ).

Halfords are pretty good on price for batteries.

local factors way cheaper than Hellfrauds for me- every one of my 4 cars has needed a new one!

When my 12 year old (128000 mile) VW Sharan TDi went for scrappage last year it still had the original Varta battery, that’s a good enough advert for me.

get a decent battery charger Ctek or similar…
you might be surprised how good they are at recovering a dead battery, i was…
about £80 though….

Take a look at this months “Car Mechanics” mag in your local newsagents.

They have reviewed batteries in that issue,think the Varta Silver won ,and the Varta Blue did well too.

Cynic al, I’ve got a trade card for Halfords because I’m a mechanic, so I get quite a good discount.

So that should be:-

“Halfords are pretty good on price for batteries if you’ve got a trade card and get quite a good discount. “

lol!

I recently replaced my car battery and got a good price from the local branch of http://www.eurocarparts.com/

If you live near me I can probably help (and why does nobody fill in their profile info ?). Feel free to email me.

allthepies, I did a write a bit more originally but it got edited and I got a warning.

Under the circumstances, the best advice I can offer is to find someone who has got a trade card and ask them to get the battery for you.