Battery no more.

[bobjol]

Nearly there with price.   But my inbox and phone have been dinging non stop for the past 30 minutes or so.   Something about a Rugby game which took place this afternoon.  We are not great Rugby fans in Scotland, but appreciate the interest shown in our National Team.

[John N]

4 hours ago, bernieeccles said:

Lexus will charge you more money for a battery than other retail outlets but only give you 12 months warranty. Where is the value in that ?

Got to disagree with you. The price I paid for a new battery from my local main dealers' spares department was £30 cheaper than Halfords or anything I could find localy or on eBay, and it had a 2 year warranty.

I know the warranty is two years because 23 months later I started to have trouble starting the car. When I called the spares dept. I was told "bring the car tomorrow and we will test the Battery for you".  

But when I got to the dealers the next day I was told "Sorry the workshop's too busy to test your Battery, but you can take the new Battery we ordered to replace it if you want." So I walked out with a new Battery.

Turned out there was nothing wrong with the Battery, it was the LPG system making the fuel too rich when trying to start!

John N

[philmstar]

We have a totally different selection of Batteries over here, but I have always (especially in lockdown) used a 1 Amp "Trickle Charger" when "Lexy" is standing for a while. keeps the Battery topped up from minor drain by security system and always ensures a long life for my Battery. 😉

Hard wired the connectors to Battery terminals and routed plug into wheel arch. I just plug in the charger when I know she will not be driven for a while. 👍

[bernieeccles]

18 hours ago, John N said:

Got to disagree with you. The price I paid for a new battery from my local main dealers' spares department was £30 cheaper than Halfords or anything I could find localy or on Ebay, and it had a 2 year warranty.

I know the warranty is two years because 23 months later I started to have trouble starting the car. When I called the spares dept. I was told "bring the car tomorrow and we will test the battery for you".  

But when I got to the dealers the next day I was told "Sorry the workshop's too busy to test your battery, but you can take the new battery we ordered to replace it if you want." So I walked out with a new battery.

Turned out there was nothing wrong with the battery, it was the LPG system making the fuel too rich when trying to start!

John N

I bought my IS 250 from Lexus Newcastle as an approved used car. A couple of days went by and it was obvious the Battery was passed its best and from this board, I identified it as being the original Battery. Lexus Newcastle eventually agreed to pay for a new Battery and asked me to go to a local Lexus dealer (Leeds) and the cost from memory was something like £125 with ONE year warranty. For  less money, I could have sourced one rom a good reputable manufacture myself with at least a 3 or 4 year warranty.

The Lexus cost was a standard cost but did include fitting but it's not exactly rocket science to fit a new Battery. Not good value as I stated.

Just checked the Halfords site and a Yuasa Silver with 5 years warranty is £98.

[MLW]

On 2/6/2021 at 4:32 PM, bobjol said:

A Yuasa Silver was what I settled for a couple of days ago.  5 year warranty and higher capacity.  Had to go for Halfords as they are the closest

supplier to me.  (1.5 miles).  Fitter told me that they were running low on stock due to high sales volume and erratic supply chain. The old unit he was replacing had the positive terminal on the left hand side, but he had produced a battery with the positive on the right side.  He turned the battery around and fitted it with no problems.  The cables to the battery had enough movement to accommodate the terminals on the new unit although they were further away now.   Not sure why old and new batteries were different.  Car started immediately and with a lot more oomph!!   All good now and bring on the next snow blizzard.  (which only seems to be a few minutes away).

I had a 3-4 year old Battery that would drain after about 2-3 weeks of non use. The virus has made it even worse. In May I bought a Halfords Yuasa with a FIVE year guarantee for £99. I paid £90 as I had a discount voucher. It was a 75 amp, as opposed to 70 amp on the old one. It starts on the button. However, I find these 430s with all the electrics need a good run or trickle charge regularly. For me, the five year guarantee swung it. Took 25 mins to fit. They do need a trickle charge during the virus. On my AA trickle charger of 1-1.25 amps it takes about 40 hours, but as it is sitting there, it is no hardship. I do want to preserve the Battery.

This is a good charger.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AA-Battery-Charger-Maintainer-Batteries/dp/B00DW6RHN2/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=AA+trickle+car+battery+charger&qid=1613082858&quartzVehicle=29-405&replacementKeywords=aa+trickle+car+battery&sr=8-5

[shanra]

You make a good point there Michael about buying a Battery with amp h above the standard for your car it makes everything easier (starting, load etc) and the Battery is likely to last much longer. I have an Exide premium on mine and it does me very well.