More from the "in case you were wondering" files.
Roxy has a dead battery. Not completely dead, but it won’t hold a charge or keep enough juice to actually start the car.
Just found out it’s $135 for a replacement from the parts counter at my ex dealer.
So, it looks like the MINI battery is good for about 4 years here in SoCal. Or enough starts to go past 145K miles.
wow, whats in the battery to make it that expensive!
and if we’re talking about “in case I am wondering” what about the ‘other matter’, can I uncross my fingers yet?
keep ’em crossed (because I’m still dealing with the bank), but since I have a production number, there is no use holding back now!
Just a plain ol’ lead acid battery too. Southbay was $20 cheaper (I didn’t call Brecht), but since SB is 60 miles (about 90 minutes or more), I didn’t think it was worth it to make the drive.
I’ve always bought my replacement batteries from Costco and they’ve always been reliable. In SoCal, you really don’t put a lot of stress on the battery in the form of cold starting. Costco doesn’t list batteries on line but Kragen does and shows a Group 47 Exide battery for $85 plus $8 core deeposit.
Unless you go for an absorbed electrolyte battery like the Optima, there really isn’t a whole lot of difference in batteries. If the battery has enough cranking amps to start your car in the worst condition you expect to encounter, more cranking amps won’t do much for you. The number that would be important is reserve minutes. This represents how long a battery will last before the terminal voltage drops below a given value for a given load. (the given volts and amps are standard, I just don’t know what they are).
If it’s not too late, don’t be had by your ex-dealer. Shop for the best price on what you need.
Phil
It is too late, but thanks Phil. Actually, the MINIs battery also has a vent line on the positive terminal lead. Good chance this it is hooked up to some sensor or another if I had to guess. Instead of searching around and asking the minimum wage counter workers if it’s the same and if it has the vent, it was just easier to stop at my dealer.
I’ve always had my MINI serviced by the dealer and I prefer to use OEM parts where possible and warranted. Besides, it will look better to have an OEM battery in the box when the time comes.
For future reference, only the Cooper S has the vent tube as the battery is in the passenger compartment. The Cooper should be able to use any ‘ol battery. We have an early ’02 and ours died this past summer. I replaced it with an Optima group 35 (sealed, so no vent tube) for the same price as the dealer wanted.
I can say that, in fact, my ’03 Cooper does have a vent on the battery and there is a vent tube next to the positive terminal connector. My guess is that they use the same battery for both cars.
I was afraid that there is a sensor at the end of that tube that would start thowing errors if it wasn’t plugged in. That’s why I went OEM.