Hi

 

Happy New Year to all!

 

Have very low use Polo 1996 1.4 - 24k miles since new. Rarely use it so battery forever needs charging. Plus that battery is pretty old now - was a Halfords 4 year warranty model. Planning move to country where it will presumably get enough use to stay charged!

 

In shopping for a replacement, should I go for a regular 5 yr warranty Exide, Varta or Bosch (dearest) or, I read about AGM batteries working well with low mileage vehicles, not just stop/start ones.

 

Anyone got experience of AGM batteries and whether the double cost results in double life?

 

Otherwise, does anyone have any recommendations for battery brands/suppliers? When looking online, I seem to get recommended 2 different model nos by the reg plate scanners. Is there a difference between a 012 and a 063 type? Maybe for my purposes, there isn't going to be a huge difference in perfromance between a 4 or 5 year warranty and I should just for the cheapest? Your thoughts, experts?!

 

Many thanks

Try this company https://www.tayna.co.uk/Car-Batteries-C48.html  gets good reviews on other forums

27 minutes ago, nige8021 said:

Try this company https://www.tayna.co.uk/Car-Batteries-C48.html  gets good reviews on other forums

 

Cheers mate...  seems a like-for-like replacement of wet battery by AGM is no big deal - checking my CTEK charger is equipped to handle their charging needs too!

Which? tested car batteries a while back and Halford's own brand came up as a 'best buy' - I have one, but it is only a couple of years old so too early to give a verdict. I do normally trust Which? reports though.

Incidentally, there is no need to be a regular member of Which?, You can have a one month trial for £1.00 - this gives you online access to all of their reports.

Note to Yorkshiremen like myself - Remember to cancel Which? membership before the month is up, or you will pay for the following month

Edited 5 January, 20188 yr by caretakerplus
Typo

Hi caretaker plus - it was a Halfords 4yr battery that had died. Interesting that they do come up well in tests. Having price checked all longest-warranty batteries, I bought a Varta Silver (same as Bosch S5) with a 5 year warranty from Tayna as recommended above - they price matched cheapest on eBay and it was delivered, superbly well-packed yesterday.

 

Only trouble now is I can't remove the seized fixing nut to get the old one out - been at it all afternoon and just ordered a right-angled ratchet socket driver to try again in the morning!

 

Must confess, I use the Which £1 trial periodically, whenever planning a major purchase...

 

 

Hi

Go and spray wd40 on the bolt while you are waiting for the tool

Yep - already done while trying earlier! Will put extra on overnight - though freezing temperatures overnight unlikely to help!!

Still couldn't budge it this am but dropped round to nearby one-man service garage and they lent me a large ratchet socket driver that freed it in 5 seconds... all now sorted. Heavily cleaned and oil the bolt and only put back finger tight. Phew!

1 hour ago, goldnet said:

Heavily cleaned and oil the bolt and only put back finger tight. Phew!

Hi

Its the bolt holding the battery down. It needs to be tighter. If it gradually loosens, then the battery will move about and deteriorate quicker than normal.