C230 Sport Coup

Well, my battery just died suddenly, wouldn't hold enough juice to turn over the car. The 84 month warranty at kragens turned out to be worthless after only 5 years and ended getting an H8 from Wally Mart for 120.

SunnyRayToronto

Why didn't you just get OEM battery with proper amperage.

VVF

+1 to the question.

But looks like people are installing these batteries in their Jaguars, BMWs, C, CLK, S-classes
http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-...ttery/16782659

tommy

Surprisingly, doing things on the cheap has downsides, too! Who knew?

What # battery is that? Seems like you go through them like Jennifer Aniston does fiances.

C230 Sport Coup

Well I did get the one with the correct amperage. 900CCA despite the wally mart site stating it's only 760. There's been enough threads around here that people know the
Walmart batteries are from Johnson controls, and are OK. 3 years free replacement.

This is battery #3 (only) including the original, Mr. Smurfy.
Kragen's (now Orielly) one was a group 49 Autolite and lasted about 5.5 years, but was rated for 7. Original I replaced after 6.5 years, when the CCA's got down to 400, but it was still functional. This one just went caput! It was sitting for a while, being driven occasionally on short trips only over the course of a week or so, and wouldn't turn over.
Pulled the battery, gave it a full charge, thought all was well but next morning, caput!
Still has juice, just not enough to turn over. Quick jump start and back on the road, got it tested, and the test machine said "Bad Battery".
The way the warranty works is you get a prorated portion of the old battery price
applied to the new battery, but get this, you don't get the new warranty applied to the new battery. You get the old warranty, which means no replacement under any circumstances and prorated portion of the original purchase price if it fails again up the 84th month. What a crock of Shiite. So then they'll sell you the warranty seperately
on the new battery, and well it's more than the one at Wally World.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStart-...ttery/16782659
FYI- Group 49= H8.
Though the H8 is a tad more snug than the 49.
I was able to wrastle the 49 out without removing the bracket.
The H8 you gotta pull the bracket, and then reach down there to fish it back, and put the bolts in place without then falling down under the tray.
(happened once while installing) .
Well, didn't think a battery thread could be so exciting. Ooooooo!

Moviela

There is a reason Wal-Mart does not publish the amp hour rating of their H8 case battery is because it is too small to play nice in your car. Ask them for the rating. It will be in the 70 or 80's. Far under powered for the 100 Ah car.

Just because Johnson makes the battery, does not mean it is equal to the OEM product made for manufacturers.

C230 Sport Coup

I thought the CCA was the thing to look for?

Boom vang

I bought an OEM MB battery made by Varta from the dealer in Buffalo for $135. My previous original battery was already 8 years old and still going strong, I doubt that you will get half that from Wally world battery.

Because we have nasty winters here I want the very best and it is only a $15 premium over what you got. I would say that was short sighted economics on your part

Holmes5518

He's right. Those batteries at Wal MArt are not deep cycle and are only rated in CCA because they are only designed to start the car and then be immediately charged by the alternator. a deep cycle battery such as the OEM batteries are rated in AH, AH is the total charge capacity of the battery. Totally different thing. It's really easy to kill a conventional battery. One discharge below 10.5V is usually all it takes to permanently damage it. The OEM battery is designed to be able to withstand up to an 80% discharge before permanent damage can occur.

Go with OEM for something as important as this.

Glyn M Ruck

The OEM battery in my old C240 is over 10 years old & still passes a load test.

The Varta OEM 100Ah batteries are excellent & worth the few dollars more.

Much can be told about a battery by how much it weighs.

tommy

It's ok - you'll be able to rectify your mistake in 12-18 months...

Holmes5518

I also am still running the original OEM Varta in my '04. It's never died, ever.

Mr.Mango

There is a reason 1 battery is X price and another is twice as much. You get what you pay for... Might as well spend the additional $50-100 and avoid been stranded somewhere.

You might also notice some functionality issues with the smaller battery. MB can be very finicky some times!

C230 Sport Coup

No opportunity to buy a MB battery around here for 135.
That's a great price and would have done that if it was possible.
More like 250 in these parts.

Boom vang

Mercedes MRSP for the battery for your car is $165, usually discounted to $123.75 online

tommy

Well, I understand not wanting to wait for ordering a battery, though.

So I'll defend him a little.

C230 Sport Coup

Shipping would be a beetch. What dealer's website are you looking at, or is it parts.com?
130 for the battery, 100 for shipping to Cali.
I priced a MB battery for my GF's ML which is smaller group 47 or 48 at the local dealer and they wanted 265.
I have to laugh, you guys are really ripping me over my stupid battery.
Yes, my brain is smaller than Glyn's most definitely and shrinking rapidly.
Amazingly if you read over on some of the other forums, like on the SL forum,
people were extolling the virtues of Wally World's Johnson control batteries.

Let the flogging begin.

samaritrey

Its ok I would buy the same one you did if the dealer charged to much! When I got my w203 it had an advanced auto parts battery installed no clue how old it actually was. It lasted 2 or so years for me and only died because within a week I drained it completely dead 3 or 4 times lol.

C230 Sport Coup

I noticed Home Depot sells car batteries too, and saw the H8 battery for about the same price. Same rated by CCA's and didn't see anything about A hr ratings.
They were made by Exide.
Seriously though, where are people buying these from mercedes for 123.75 ?
Next time I'll go with that if there is a next time...just passed 215K miles.

tommy

Either order them and pay through the nose on shipping and I guess rent a segway while you wait, go all cheapo and buy a suspect one for a reasonable amount, or pay a little more and have MB Roadside replace it for you, keep your hands clean, and get the exactly correct battery. I'd choose option # 3 anytime.

LILBENZ230

I had a battery installed in my 2005 C230 at Autozone as well, like Trey, but it was rated at 100aH.. something I checked. Was $150 if memory serves..