BMW X3. Battery $536.00

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LadyGeek
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by LadyGeek »

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Wannaretireearly
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by Wannaretireearly »

I've had my mechanic measure my battery, and say it's low, needs attention. I bring AAA home to replace my battery, they measure & say my battery is fine & I'll be wasting my $.

DW drives the Odyssey and occasionally the battery light surfaces. Isn't it true the more you drive the car, the better the alternator can charge the battery? Anywho, I have a battery to replace soon I think.

OP: I would find an indy mechanic asap. I really don't get why ppl take their older cars to the stealership - they make daylight robbery seem legit!
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bogledogle
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by bogledogle »

sonosoldi3112 wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:29 am Hello all

At my annual service ..BMW says my battery is getting old and I should consider replacement ... (bmw x3 2015). .... it works perfect at moment ..I drive very little and is always on one of those chargers ( ILLINOIS is my state ) .. I tested it with multimeter and it read well above 12 v

Should I just ignore this advice from BMW. until I feel I need to change it as it exhibits slowing to start ect ect ... the bill for this will be $536..for battery , installation and registration.

When the times comes ..could I just get costco to put in a battery. ..or is the registration a problem? ... would I be crazy to be $536.00 to keep matters simple.

Thank you ...$536 seemed steep but may be I am out of touch with prices.
What do you mean "is always on one of those chargers"? Are you using a trickle charger?

Replace battery message is normal if you don't drive enough. I got that during covid but it goes away if you drive your car. If your plan is to not drive your car, get a trickle charger. If you are seeing the message even when you are on a trickle charger, then it is time to replace.
lazydavid
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by lazydavid »

Wannaretireearly wrote: Mon Sep 20, 2021 12:47 pm OP: I would find an indy mechanic asap. I really don't get why ppl take their older cars to the stealership - they make daylight robbery seem legit!
Agree completely. Since I live about 10 miles from OP, I sent him the Indy that I use (who works exclusively on BMWs), and also a link to https://www.bimmershops.com/ if he wants to find a different one.
z91
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by z91 »

Well ... you bought a German car ... so it kind of comes with the territory ... ?

They do design them well ... it's somewhat rare to have the battery in the trunk ... the reason for it is to avoid excessive heat in the engine ... but with that design change comes additional servicing costs ... !

That's just the way maintenance is done for these cars ... not sure how else to put it ... buy an aftermarket battery and you may end up with 10 other issues ... !

$536 is not terrible if that includes installation ... and a genuine branded part ...
z91
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by z91 »

Oh, and assuming it's done by a BMW mechanic ... !
Normchad
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by Normchad »

I have friends with expensive Porsches and Ferrari’s. The Porsche guy was telling me how great Porsche is, very reliable and generally cheap to maintain, in his opinion. Then he told me the Ferrari had some routine maintenance that was 10K. So I looked it up and found this nugget :
The F355, for example, requires what they call an “engine-out service”, which is basically an overhaul for your motor. This needs to be done every three to five years, depending on how many miles you’ve put on the vehicle and how much you drive it.

But the service costs an average of $7,000 if the motor doesn’t need any extra work. If it does, then you can expect to pay around $25,000 to $30,000.
So if it was me, I would just keep repeating this over and over in my mind as a write that itty- bitty $536 check for the BMW battery.
ljb1234
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by ljb1234 »

neilpilot wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:43 am
JimMolony wrote: Fri Sep 17, 2021 10:33 am I tried do the costco battery for my BMW. No go. Need a special tool (meter) to program the battery. Had to cough up of $550 for mine as well.

I wouldn't replace the battery unless it truly needed it. For my 328i, the battery is located in the trunk under the carpet.
True, you need to go to a shop that has a Carly adapter or a similar tool. They are easy to use, and if I had a BMW I'd spend $50-100 to buy one even if I didn't need to change my battery (they are otherwise useful)>
True, I bought an AGM battery from PepBoys and registered it with Carly. No problems.
You don't need to have the dealer do it.
good luck
Swansea
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by Swansea »

If you do not drive often, I recommend a battery tender, not a trickle charger.
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by LadyGeek »

I removed an off-topic post and reply. As a reminder, see: General Etiquette
At all times we must conduct ourselves in a respectful manner to other posters.
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joeples
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Re: BMW X3. Battery $536.00

Post by joeples »

The battery is made by East Penn (aka Deka). The same battery is available in white from BMW for $500 or black from various manufacturers for $200. Suspiciously, Mercedes sells the same battery in black but theirs is also $500+.

As for registering the new battery, any good BMW software tool can do this. It should be registered as others have mentioned.
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