I just paid $693 at BMW of Manhattan a month ago, on a CPO I brought 2 months ago. Thought it should of been covered under CPO or MX free warrenty! Only after did i learn about this forum and the numerous options i had.

 

I did The Pep Boys Bosh for $100 about a year ago...w/o fricking registration... and works like a champ. Battery has 3 years full free replacement and rest up to 8 years prorated...

Just recently went to dealer for the battery cable recall... they said that my battery is not registered....I told them SO??... don't touch it and do not attempt to register even it was for free ...I have heard lots of stories that after registration people have problems..

BMW uses their own brand and official story is that BMW charging system is "intelligent" and as battery ages - it increases charging current.. so if you replace the battery and not register BMW "thinks" that battery is old and will charge with higher than needed current...
Ok lets believe them that it is true.... I am driving mainly short distances so little extra charge wont hurt.... and since BMw adjusted charging to their own brand - who knows what is going to happen to my car.. It works w/o issues so don't mess with it.. If it fails within 3 years - I will get new one from Pep Boys for free (- may even put higher Ah LOL and let BMW charge it) and if fails in 5 years - may have to pay $50 And BMW wants $500+ and warranty it for 5 years..
don't need fancy math classes to do this calculation..

Now if they go and "register" means reduce charge current - I may end up having to charge this battery on my own as PepBoys will test and say it is OK - if you charge it right

 

Absurd... $924 for a battery that costs $279 (OEM 950CCA 110amh) with 10-15min installation time.

Glad that the OP found a better deal. I would perhaps refrain from visiting Long Beach BMW considering the unreasonable quote. I've asked Crevier BMW and Santa Monica BMW before and they quoted me $500-600, which is still very high.

Friend helped me with the purchase/installation of my battery as he gets discounts. Battery can be registered at an indy shops for $50-$100 if you feel the necessity.

 

if your in socal i have a good bmw mechanic certified if you ever need anything only thing its in the valley...but $924 excuse my french but wtf...does it come with happy ending?? LOL jk

 

+10

you should spend no more than this. it's unnecessary

 

I have heard it all know form BMW!!! $1000 lololololololol!!!!! Long Beach!?!?!?!?! Isnt that where they were selling the 1M for $100000. If it ever get quoted that at the Dealer I will just tell them to keep the keys. But seriously get to an Indy shop or head to the local parts store and get a Bosch. You with thank yourself in the long run. Its crazy because I have an 05 530i and my battery is still going strong. I guess after this year I will think about replacing it; or wait I am about to sell it so I will let the next person know.

 

I just came back from Crevier. I went there for the battery/cable recall. My car would not start so they told me to leave it over night. If I need a new battery, they will charge me $609. I asked them to give me a jump so I can drive it home. Now, I'm on this forum to decide what to do. If I don't need to register or program the battery, I'm going to pepboys, costco, or autozone. Going to do a search here. I would like to hear from anyone who went aftermarket, did not register/program and if they had any problems.

I think dealer is trying to scare me into buying from them.

 

Please allow me to LMFAO!!!! The audacity!

 

Irvine BMW charges $550 for a 08 535i battery replacement with programming. I just did it two weeks ago.

 

I have read posts about battery replacement, how if you don't register the battery then it will over charge, maybe alternator issues, etc. It is understandable that people don't know why people would try to save a few hundred dollars on a 50k car, when the battery is so critical to these models. The thing that is important to understand however, is that many people now are not paying 50k for these cars. You can get them for under 20k and for a project.

If someone wants to buy a used one cheap and then modify it, learn about it, and do things on their own, then the extra hundreds of dollars to take it to BMW maybe doesn't make sense. It doesn't to me. If people are not having issues after years of replacing the battery themselves. I could be wrong, but if I paid 50k then yeah maybe I would not want to screw around with something critical for a few hundred dollars.

It all depends on what you have invested in the vehicle, and what you want to get out of it with the DIY risks vs dealership service.