I know this has been discussed to death...but with no warning, my battery took a crap today. So I think I am willing to take my chances and not use the dealer that wants close to $500 for battery, install, and registering it to the car. Autozone has a Duralast Gold battery for $179 (8 year Warranty and 3 year free replacement) and Smyth Automotive (Parts Plus) has one (Exide)for $96 with 3 year free replacement also. I will definitely get rid of this car before 3 years so I really don't care how long the battery lasts. I just don't want any electrical issues. I am not anticipating any because the specs match the factory battery specs.

Go with the cheaper one since you're not planning on keep the car that long.

Theres no sense in investing $179+ for a battery knowing you'll no longer have the vehicle in less than 3 years.

That sounds right to me. I just know some have had luck with the Autozone battery. Really shouldn't matter, a battery is a battery if the specs are the same.

On the contrary, I had several bad luck experiences with Autozone's batteries. Three of them crapped out on me just after their warranty period, three of them on three different vehicles. What good is a warranty if the battery dies after 2 yrs? I'd recommend batteries elswhere. Good luck

Do you mind me asking how many miles on your e60 before your battery crapped out? I'm a "preventative maintenance" type person and would rather not wait for the car to go bizzerk, besides I can't really afford my car to do down.

An oem battery should last you a good 4 years, some nearly 5.

I started noticing some hard starts at 4 1/2 yrs of oem battery life (approx. 53k). I didn't want to take any chances so I replaced mine with a battery from BatteriesPlus.

You should be good for another year, at least.

I replaced mine at around 65k miles. Picked up a battery from BatteriesPlus as well.

Shouldn't battery life be gauged by mileage instead of years? I've got over 50k miles in my 2.5 year old car. Sounds like most folks here are having their batteries replaced around 60k miles......

Mine suddenly died over the Easter weekend with just less than 50k miles. On one of the posts of the battery is etched "34 03", which I'm assuming is 34th week of 2003. I have a 2004 model that was originally purchased in October 2003. Car is driven around 4 miles a day on weekdays, a little more on some weekends.

Thanks..... failed without warning eh? Maybe I should replace my battery soon and not worry about it.

My car seems to crank a bit longer then usual before the engine comes to life, thus my questions.