darius2

April 2006 to September 2013 factory battery 80 Ah 640A ( 7 years, 5 months, 120K kms = 70K miles).
Original BMW 80Ah 640A replaced by Bosch 85Ah 800A with registration of new battery.

jime60535i

Mine lasted just over 6 years and 65K miles on the car. Replaced it at the dealer - because that's where it happened to go bad, with a new style battery BMW is using. I can't remember all the details, but it's not your typical liquid filled battery as in the past. Expensive though - $380. Didn't really have a choice at the time.

JayArras

Batteries are rated by whether they are AGM (electrolyte is suspended in Absorbed Glass Mats) or the standard Flooded Lead-Acid (FLA). The earlier E60s used the white FLA battery. The newer ones tend to be the black AGM. Both styles are widely available at auto parts stores and both are half the price you'll find at the dealer. Unfortunately, in your situation, you had little choice but to get soaked by the dealer, but had you been able to replace the battery yourself, it would have cost between $150 - $200.

BimmerFan52

You always have a choice. It is your car and your money. The key is to not be bashful.

My car was in to have a flickering iDrive screen replaced under an extended warranty. The SA called and said the car would not start and they would have to put a new battery in (I already knew the battery was close to the end). I asked what that would cost and the SA said $550. When I was done laughing I told him not to worry, just throw it on a battery charger while they were working on it and I would pick it up when they were done.

He asked why I thought $550 was not a fair price. I told him that first, after iDrive replacement they would reprogram the vehicle anyway and during the work they would have the negative battery cable disconnected, so they were going to charge me $550 to disconnect the positive cable and drop the battery in? No thanks.

I told him if he could install an AGM battery with programming for $279 he could proceed. He put me on hold while he checked, came back and said yes they would do it for $279.

If I had bought an Autozone battery by the time I paid tax and an Indie to program it (I was changing from FLA to AGM so programming is important in that case) I would have spent around $225, not including gas and my time, so $279 was worth it.

When they exhibit an attitude that it is their right to help themselves to my wallet I am shameless in denying them.