Registration of Car Battery
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Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 242
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From: BALTIMORE,MD
I have an aftermarket batt and have had it reg. I changed it because I was mess n the winter like stability control. So I changed it and no codes. Its been about 6mos or so I only drive it on weeknds and no problem so far.
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Senior Members
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 256
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From: 562 SoCaL
My Ride: 07 530 Titanium Silver Sport/Premium PKG OEM Mtech Kit
That dealer is ripping you a new one. Also, I don't think getBMWparts.com will sell it to you since the battery is considered HAZMAT and you can't ship it. I tried to get a battery from onlinebmwparts.com. After I finished the online form, I got an email saying that they can't fulfill my order because of the HAZMAT issue.
Anyway, I had to buy the battery from a local dealer. It was about $225 (110A 850CCA I believe). I installed it myself and had an independent shop register the battery for about $50. The E60 uses the battery very heavily. There are so many things being monitored and settings saved even when the car isn't running. In a nutshell what the registration does is tell the electrical system that you installed a new battery. That way it will properly charge it as a new battery. If you don't register, it will charge it like an old battery (undercharge) which would then cause your new battery to prematurely die.
2007 with 35K...I'm not sure, but some might say that you don't drive the car long enough for the system to fully charge the battery...I don't think 4 years is too bad though. However, when I changed my battery, it was 5 years and 4 months old and still starting the car fine. I only changed it because I was having some weird iDrive errors so I thought my battery might be getting old and changing it would fix it. But that's another story.
Anyway, I had to buy the battery from a local dealer. It was about $225 (110A 850CCA I believe). I installed it myself and had an independent shop register the battery for about $50. The E60 uses the battery very heavily. There are so many things being monitored and settings saved even when the car isn't running. In a nutshell what the registration does is tell the electrical system that you installed a new battery. That way it will properly charge it as a new battery. If you don't register, it will charge it like an old battery (undercharge) which would then cause your new battery to prematurely die.
2007 with 35K...I'm not sure, but some might say that you don't drive the car long enough for the system to fully charge the battery...I don't think 4 years is too bad though. However, when I changed my battery, it was 5 years and 4 months old and still starting the car fine. I only changed it because I was having some weird iDrive errors so I thought my battery might be getting old and changing it would fix it. But that's another story.
Contributors
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3,099
Likes: 5
From: Los Angeles, CA
My Ride: BMW
Model Year: 2006
The M shop in Eagle Rock
Address:
5041 Eagle Rock Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041
1.323.257.5773 office
1.323.257.6773 fax
They charged me $49. They didn't exactly say it, from what I understand, they will only register OEM batteries and charge extra if the battery you have is a different spec from the previous one. If it's different, they would have to do some extra coding to tell the system what the new battery specs are. Call and confirm with them.
Thread Starter
Members
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Bellevue, WA
Balbs, you were right. The shop I wanted to order the battery from e-mailed me today and let me know that they can't ship the battery. :thumbsdown:
I wonder how they can sell a battery that's OEM and at $180 (pick up only) & they are supposed to be a BMW dealer in MD, while my dealer wants to charge $300+tax. My dad decided to just buy the battery at the dealer & install it ourselves.
I called couple of shops in the area that work on BMWs and they quoted me $160 to $200 for an aftermarket battery. But when I told them the original number from our battery, the quote went up to $260+tax. Apparently we have a more powerfull battery than they thought. Since the difference is only $40 it makes no sense to buy an aftermarket.
Still confused about registering. I think my dad doesn't want to do it since he will be getting the exact same battery that he had before. I guess we'll see.
Can registration be done ourselves w/o involvement of the dealer?
Thanks.
I wonder how they can sell a battery that's OEM and at $180 (pick up only) & they are supposed to be a BMW dealer in MD, while my dealer wants to charge $300+tax. My dad decided to just buy the battery at the dealer & install it ourselves.
I called couple of shops in the area that work on BMWs and they quoted me $160 to $200 for an aftermarket battery. But when I told them the original number from our battery, the quote went up to $260+tax. Apparently we have a more powerfull battery than they thought. Since the difference is only $40 it makes no sense to buy an aftermarket.
Still confused about registering. I think my dad doesn't want to do it since he will be getting the exact same battery that he had before. I guess we'll see.
Can registration be done ourselves w/o involvement of the dealer?
Thanks.
Contributors
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 5,501
Likes: 0
From: Tacoma, WA
Balbs, you were right. The shop I wanted to order the battery from e-mailed me today and let me know that they can't ship the battery. :thumbsdown:
I wonder how they can sell a battery that's OEM and at $180 (pick up only) & they are supposed to be a BMW dealer in MD, while my dealer wants to charge $300+tax. My dad decided to just buy the battery at the dealer & install it ourselves.
I called couple of shops in the area that work on BMWs and they quoted me $160 to $200 for an aftermarket battery. But when I told them the original number from our battery, the quote went up to $260+tax. Apparently we have a more powerfull battery than they thought. Since the difference is only $40 it makes no sense to buy an aftermarket.
Still confused about registering. I think my dad doesn't want to do it since he will be getting the exact same battery that he had before. I guess we'll see.
Can registration be done ourselves w/o involvement of the dealer?
Thanks.
I wonder how they can sell a battery that's OEM and at $180 (pick up only) & they are supposed to be a BMW dealer in MD, while my dealer wants to charge $300+tax. My dad decided to just buy the battery at the dealer & install it ourselves.
I called couple of shops in the area that work on BMWs and they quoted me $160 to $200 for an aftermarket battery. But when I told them the original number from our battery, the quote went up to $260+tax. Apparently we have a more powerfull battery than they thought. Since the difference is only $40 it makes no sense to buy an aftermarket.
Still confused about registering. I think my dad doesn't want to do it since he will be getting the exact same battery that he had before. I guess we'll see.
Can registration be done ourselves w/o involvement of the dealer?
Thanks.
Id just buy it oem, have an indy shop register it and go away happy
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Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 739
Likes: 0
From: Nashville
My Ride: 2007 530i Alpine White with Navi and Premium PackageIn progress: OEM Mtech kit, H&R Sport Springs, and 19
PTL, I never found/saw and posts with errors related to a non-oem battery... 
Please post for me.
Please post for me.
Contributors
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 5,501
Likes: 0
From: Tacoma, WA
https://5series.net/forums/topic/111...st__p__1327633
heres one, still trying to find more but i dont really care all that much lol
heres one, still trying to find more but i dont really care all that much lol
Members
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 97
Likes: 0
From: Richfield, WI
My Ride: 535xi Sport
Model Year: 2009
BTW, you may see people saying to just get a battery from Walmart and don't bother with the registration. To me, registration is there for a reason and OEM battery would give me piece of mind. After all, like I mentioned, my battery lasted more than 5 years. I've used Autozone batteries that only last 2 or 3 years.
