Just went through this with my SA. Original quote was $420 for replacement and registration. I went with an OEM battery from my dealer ($266) and changed it out myself. SA will register the battery tomorrow for another $60. So I spent $326 total. Saved a $100 by changing out the battery at home.

I did a lot of looking and just decided to stay with OEM BMW battery. I have an 08' 550i with 32k miles on it, but she is sort of garage queen and doesn't come out in winter or during rainy days. I did get the "you need to drive it more, that's what's happening to the battery". I'm going to pick up a battery maintainer to help with battery maintenance.

From what I understand, the registration process has to do with how the battery is charged. Since it's a new battery, the charging system needs to know so it doesn't put too high of a charge into the new battery.

later,

 

Thanks Simon (for the battery 'registration' and some other feature programming), and congrats on the new carbon fiber hood .

 

that dealer quote is ridiculous.

i got a battery from Kragen that was better than the original and half the price. and you don't need to be a rocket scientist to replace a battery. i've had it installed for about a year now and it's been working just fine.

 

Lol. Me and my infamous work in pj. Good to meet you and the wife Joe