My 2012 FF needs a new battery the dealer just quoted me $800!!!!!!!
I replaced my battery myself in my 599 GTO (gone). The dealer told me to go to the Interstate battery store & get model # xxxxxx. Turns out I knew the manager from years ago. He gave me a small tour downstairs where they were labeling & boxing batteries. The same exact battery was receiving many different stickers - Mercedes, Toyota & Interstate were just three. There were others. Same battery just different sticker & box. He said they supply many different "OEM" batteries. Get the measurement of the battery or take it to an Interstate store and have them match it.
From memory my battery cost sth like 650 euros, they fitted a stronger one as the stadnard battery is too weak (do I believe the story, possibly, but even if not the price difference was only 100 euros). Expensive it is, but figured no point in sorting it out myself if they already have the car and I need it back in working order
Of course not. There is just a way to lock/ unlock the doors the first time which is listed in the user manual and on many posts on this forum. Something like lock the doors, then press unlock once, open driver door. I can't remember and someone can chime in or you can look in the user manual. All you need if I recall correctly is a 10mm socket and an Allen wrench to open the few Allen screws holding the trim piece and having a friend helps because the battery is heavy.
I paid $3,400 for a cup holder but couldn't forgive myself if I didn't swap a battery myself outside of warrantee. Of course, if you've never done it many, many times before on other cars then that's a different story.
Just get a quality battery and do it yourself. The Farrari supplied batteries are crap and a ripoff. Consider a good dry cell battery. It's better for the car in the long run. Alternatively you can get a Braile lithium battery and save a lot of weight. Some members here are using them with great results. 800 for a new crappy battery at a dealer? Good grief.
Correct. When the Mercedes, Toyota, etc. is new it does not have the Interstate battery. Interstate supplies many replacement batteries to dealers with the factory branding on them. That is why OEM was in "" Probably was not clear on that.
Ok, this adds up to way more than $800. But nevertheless maybe you had some priceless fun swaping the battery.
I paid about £70 for a 75Ah battery for a 430 and it works fine. I see a lot of crazy prices quoted but if the battery starts the car and will start the car with the headlights on, then it is doing its job. Cannot see how anyone thinks a battery costs hundred of pounds or dollars is better than other make. I have been using standard batteries in a ferrari for over 23 years.
As long as it's the quoted Ah rating, any battery brand will do ... but the modern cars need the full juice. They have all kinds of things running when the car is parked, that's why they need a charger every week or two if not driven. 430 is more analog, today more digital.
The Brother is a Diesel Mechanic and I am a car Mechanic. We have seen it all in regards to batteries. lol His 2005 BMW 750Li required a new battery around 3 years ago. It came up on the display screen telling him the battery needed to be replaced. The battery was 8 years old and it was the original OEM battery in the car as it was dated early 2005 and the car was a late 2005 build. He called the dealer and they told him the warning is there in place to tell you to change the battery asap as it will eventually leave you stranded. No worries the Brother told them, said he will go and buy a battery tomorrow from our local battery shop. The BMW dealer advised against this telling him he will not find a battery the same physical size that will have the same CCA rating. His battery is slightly larger than normal and it has a HUGE 1200CCA output. For a battery that size, they only come in 600-800 CCA ratings here in Australia. So it's going to be well down on CCA if he tries to match one up locally. We can get a 1200CCA battery, but it will definitely not fit into that small battery space in the boot. The dealer then told him that the 7 series cars have a big electrical system in the car and if he does decide to fit a smaller CCA rated battery that it just won't last. The big loads put on that battery will kill it within a year or less. They have been there and done that already with other customer cars over the years they told him, it's not worth the effort fitting a non-OEM battery in these cars. Better off buying a genuine BMW *Bosch* battery and it will last another 8 years before it will put up another warning on the dash. Because we know a lot about batteries, electrical loads and charging systems etc, the Brother agreed to buy an OEM BMW battery for his car. $800 Aussie dollars for the battery! Lol He was happy to pay though. They sent the battery out from Townsville which is our nearest BMW dealer from here, around 600 miles away. We fit it and it was still flashing the battery warning light in the car. He called the dealer again and they told him they need the car there to reset that light with their scan tool. So when the Brother went to visit his in-laws a few months later, he went past the dealer and they reset that warning light/code for him and dated it the same day the battery was fitted. He sold that car around 2 years later, *earlier this year* and never had a problem with it. He kept the old battery and it's still going strong at home. We use it to jump start everything from the kids motorbikes to cars. It just keeps going. Lol. An 11 year old battery now. The Brother keeps a battery tender on it to keep it fully charged. We have never checked the CCA rating to see if it's dropped a cell, but we should as I have a tester here. This is just an interesting story I thought I would share. Good luck with whichever battery it is you want to fit to your car mate.
Thanks. Looking forward to seeing the picture. Thanks for the infos. I think as long as a battery is connected to a smart trickle charger that also desulfates, the battery can last for a very long time. Even though most batteries are made by a few manufacturers and simply labeled differently, I wonder why the oem battery chosen by Ferrari is so weak and sub-standard in quality.
Sometimes I get a $0.99 cup of coffee at the drive thru. I frequently stow it in the cup holder. I apologize! Though I feel better about buying a $800 battery.
