Most liked posts in thread: Battery Options revisited

I have only changed my battery once since new. That was about 3 years ago. It just went. No warning. Car would not start. I replaced with a battery from MINI. Since I get a discount from my dealer, it wasn't more expensive than aftermarket.
Once a year I plug in my CTEK battery charger to do a desulphate and full charge. Since I got 10 years out of the factory battery, I have no complaints.

 

I still have the eight year old original battery in my MINI. It hasn't shown any signs of failing yet.

 

I went with the Everstart Max from Walmart 3 years ago in my R52S. I don’t drive it much and sometimes go 2-3 weeks between drives. Still going strong. Survived one winter in Ohio before moving to Florida.


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Ah, the timeless battery discussion.....Everyone will have a different opinion, so I'll offer mine based on 10+ years driving a R53....

Mini Cooper S models (at least the R53) are very hard on batteries...and they want full "juice" in order for all the electronics to work properly...so it does not pay to mess around with a battery going weak...

In the beginning I considered one of the "top shelf" batteries...but experience from my antique car days told me the top shelf batteries were not the best choice for a daily driver...now if I was racing or off road and needed the features that might be another story...

From the beginning in my Mini I've gone to my local Autozone store, and bought the top-of-the-line Autozone battery that fits the trunk location in my R53...these typically have a 4 or 5 year free replacement warranty.

Invariably after 2 1/2 to 3 years I get a "little sign" that something is amiss with the electrical system in my car...Maybe it is hard starting one morning...or the window doesn't work as strongly, or some such item. When this happens I immediately go to my Autozone store and 100% of the time the battery has lost a cell or failed for some such reason...and I get a new battery gratis! Now that battery lasts another 2 1/2-3 years when I go through it again. Of course this time I have to pay because by this time I'm out of the original warranty period.

So I've had four batteries in my Mini during the past 10+ years and paid for two....a bargain to my way of thinking and I've never had the car fail to start or stuck on the side of the road due to a weak/failed battery.

I'll repeat one important point...know your car and when you get the "little sign" that something is amiss electrically with the car, DO NOT WAIT before going back to the store....if you get the sign (such as hard starting one morning), and don't respond for 2 or 3 more weeks, don't blame me for being left on the side of the road....

I do this with Autozone because they are very close to me...I imagine the other chains (O'Riley's, Advance, etc) all have a similar deal on batteries.

 

Good advice in this thread. MINI’s like batteries as much as they like fresh oil.

I am on my 3rd battery in my 05 JCW. One OEM, one redtop Optina AGM AND now on a Odyssey AGM. I use a NOCO Genius battery tender while the car sits in the garage.

https://www.amazon.com/Noco-Genius-7200ma-Battery-Charger/dp/B07G87125Y/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1535333054&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=NOCO+Genius+Wicked+Smart+Multipurpose+Battery+Charger%2FMaintainer+-+7.2+Amp%2C+12%2F24+Volt%2C+Automatic%2C+Model+G7200

 

I forget, but I will check tomorrow.

 

So nice to have a stick in situations like that. I have installed two batteries in the last 9 years, both from Advanced Auto. I get their top of the line and watch for tell tale signs.

 

JINX

 

Yup PC 1200 and I had to buy the brass post separately.