Battery...which one to get...?

Tosser said:
A few points from my side:
Battery Centre is a total rip off - go somewhere else, anywhere.
Madman has some good tips, heed his advice.
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hmmm....well that depends. I went to the Battery Centre in Strand, next to Dent Magic....

The guy tested the battery properly, said it still is practically new, needs a full overnight slow recharge. Left the car there overnight, battery charged, problem solved...R25..! Bob's your uncle, bro...
 
I trust Willard. My car was bought second hand with a Willard battery in it and god knows how long that has been in there already. I dove the car for about 4 years with that same battery still. It then bombed out....but only because know one told me it needs water in there! DAMMIT! I had it replaced with another Willard battery at HiQ. I cant remember what it cost though. Think it was about R500 - R600
 
syrrano said:
Don't let them rip you off for a battery. Your Merc should have a 652 battery if I remember correctly. Our price for a 652 Willard is R 735 and for a 652 Exide is R 695 (for MyBB members) :D

Raylite/Exide come from the same factory and also Willard/Sabat
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This.

First National Battery manufactures all those batteries in the same plant. At least back when I was still there.

But yeah - 2.5yrs is generally the expected 'good' lifespan of batteries, especially in UPS's etc. where it takes strain.
 
Voicy said:
This.

First National Battery manufactures all those batteries in the same plant. At least back when I was still there.

But yeah - 2.5yrs is generally the expected 'good' lifespan of batteries, especially in UPS's etc. where it takes strain.
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Sabat bought out Willard years back and closed the willard production plant, so the willard my grandfather used to swear by is now just a Sabat in a green box. They have made a few advances over the last few years, but their silver calcium battery launch last year was a bit of a bust, LOTS of claims.
First National battery have quite a few brands. Raylite, Exide, Bartliete. The Bosch batteries are also manufactured buy them as well as the BMW batteries. They have had silver calcium batteries for about five or six years now already as well as they have recently launched the first VRLA AGM battery made in South Africa. They are one of the top battery manufacturers in the world imo.
Dixon is a family run business out in Vereneging and is lagging behind a bit technology wise.

That said, buying ANY of the above batteries is still a better bet than buying that imported chinese crap.
 
I used to buy willard. But they are just too expensive.
I changed over to sealed probe batteries. I buy direct from the distributor in jhb east.
 
maneshk said:
I used to buy willard. But they are just too expensive.
I changed over to sealed probe batteries. I buy direct from the distributor in jhb east.
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Madman88 said:
Sabat bought out Willard years back and closed the willard production plant, so the willard my grandfather used to swear by is now just a Sabat in a green box. They have made a few advances over the last few years, but their silver calcium battery launch last year was a bit of a bust, LOTS of claims.
First National battery have quite a few brands. Raylite, Exide, Bartliete. The Bosch batteries are also manufactured buy them as well as the BMW batteries. They have had silver calcium batteries for about five or six years now already as well as they have recently launched the first VRLA AGM battery made in South Africa. They are one of the top battery manufacturers in the world imo.
Dixon is a family run business out in Vereneging and is lagging behind a bit technology wise.

That said, buying ANY of the above batteries is still a better bet than buying that imported chinese crap.
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Thats probe. Probe is good for one thing. Cheap. If you need anything more, buy a better battery
 
Madman88 said:
Sabat bought out Willard years back and closed the willard production plant, so the willard my grandfather used to swear by is now just a Sabat in a green box. They have made a few advances over the last few years, but their silver calcium battery launch last year was a bit of a bust, LOTS of claims.
First National battery have quite a few brands. Raylite, Exide, Bartliete. The Bosch batteries are also manufactured buy them as well as the BMW batteries. They have had silver calcium batteries for about five or six years now already as well as they have recently launched the first VRLA AGM battery made in South Africa. They are one of the top battery manufacturers in the world imo.
Dixon is a family run business out in Vereneging and is lagging behind a bit technology wise.

That said, buying ANY of the above batteries is still a better bet than buying that imported chinese crap.
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Yeah, I looked at their nano EFB flooded battery, but it was a bit steep at over R1000.00 from Battery Centre. Sounds promising thought, read more in the links. I also called them and they explained the advantages. Midas will stock them soon and the guy there told me that the battery is in a completely different league regards to performance, durability, etc.

http://www.battery.co.za/

http://www.battery.co.za/download/dl/EFB FLYER A4 Raylite.pdf
 
ambroseg1 said:
source for this statement?
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Me. I'm the source. I have been in the battery industry for 6 years myself and my family over 25. They put 'deep cycle' on the labels of their batteries even tho they should know what a deep cycle battery constitutes. They will say anything to sell you a battery.
Trust me. If you need a cheap battery then fine, but if you need anything else stay away from Probe.


wily me said:
I just bought a Energizer 628 car battery for R560.00 (+old) with two years warranty. They are available from Battery World in Wynberg JHB.

http://www.wynbergbattery.co.za/
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Energizer is ok, basically a relabeled Deltec battery, the only worry is that Johnson Controls EU has a massive surplus of stock right now and they are dumping it here for awesome prices. What happens in a year tho? Halfway through your warranty their stock levels have corrected along with their prices, so its no longer as viable to bring in that much stock. Fanus at your local supplier goes back to his chinese crap like tazer or probe and no longer keeps Energizer/Deltec and what then if you have a problem? He finds any reason he can to avoid replacing your battery. there is always the CPA, but do you know how long their backlog is right now? Meanwhile you are minus one battery and plus one ball ache fight.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Keep it local guys.

Dixon, Sabat, Willard, Raylite, Exide. Local means that if the seller gives you crap about the warranty you can always go directly to the manufacturer. All of them have customer care lines and all of them care what you think.
Thats all besides the obvious advantages in supporting our local economy.
 
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Rouxenator said:
Cheapest cause they all die in the end. I think last time I replaced I got a Spirex.
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You get what you pay for. But then again, its probably your car that's killing the batteries early, so maybe sticking with cheap is better :p (tho probably not better than having your car fixed, or buying a better brand :p :p)
 
Listen people, it's just a battery, not rocket science that's gonna get you to next galaxy. Buy whatever is on special, if you get 5yrs of life out of it great, if you only get 2yrs then it's also OK at R500.
 
Madman88 said:
Dixon, Sabat, Willard, Raylite, Exide. Local means that if the seller gives you crap about the warranty you can always go directly to the manufacturer. All of them have customer care lines and all of them care what you think.
Thats all besides the obvious advantages in supporting our local economy.
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The local economy is screwing us over good, they wanted over R700.00 for a 619. National Battery told me to go to Battery centre but they are a rip-off. As far as I am concerned FFF the local economy and the local manufacturers. Viva cheap imports.
 
wily me said:
The local economy is screwing us over good, they wanted over R700.00 for a 619. National Battery told me to go to Battery centre but they are a rip-off. As far as I am concerned FFF the local economy and the local manufacturers. Viva cheap imports.
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Yea because working for a bowl of rice a day is the standard huh? Stupid South African manufacturers paying their workers with actual money, they're obviously just out to screw the consumer.
 
Madman88 said:
Yea because working for a bowl of rice a day is the standard huh? Stupid South African manufacturers paying their workers with actual money, they're obviously just out to screw the consumer.
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Who cares. FFS Why must I pay more just for supporting the "local" self enrichment schemes?
 
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