Battery recommendations - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

mbzman · #1 09-25-2010, 02:36 PM

The battery in my 300CE is toast and no longer holds a charge. The battery that is currently in the car is branded as a Mercedes Benz and based on an old receipt it appears to be nearly 9 years old. I can get a AC Delco replacement from the local auto parts retailer for around $130. The dealer wants another $100 for a OEM one. Is it worth the exta $100 for the Mercedes battery or is there a good aftermarket alternative that will work equally as well?

boem · #2 09-25-2010, 07:38 PM

Go wallmart thats where i got mine 2 mo ago, 80 bucks.

mpolli · #3 09-25-2010, 11:35 PM

Try another dealer if you can. Some are more reasonable than others. Even in Canadian dollars 230 is pretty high for that. I think my limit would be about 130 USD. They are good batteries, but not 230 CAD good, IMHO.

John1 · #4 09-25-2010, 11:37 PM

OPTIMA

John

mbzman · #5 09-26-2010, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpolli

Try another dealer if you can. Some are more reasonable than others. Even in Canadian dollars 230 is pretty high for that. I think my limit would be about 130 USD. They are good batteries, but not 230 CAD good, IMHO.

I ended up going with a $100 AC Delco. It actually has more CCA than the OEM one and a longer warranty as well. While the battery dimensions match, the AC Delco doesn't tighten down with the factory clamp as it doesn't have that bottom lip around the base like the OEM one had. I will have to think of a workaround for the time being. The battery tray is quite large. Even the old battery from Mercedes didn't fill it all in. Believe it or not the receipt for the Mercedes battery from early 2002 had a list price of $134. Hard to believe it could go climb in price so much!

Rahulio1989300E · #6 09-26-2010, 04:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbzman

I ended up going with a $100 AC Delco. It actually has more CCA than the OEM one and a longer warranty as well. While the battery dimensions match, the AC Delco doesn't tighten down with the factory clamp as it doesn't have that bottom lip around the base like the OEM one had. I will have to think of a workaround for the time being. The battery tray is quite large. Even the old battery from Mercedes didn't fill it all in. Believe it or not the receipt for the Mercedes battery from early 2002 had a list price of $134. Hard to believe it could go climb in price so much!

It really may have not gone up in price that much, could be that the dealer you talked to has excessive mark-up.

Ferdman · #7 09-26-2010, 04:14 AM

mbzman, the batteries our local MB dealer sells fit in the battery tray of our 1991 & 1992 300CE's with room to spare. Don't understand why your 1989 300CE battery tray wouldn't be the same configuration. Certainly wouldn't want to have to jerry rig a hold-down for the battery. So I will continue to buy replacement batteries from our local MB dealer.

From what I have read Optima batteries are sealed and maintenance-free; however, the positive and negative terminals may be reversed, requiring a wiring modification.