Short version is 3 weeks after I bought my 04 40th 911 in June of 09, the battery died on July 14th 09, and the dealer replaced it free of charge with the standard Moll battery they use.

I got a foot infection and had to have surgery the first week of September 2010, and I could not get around and was pretty much house ridden for 2.5 months.

As soon as I could (mid December) I went to my storage garage (unfortunately no power available for a Battery Tender), and the car started up, but it did not have the normal level of cranking. It continued like this up until last week, when I had to jump start the car.

I called the dealer, and they said Porsche won't cover it due to it not being driven enough, and I would be responsible for the replacement.

I asked him how much, and he said $475.00!! Said something about they have to reprogram the radio and all the lights will come on the dash. I knew there was some tool they use for that, so they don't have to reset all the crap.

I called a local indie battery shop, and got an Interstate MTP-H7 battery. It cost me $162 which is much better (but I hear you can do better) - but this place is 1 mile from my house.

I had no problems with the radio code or any CELs because they plug something into the ODB-II port that saves the data.

Why do the dealers have to do something like this? Now they have lost me as a customer for routine oil changes.

Anyways, I think the CCA on this battery is better than stock - it turns over so fast - it's great

 

Its all about the CCW (cold crank wattage?) rating. Autozone battery costs me $95 including the core trade in. The radio code is usually written on your options sticker under your frunk.

 

The radio code is electronically stored in the car (ECU?) after 2002. No need to manually reprogram if stock unit. I have changed my battery 2 times. First time the only thing I needed to reprogram was my clock. Second time I left my battery tender on and did not have to program anything.

 

I have swapped my battery with ZERO issues at all, Aside from the clock reset. Did not need my Duramntic to reset anything.
Dealers are truly thieves.... ticks me off.

 

I think that the dealers are used to giving gouging prices to the Porsche owners who either don't question the pricing and/or don't really know anything about their Porsches. I'd venture to say that many Rennlisters are capable and willing to do maintainance and scheduled repairs because thet choose to be involed with their Porsches, and they like the idea of saving $ when they can.

 

Roughly 12 years ago my wife's BMW battery died and since the car was still under warranty w/roadside assistance it was towed to the dealership. I get a call at the office asking to approve a $375 charge to TEST the battery. If they found the battery to be bad, they would apply the $$ charged for the test toward the cost of a new battery, but I'd still be on thew hook for the remainder of the cost of of the new battery, roughly another $100!

I picked up an Autozone battery for about $80 and installed it myself in the dealer parking lot in about 15 min. We just sold the car this winter and it was still using the same Autozone battery 12 years later.

My Porsche has been on the same DieHard battery for the last 8 years and (knock on wood) has never failed me.

 

do you have the radio code? The code is stored in the radio, not the ecu. No need to hook up to the obd port, no reset necessary, just need to re-calibrate the window/sunroof limits by opening/closing them.

Would rather deal with an Indie rather than the stealers...

 

that is a shame, you should report them to Porsche North America, those practice simply make them loose customer, for regular maintenance, as much as for new cars.

 

I don't think PCNA cares, all the dealers do the same thing, their business model is to rape and pillage and lose a portion of their customer base with older cars.

My Porsche dealer is within walking distance.. I cant and wont use them.

 

Which dealer? PM me if you want.

 

Jack D's

 

Steve, bottom line, you will be in the same position (weak battery) unless you drive the Porsche more and/or start using a battery maintainer.

Does you storage facility have an over head light? Maybe you can tap into that. I do (don't tell anyone!). I only get to drive the Porsches on nice sunny weekends. When they are not being driven, they are always plugged in.

 

Just looked them up on porscheoemparts.com (Sonnen Porsche) and the list price on a 70amp battery is $189.96, for an 80 amp, $231.89. Some delaers are complete thieves. I use the Bosch battery available at PepBoys, exact fit, actually looks like it is the same plastic case. Usually goes for about $110.

 

i cannot believe the treatment. just wrong. it reminds one why you want to learn more about your car, so you can take car of the more straight forward repair items. appears always help here too. as been posted many times before, it makes one closer to their porsche.

 

I never use the dealer, but then again i have older cars.