How long your battery last?

[blutopless2]

mine is over 4 years old and still going strong.....

[iamthestig]

Our Jetta went 8 years on its original (Mexican) battery. Mostly used for short trips but car is garaged so not subject to high cold loads.

I was surprised...

[tigger73]

My battery just died after 3 years and 3 months

Spoke to my local dealer service dept and they said warranty replacement was unlikely. If it had died within 3 years it would be replaced, however as it was outside warranty it was unlikely that it would get a goodwill replacement. They indicated that batteries typically last 3-4 years. They informed me if I wanted them to take a look at it they would have to keep the car for 24 hours to perform a battery test and it was unlikely that VW would come to the party anyway.

Though the service advisor did say that if I had my car serviced at the dealer it would be looked on more favourably.... My response was that it shouldn't matter where the car was serviced as the dealer wouldn't be performing any maintenance on the battery in regular servicing.

How can the VW dealers suggest/infer preferential treatment of warranty claims based on where you get your car serviced? It's that kind of attitude that supports my decision to take my car elsewhere. I'd rather pay for the battery than be blackmailed into paying premium rates to have my car serviced at the dealers by the apprentice/junior mechanic.

Anyway car starts fine with the new battery... and didn't have to visit/leave the car at the dealer

[team_v]

I heard that there was a way to test the battery level in the MFD on some of the newer VW's but i can't get it to work on the Tiguan
Battery State of Charge (SOC)


Mine is now at 4 years and 4 months but it doesn't get driven much during the week.

[brad]

Tigger, at 3 yrs 3mths it's no longer a warranty claim, it's goodwill so they can give preferential treatment for whatever made-up situation they want. In some ways I can see there point as when i was in retail / sales / self-employed I always made a point of giving preferential treatment to my repeat customers - it's just good business sense IMO. Sure I bent over backwards trying to get new accounts on board but that was a different offering to what i did for my repeat people. Off topic, but the long term suppliers I deal with in my current role just want to gouge us more & more the longer we maintain a business relationship with them - WTF?

I'm sure someone will correct me but I don't think there's a wet cell lead acid battery available in Australia that comes with a 3 yr replacement warranty - maybe there's a few pro-rata offers out therebut pro-rata is rarely beneficial to the customer.

[Transporter]

I doubt that anyone would get the battery for free from the VW at 3 months after 3years warranty. Even if you service your car with them.

The 1 day before the warranty runs out? ....yes, to anyone.

[tigger73]

Tigger, at 3 yrs 3mths it's no longer a warranty claim, it's goodwill so they can give preferential treatment for whatever made-up situation they want. In some ways I can see there point as when i was in retail / sales / self-employed I always made a point of giving preferential treatment to my repeat customers - it's just good business sense IMO. Sure I bent over backwards trying to get new accounts on board but that was a different offering to what i did for my repeat people. Off topic, but the long term suppliers I deal with in my current role just want to gouge us more & more the longer we maintain a business relationship with them - WTF?

I'm sure someone will correct me but I don't think there's a wet cell lead acid battery available in Australia that comes with a 3 yr replacement warranty - maybe there's a few pro-rata offers out therebut pro-rata is rarely beneficial to the customer.

Brad, yes understand I was asking them about goodwill. Worth a 2 minute phone call to ask the question if it can save me $250.

I also work in sales/service and understand the whole situation where a business is being asked to support a product it didn't sell and it's probably going to cost them more time/money than they make on it. However this wouldn't be so much of an issue if these service centres were owned by the manufacturer.

What has happened with car companies is that they have outsourced the frontline sales/service activity to independent franchises and then these companies are being selective which customers they want to deal with.

I totally get it from the franschise operators perspective, however from the customer point of view this is the mechanism that the manufacture has put in place. The customer ought to get the same service for warranty as they are dealing with the manufacturers "representative" (even though it's an independent business). The business has to cop it that they get to take all of the business - both profitable and non-profitable on the basis that overall they are making money.

What isn't OK is when the manufacturers representative is cherry picking customers (well that's how it comes across anyway).

My question was whether the battery would be covered (or partly covered) under goodwill and I got an answer saying it depends whether you service the car with us or not. From a warranty perspective this should not come into the equation at all.

[Transporter]

My question was whether the battery would be covered (or partly covered) under goodwill and I got an answer saying it depends whether you service the car with us or not. From a warranty perspective this should not come into the equation at all.

I seriously doubt that any business would do a goodwill warranty on the battery 3years and 3 months old. So, he gave you the wrong answer and just wanted to lure you in when you buy your next new car.

I could give you Bosch S5 battery for $180 (always keep one one board), just because you're a good customer and friend. Others would get the same battery for $190 or $200, which is still a good price. However there would probably be no goodwill warranty if it fails after 3 years.

[rory]

The original battery in my april 2010 Jetta TDI still going strong at 4 1/2 years. About 12 months ago the VW dealership said it indicated as being "on the way out" and suggested I replace it. I thought 3 1/2 years seemed a bit early from seeing what others were getting. 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 years. ??? Guess I'll replace it when one morning I go to start and it won't ...... ?????? whenever that happens.

[brad]

Tigger what part of "you no longer have warranty" do you not understand?

Goodwill repairs != manufacturers warranty

In the dealings I've had with VW franchises about getting things repaired outside of the warranty period they have been quite specific that goodwill repairs whether FOC or partly subsidised aren't part of the manufacturers warranty process. Sure, they might be part of your statutory warranty rights but that's a different thing.

I'm struggling to remember any situation in Australia post WW2 where the dealership was controlled by the factory - Did Ford ever manage to take over the franchise system when Geoff Polites was in the big chair?

Good prices on the battery Miro. 2 yr replacement warranty? s5 is 760cca isn't it?