Having to replace your car battery is one of those annoying, out-of-the-blue yet completely necessary expenses which most of us could do without. It is therefore very tempting to look online for the cheapest battery possible to reduce the costs as much as you can.
But you will also need to bear in mind that there is a cost associated with the actual fitting of the new battery as well, and it is better to look at the whole thing as one, as you are much more likely to get a good deal. If you buy a cheap battery and then ask a garage to fit it for you, you may end up paying more than if you asked them to both source and fit the battery themselves.
Without a doubt, the cheapest way to do it is to source a cheap battery online and to fit it yourself or with the help of a friend. This is the best option in terms of cost in the short run, but if you don’t know exactly what you are doing then you could cause more problems with your car’s electrical system which would be much more expensive to fix.
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Cheap batteries might not be cheapest
There is a difference between cheaper and more expensive batteries. If you don’t have the cash at the moment to pay for a new battery then it can be tempting to just choose the cheapest one and not think twice about it. However, you could end up having to replace that battery more often which means that it will only be a matter of a couple of years before you need to fork out for a new one all over again.
If you’ve started to do your homework and shop around for the best online car battery deals then you will have undoubtedly found that the cheaper batteries have a much shorter guarantee. A battery may be £25 cheaper but is likely to have a 3 year guarantee instead of a 5 year guarantee. The length of time that the company is willing to guarantee the product for tells you a lot about the quality of the product and about how long it will be before you have to replace your battery again. It may be worth paying the extra few pounds now to save yourself some money in the long run.
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The cheapest battery makes
As a general rule, smaller batteries will be much cheaper than larger batteries. If you have a small car with a small engine and not much electrical equipment to power then you will need to pay much less to replace your battery than if you drive a larger car with loads of gadgets. If you are looking to get the cheapest battery possible, and are not taking into consideration how long the battery will last or the length of the guarantee, here is a list of some of the brands which tend to be the cheapest.
Halfords
Halfords sell a lot of different brands of car batteries but their own brand ones come in much cheaper than all of the others that they stock. The advantage here is that you can go and pick one up from a shop straight away and don’t have to wait for one to be delivered.
Exide
A brand which is consistently cheaper in comparison to many other brands online. It’s not always stocked in stores, though, so you might not be able to pick one up immediately. Many websites stocking Exide batteries offer free delivery, but you will have to pay extra if you want it the next day, so you should factor this into the equation when you are looking at which is the cheapest.
Varta
Varta is another brand which is mainly stocked online but is very competitive in price. If you aren’t in a rush to replace your battery then the saving could make it well worth the wait. Even if you find one brand which is consistently lower in price than the others, remember that different websites will still stock it at different prices. It is always worth shopping around as much as possible to get the best deal. Look out for special offers and discount codes for particular websites as well.
Consider getting quotes for changing a battery
You should always shop around when you are getting a quote for any repairs you need to have done on your car, and replacing the battery is no exception. You will be surprised by how much the prices at different garages and workshops can differ, and doing your research to find the best price could save you a lot of money. At Autobutler, you can get 3 separate quotes from different garages for the work that you need doing. Not only will you be able to judge the garages based on the price they have quoted you but you will also be able to see reviews left by other users to see the quality of their work.
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