Lion Car Batteries

[Seafarer1966]

Had a one year old car battery fail in the wifes car this week. Lion brand. I took it back to the retailer (Eurocarparts) (it had a three year guarantee on it) who were helpful and offered me a refund or a straight swap or a deal on an upgrade. For a bit more money they did me a good deal on a better quality battery.

The person on the counter did say that they've had a lot of this brand of battery back.

Just posting for info to other car DIYers who may be about to purchase a new battery. Avoid Lion brand.

 

[Agile]

I have strongly obtained the impression that this is a very cheaply made battery for people who want to buy a cheap one which will not last.

Anyone familiar with car maintenance will always recommend the good brands like Exide, Yasua, etc.

 

[Seafarer1966]

Not necessarily always Agile. I bought a set of Bosch spark plugs recently...Bosch...a leading brand with a good reputation....and one of them was a dud. The small print on each plug box said 'Made in the Ukraine'. Not so good now then.

I took them back and bought Jap spark plugs instead.

The purpose of my post was simply to inform other site users. Thank you for your post but I do feel there is a certain condescending and arrogant tone to your comments.

 

[big-all]

with the same quality off materials
the same equipment
same training
same quality control
its irrelevant where its made

 

[foxhole]

with the same quality off materials
the same equipment
same training
same quality control
its irrelevant where its made

Just does not happen, cheap equipment is often used with little or no maintenance and quality control.
Brand is no guarantee of quality, just down to advertising budgets.

 

[JohnD]

When Skodas became Volkswagens made in a different factory, they stopped being a joke.

 

[DaveHerns]

The battery is cheap and ECP changed it. You've had a year's use of battery for no cost. Not a bad deal.

 

[big-all]

Just does not happen, cheap equipment is often used with little or no maintenance and quality control.
Brand is no guarantee of quality, just down to advertising budgets.

the point i am making is place off manufacture is irrelevant its quality control that dictates the outcome

 

[Seafarer1966]

That's what I thought Dave. I've used Eurocarparts for a while now and been happy with the level of service. They are the same firm as carparts4less.co.uk (a member of ECP told me). Identical website layout and part numbers just different coloured Web pages.

 

[DaveHerns]

Aren't carparts4less's prices cheaper?

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

Yes, Dave, it would appear so. You can check this yourself by submitting, say, a battery model number into ebay and watching carparts4less present as one of the early selections. Check the price then submit the same criterion into Eurocarparts website and compare. Our efforts a few months back resulted in a difference of a surprising 15 to 20% for a Bosch battery.

 

[DaveHerns]

I put the cheapest battery from ECP into a 1998 Escort in 2012 thinking the car wasn't going to last long and the battery was still going strong when the car was scrapped 3 years later.

 

[DaveHerns]

PS What worries me about buying a battery online is that it might get thrown around and damaged by the delivery company

 

[chainsaw_masochist]

I put the cheapest battery from ECP into a 1998 Escort in 2012 thinking the car wasn't going to last long and the battery was still going strong when the car was scrapped 3 years later.

Well I simply do not subscribe to this 3, 4 and 5 years stuff for a car battery. A collection of ours have lasted between 9 and 14 years. An occasionally used Toyota Yaris (02) had its original Delphi battery until last November (2016) and that did not actually die but was, instead, compassionately dustbinned. It is this that was replaced by the Bosch equivalent. A second Bosch battery, similarly sourced, went into another Yaris (54) – that battery (alsoDelphi) was 12 years and this did go tìts-up .

PS What worries me about buying a battery online is that it might get thrown around and damaged by the delivery company

Nothing to worry about here as the packaging contains copious quantities of thick polystyrene, so very substantially protected.

 

[JohnD]

I have a car that was fitted from new with a Varta Silvertop (badged with the carmakers logo).

It lasted ten years.

Of course, I bought another Varta Silvertop.

I have another car with a Varta Bluetop, it has lasted 7 and a half years so far.

Very pleased with the brand.

There is a car factor near my home, but they can't match the prices at Battery Megastore in Tewkesbury, even including delivery.

Eurocarparts offer a Lion at £3 less, with lower AH and CCA, so I'll stick with Varta. carparts4less are cheaper, but not for a Big Name brand.