Bosch S4 Battery Warranty

[richtung]

Evening Guys,

Question about my sisters MK5 Golf Match.
Back in April 2011, sisters car had trouble starting. Called out RAC, patrolman diagnosed the battery being knackered. she purchased a Bosch S4 battery from the patrolman and he fitted it. Problem sorted.
Fast forward to present day - car wouldn't start and had to get a jump. Although my sister is no longer part of the RAC (or have any cover at all), she rang them and patrolman attended . He diagnosed the battery being faulty but told her the battery was out of warranty. She pulled out the receipt and on the description, it says

 "RAC batteries 36 month Warranty. Bosch 075 S4 Battery"

My sister now has to pay £30 to the RAC for the call out (as the battery is out of warranty) and fork out for a new battery.

Now, i thought all Bosch S4 Batteries carried 4 years warranty. Can anyone clarify this? I was contemplating taking the Bosch battery to her nearest Bosch authorised dealer with receipt and see if they would honour the warranty but was worried i would get laughed out of the shop!

any ideas?

Thanks

Rich

[bacillus]

Now, i thought all Bosch S4 Batteries carried 4 years warranty. Can anyone clarify this? I was contemplating taking the Bosch battery to her nearest Bosch authorised dealer with receipt and see if they would honour the warranty but was worried i would get laughed out of the shop!

Rich

Personally I would go to the authorised dealer and see if he would honour the warranty. If he doesn't ask for the UK supplier's contact details and approach them re-warranty.

[bacillus]

ECP state the battery has a four year warranty.
http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/p/accessories-car-batteries/car-batteries/most-popular-car-battery/075-car-batteries/?444770757&0&cc5_995

[richtung]

Thanks.

My main concern was receipt from the RAC stipulated a 36 month warranty and didn't know if this supersedes the Bosch 4 year Warranty?

Rich

[Viking]

There's no argument that Bosch S4 have a 4 year warranty, but RAC have stipulated that they only warrant their supplied batteries for three years, whatever battery they supply. Usually the first port of call for any warranty claim is with the sellers, but after that it's with the manufacturers. Quite how RAC are getting away with not providing manufacturers support for a product they supply is beyond me.

Oh, wait a minute. It's because they're the RAC and they're a pack of twats.

[homesqueeze]

If the battery has a four year Bosch warranty and you have the receipt, then contact Bosch and they should have no problem honouring it.

[richtung]

just an update on this:

The RAC are definitely sticking to their guns on the 3 year warranty. I replaced the battery with a Bosch S4 096 battery which seems to be a lot better and car start up on quicker compared to previosuly.
Looking at the RAC battery they sold her, it looks quite a bit smaller than the new one.

The old battery is an Bosch S4 075 with the following specs:
•Cold Cranking Amp: (CCA): 540cca (The new battery is 680)
•Amp Hours: (Ah): 60Ah                  (the new battery is 74Ah)

Does anyone know what the minimum spec in terms of CCA and Ah is for the MK5 1.6 FSI engine is?  If it transpires the battery the RAC sold her is under spec, im going to seek a full refund her.

Thanks in advance

Rich

[Viking]

If you're going to challenge RAC to claim money back from a mis sold battery, I would have the main dealers provide you with written confirmation of the battery specs which should be fitted to your car. If you land a letter to RAC head office with "A bunch of lads on an internet forum reckon this battery isn't suitable!" in the subject, then you'll get nowhere. 

[richtung]

Got off the phone a while ago with TPS. The battery that is specified on the system has a CCA of 380Ah and Amp Hours of 72Ah - this is the full OEM replacement and not from the economy range.

I just need to get VW customer Services to confirm this is writing.

Thanks

Rich

[Andy]

4 years they have Rich

[richtung]

Just another update.

Spoke to Bosch Uk regarding the warranty. The advisor said that all batteries come with a 1 year warranty as standard. However, anything above this is at the discretion of the reseller and is strictly between the customer and reseller.
This is how the RAC only offered a 3 year warranty on the S4 battery.

On a more positive note, my sisters MPG has risen from 41mpg to a steady 49mpg since Ive changed the battery for her!

Rich