battery questions (did a search)

[Blue]

2001 325i

35,000 miles

car hesitated a second this morning before turning over (enought to notice, but I figured I just didn't turn the key far enough)

drove 20 minutes / 8 miles into the office

4 hrs later car won't start - accessories work but windows seem slow. Car just click click clicks and nothing mechanical at all related to turning engine over happens

can see the green sign in the battery just fine

battery is probably original to car, but don't know for sure (bought it CPO in March 2004 with 24,500 miles)

Roadside is on their way

Questions:

Should I just assume that I need a new battery? Roadside will jump, but I only want to do this once.

Anything magical about the "BMW" battery (besides the price)? I assume that any 12V battery with 640A / 765CCA will suffice. I hate wasting money on batteries - they usually only last 3 years max out here in AZ.

Thanks

 

[Tom]

The click click noise is usually associated with a bad battery. I would replace that first since it's fairly cheap.

 

[Big Daddy]

I agree with Tom, however they can test a battery with very little effort. I could not find a BMW battery for my 318 and replaced it with a Delco. Worked great and fit as original. Less money too!

 

[aNoodle]

I think there is a Diehard battery at Sears with the proper vent pack (since it's in the trunk). I was paging through their catalog when I was there picking up some tools. They had one listed, but I didn't see price and can't say how it holds up. I replaced mine this past summer with another BMW OEM. I was lucky I guess...I got 5 and a half years out of my first battery.

Wish I could say the same of my automatic tranmission (uuuugggggghhhh...I won't go there).

 

[AZRobert]

The Delco part # is 48/91 - 6yr. These are the batteries that I have put in al of my BMW's, they are very good, maintanence free batteries. The US OEM manufacturer for BMW batteries is a company called douglas. I'm not sure who the retailer in our area is, but the wholesale distributor is a company called One Source.
If you want a douglas battery instead, I can give you thier number to call and see who your nearest retailer is, otherwise a Delco, or Die-Hard are very good alternatives.