Laptop Battery
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Laptop Battery
| Sat, 11-14-2009 - 9:18pm |
My daughter that is in college realized that her laptop battery is about to die - the computer is has made it through 2 1/2 years of college - so that is pretty long for a battery (I think - I don't have a laptop so I don't know) I couldn't believe how much the batteries cost - I was just wondering if any of you have ever bought a new battery and if so, where did you purchase it from?

My laptop is 4 years old, still the same battery and I use it every day.
Gal_jasper,
My pet peeve is the fact that batteries are not covered under the laptop warranty!!
Kate
Her laptop is a Dell also - I looked at the prices and was shocked - that was when I decided to look on e-bay and some other places - and some of them were like $39.00 - $50.00 and the ones to from Dell or like $150.00 (wow!) but if the cheaper ones are going to mess the computer up then that is no advantage..and I agree about the warranty on the battery should be covered the entire length of time.
My husband is a software and electrical engineer and we have about 7 computers between the two of us, two of them laptops. We needed to replace the original batteries to our laptops after 2-3 years too (we have Sony Vaios). It just is the way that lithium ion technology is (sort of the same reason that hybrid cars are not really more fuel efficient over time, but that is a different conversation...) The batteries still "worked" but they didn't hold a 4 hour charge anymore - maybe 45 minutes.
Anyway, there is no way we would spend $300-400 to replace a battery. We always get the $50 ebay specials. Yes, they are a slightly different shape (meaning they have a "hump" that sticks out of the computer profile a little). They have always worked just fine, and there is no way my computer geek hubby would even try them if they would blow up your computer LOL. Worst case scenario we have had is that they only last 1.5 years instead of 3, but by then we are usually computer shopping again anyway. And "lasting" is relative to how you use your computer - again, they work, but just don't hold the charge long enough to watch a DVD.
I think it is worth a risk, especially since the computer she is using now is probably only worth $400 or less anyway - they depreciate fast. $30 is worth a gamble.
We got the info from the manufactuer's website and found them new on ebay for much less.
I actually agree with fbecks18 -- if the laptop is only worth about $400, then it makes sense to go on Ebay.
My daughter has a top-of-the-line, $3,000 laptop.
Kate
The batteries I've seen on ebay are the name brand sealed packages.