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Dear advisor,

My car battery was fitted new in Feb 2006. Its CCA is 430, RC is 80. My car is used daily on short trips. The battery condition indicator is showing green. Does this mean it's still in good condition? There's an offer on a similar one for $120. Should I replace my current (pun intended) battery before winter? Or can the battery last another year?

Thanks.

Leo

There's really no right or wrong answer here - there are two schools of fault and both have merit.
At seven years of age, you have had very good life out of your battery, but at this age, there are no guarantees and it could fail. However, it may also last you another year or two, in which case you've spent money unnecessarily.
On the other hand, if you have the spare cash, you could replace the battery now, thereby minimising the risk of being stranded with a faulty battery.
I guess in summary, if you frequently use your car late at night, or rely on it for emergency or medical reasons etc and the budget runs to it, it would be advisable to replace it as it is getting old.

Thanks ABayliss, for your valuable advice. Wondering if a free battery test offered at places like Repco, enable me to know how much life is left in the battery? Or would the test just show whether it can be fully charged or not?

Thanks.

Leo

If the battery is working fine, it's likely that the test will find that it is OK. Hovever, there's nothing lost in having it tested - it may find fault if the battery is getting weak.

Hi Andrew,

I’m very glad I took your valuable advice. Got my battery tested and found that its CCA was 472 instead of the stated 430. Its state of health was 100 %, while its state of charge was also 100 %. I hope I’ll get several more years’ use from it.

Thanks again

Best regards,
Leo