Aftermarket battery

Hey
I was recently notified by tech support that my 9 cell battery for my inspiron 6400 was dying. I'm suffering from a bit of a problem though. To replace said battery will cost $309, or I could go down to the 6 cell (which I really don't want to do, as I am a student and plugs are sometimes hard to find) for $145.

I have found an aftermarket battery which they claim comes from dell in the 9 cell for $89. this is not off of ebay, it is on battdepot.ca.

The savings is huge, and being a student with a newly wrecked car I don't have much cash. Would I be taking a huge risk?

 

Jeez...$145 for a battery, that's f'ing insane! (I've only just got my first laptop and had no idea companies charge so much for battery replacements!)

 

Whats an aftermarket battery?

 

Some other place you can buy batteries than where you bought your lappie.

 

Oh...Thanks

 

no opinions? I'm just worried I'll make the wrong decision and need some input from people who have experience

 

If the website is reliable, then it wont be much of a problem.

But beware of cheap chinese made replicas which may be harmful to your system

 

You can get your battery refurbished with new cells.. Either do it yourself, or have someone who knows his stuff do it.. There is also this site that does the same, but I don't remember the URL..

 

I emailed the company asking about the battery. They said that they have a 30 day return policy, and a 1 year replacement. They also said that their battery is not from Dell, and from China (note: my dell battery also says it's made in china).
I have pressure from my dad to buy the 6 cell from Dell, but am concerned that it wont be enough battery for me (plug space is limited around school and I'm in my final year, complete with thesis meetings, etc).
On the other hand it might be safer, last thing I need is to be computer-less!

honestly, am I better to just go with the dell, or can I squeak through with the aftermarket?

 

Check pacific battery, I ordered batteries for my dell e1405 and dell 1720. They have been fine. The battery model numbers match the Dell replacement numbers. The only thing I didn't get was the Dell label.

They are selling your 9 cell for $139, still a bit steeper than the $89.

 

After 2 solid years of service my 6400 battery has died.

I have been looking for a replacement for the past 2 days and found the prices all over the place. Also many concerns as so many others have expressed too.

I found a seller off of Ebay that I've decided to buy from.

The seller is actually based in Canada but does business through an Blane Washington address, so he's very close to me here in Vancouver.

Anyhow, for $91.00 with shipping and taxes I thought i'd give them a try.

They claim that there batteries are safe and that they only buy from reputable factories.

Their web site is here. http://www.certifiedbattery.com/index.php?main_page=about_upstart_battery

Ebay store is here. http://tinyurl.com/3mhn35

Sylorna, I'd really consider giving the aftermarket batteries a try. Dell just wants you to buy a new laptop instead of a battery off of them. That's why they charge us Canadians $309.00 for a bloody replacement battery. thats what close to $340.00 with taxes and shipping. Forget that!

I'd like to see a dedicated forum here for just notebook batteries. A place to exchange hints, recommend good aftermarket replacement batteries, what kind of life various people are getting with different replacement batteries and what to avoid.

 

Yeah most of the components are made in China, but when Dell maufactures through a vendor, they have strict quality specs which the vendors have to meet. In case of aftermarket batteries, that will be missing, and we all know how the Chinese let go of quality as long as the price is low...

So I would go for an aftermarket battery if the seller is recommended by someone who has already dealth with them

 

Our Dell E1405 batteries started failing at 6 months. I went to dell.com and read all the negative reviews of this battery. Chatted with a Dell agent and she said they had had problems with company in China that makes batteries. She said there is also a limited number available and that's why the price is so high.
At $155 I'd say that's ridiculous and I'm going to try and locate some after market batteries. My main concern is that I do nothing to damage the laptops. I found several on ebay for $45-65 but I'm afraid to buy from someone I don't know.
Does anyone here know where I can buy after market from reliable seller?
Thanks in advance

 

Here was my recent experience. I was in the same position as so many here. My 9 cell battery for my 6400 just died and I too did not know what to do.

Get a Dell over priced piece of $hit 9 cell? No way. So Ebay Or somewhere else it had to be. Being Canadian we have fewer choices than our American friends as well.

I found a 9 cell on Ebay from a battery replacement speciality company.

http://www.certifiedbattery.com/

They have an Ebay store and at the time had only a few left. They sold very fast. I was lucky to get one or take a chance on a Ebayer with one from Hong Kong or China.

So, I picked up my battery from the post office last night and popped it in when I got home.

As soon as I plugged the power supply into the back of the Laptop the battery charging indicator light came on green!

I Powered up the laptop and checked the battery status under Windows right away and found it was charging from a 38% mark.

I powered off the laptop and let it sit and charge on it's own. After about 2 hours the battery was fully charged. Booted into windows again and checked the battery meter which reported the battery being fully 100% charged with 4hrs and 25 mins.

At this point everything appears to be excellent. I'm writing this on battery power right now.

The only thing left to do is check what real performance I actually get and ultimately how long it will last, one, two years?

The quality of the battery is really quite good just like the original Dell.

Overall, I'm really pleased at this point barring any glitches in the next few days.

Now, I got a bit lucky as another fellow forum member ordered one from the same company at the same time and theirs didn't work. They had to pay to send it back for a refund. They actually wanted a replacment but are now apparently all sold out of the 6400/1501's replacment batteries.

If I get even one full year out of this thing it sure beats Dell's over priced replacement.

The battery is made in China but the sellers web site says that they apparently only buy from high quality standard manufacturers. The same manufacturers that produce batteries for name brand customers.

I love my laptop but I'm thinking that maybe I should sell the dam thing due to the battery lottery for the 6400/1501's and find a brand new laptop that has more reasonable prices for their replacement batteries.