Battery OPTIMA or Bosch

The last two batteries I bought for my GTi, were specified for a Mk4 Golf/Jetta. Both of them were Bosch and they are both different sizes. Both of them ran me about $150 I went with the Mk4 batteries because Pepboys didnt carry for a Mk3. But both of them are fine

My TT has an OPTIMA YELLOW TOP. Battery put in service date 12/2006 9 years on a battery in this heat...un freakin heard of! Very good value for down here.

Lead acid batteries work great and have a reputation for going the distance.

just replaced 4 year old battery in my 2010 Wagon. It was not really a rocket science but it was nice to have a write up nonetheless. The biggest issue for me was to figure out group size for my battery: supposedly both 47 and 48 work but I wanted to get an exact model. After some online research and hard measurements it was clear my current battery was group size 48. Went with Bosch from Pep Boys for 108 (with tax and after 30% coupon). Despite the car being without the battery for 8+ hours, I had no issues with codes, errors, etc. The only thing I needed to adjust was the time.

If you have a PepBoys nearby, they have a Bosch that fits.

Been running an optima in both my cars for years. Best decision ever.

I have recently had both batteries replaced and the garage I use recommends Bosch as they have a 6 year ' no quibble ' (unlike VW) warranty . They are to the same spec as the Varta batteries and the right one is a 62ah normal lead acid type .

The only advantage to Optima batteries is if they are used in an environment where they experience very high vibration or need to be mounted in unusual positions. The longevity of them is no better than a good quality lead acid battery, so unless you're hardcore offroading or need to mount the battery upside down for whatever reason, they really offer no benefit.

Every optima battery I have seen in customer vehicles (I'm an auto tech) goes to crap in about 6 months to a year. I think these types of batteries are more sensitive to low voltages. They also don't hold up at all during the freezing winter months.

I had an optima in my garage queen, wasn't even hooked up most of the time(unhooked it till I wanted to drive/work on it). it died 2 years and one month later, with MAYBE 1000 miles on it, no replacement/etc. now it's a doorstop in my garage.