Where to buy replacement battery?

Hello,

I have a T60 and the battery I've been using has just died. I need a replacement and I was shocked to find out that a replacement from Lenovo costs $160!

I was looking on eBay and found many batteries in the $50-$70 range but I'm not sure of the quality of these. Is it better to look for a Lenovo branded battery on eBay or a 3rd party battery? Can anyone recommend a battery in the < $100 price range? I'm looking for a 6-cell battery and not anything smaller if possible in this price range.

Thanks!

 

Wow, this is coincidental. I also have a T60 and I am also looking for a replacement battery. My battery lasts under an hour now... like 45 minutes.

I've heard buying a non-Lenovo battery is a very bad idea, though.

 

I would consider buying a non-branded Lenovo battery. It is almost certain that the only problems you can have with a non-branded battery is that it has less capacity out of the box or that it will not last as many cycles. If you buy from a reputable seller, then the former problem would be addressed by an immediate replacement and the latter problem would be addressed by replacement under warranty (often 1 year, the same as Lenovo branded). So then, what do you have to lose?

Even if the seller didn't provide warranty service as claimed, you could purchase 3 non-branded batteries at $50 each for a single branded battery at $160.

I don't buy the vague "buying a non-Lenovo battery is a very bad idea" argument. Why is it a bad idea?

 

I went through 3 batteries on my T40. The original one from IBM, the second from some random seller, and the third from a cellphone/laptop battery superstore.

The original one worked well until 500+ cycles reduced its capacity to about 20% of its design. It would only last about 45 minutes.

The second one I bought was a piece of trash. I believe it had a bad cell (or 3) because it would drop from 60% to 5% instantly. It delivered very poor battery life, but it did not cause damage to the laptop.

The third one was very good. I used it for a year before swapping my T40 for an x200. It worked very well for the entire time and still held 80% of the design capacity after a year of moderate usage (on battery almost every day, 100+ cycles).

I got the third one from CalCellular. They offer a wide variety of IBM/Lenovo laptop batteries at reasonable prices. This includes a 6 cell for the R/T60 at $66+shipping and a 9 cell for the R/T60 for $80+shipping. This is the route I would recommend because it is from a reputable seller and the prices are fair.

 

Wow, thanks for the links. I'll have to check those out. $66 isn't so painful.

 

Not to revive a dead thread, but... about a week ago I decided to go ahead and order a 6-cell battery for CalCellular (as jonlumpkin recommended - thank you!). I just received it today and used it for a full charge. It lasted 2hrs and 45min. My old battery, ever since I got it 2 years ago, only got 2hrs max. Very impressed with this replacement battery so far.

So anyway, the point of reviving this thread: I too recommend CalCellular to anyone looking for a replacement.

The only thing I should note is... the battery does not sit completely flesh with the notebook. I sticks out the back about 3mm and it's quite tight when you are installing/removing it. It seems like it's simply slightly too big to fit perfectly. Maybe it fits perfectly on an R60.

 

Glad to hear the battery works well for you.

I also had a minor issue with fit on my replacement batteries for the T40. My original IBM supplied battery fit perfectly and was smooth going in/out. However, both my replacements (one CalCellular, another from a random source) were very snug. The battery worked fine, but swapping them was a bit of a chore.