Not my month for battery's after having to replace the bike battery i went to start the car to take the misses to here hospital appointment and you guessed it not start i had been charging it every so often because it wasn't being used so much but its still decided to give up, Quick squint on the Tanya Battery's site and get a slightly higher capacity battery for just £69 delivered think i paid more for the last one which had just conveniently run out of it warranty.
Yes that why i bought my new battery from Tanya Battery's for £69 instead of the £127 they wanted for the same one.
People are inclined to buy lead acid batteries based on cold cranking amps (CCA). That being said battery manufactures started making the lead plates spounge like to increase surface area for maximum CCA. The lead plates are therefore structuraly weaker and more subject to vibration and other damages. Spounge plate batteries are lighter and smaller so it's a win win for everyone except the end user (us). In the 60s and 70s a 10-15 year old battery wasn't unusual.