Any Group 47 will work, Interstate, Bosch and even BMW (I have had good luck with these, Mike not so much).
What Battery?
- Thread starter Stan
- Start date
Ordered 61 21 2 353 803 from BMW of Beverly Hills. $145 list. Supposedly it is a rebadged East Penn battery. 45 Amp Hour 600 CCA. (Previously wrote 50 Amp Hour as one of the internet sites had it written as such)
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45 or 50 makes no real difference. The lightweight starter does though.
i have the same thing
Does anyone know the current part number for the white BMW battery? My local BMW dealership said it is 61-21-2-353-815 $195 but wanted to confirm before I waited two weeks to get it
Pics I have collected of period batteries.
I bought a white one April 2020, 61 21 2 353 817 at a Mini dealer I think. You have to Dremel off one of the feet on the short side as it is a bit long. The battery ending in 803 fits and is Black. I think the white battery came along later perhaps and was made by Varta. BMW has switched battery suppliers many, many times.
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Just bought a new battery for my 1997 M3 in October from BMW the first one was white this one is black.
Athena has a black Bosch.
Athena has a black Bosch.
UPDATE- , thank you to Chris and Terry for helping me with this project. The current BMW/Mini Battery you want is 61 21 2 353 817. I paid $177.90, I asked for a discount and Peter Pan BMW, Burlingame gave me a 10% discount. The battery just a little too big and Chris recommended to Dremel the foot off the long side. I found the Multi tool* worked far better and I was easily able to saw off the foot of the battery making a perfect fit
*on a side note if you do not have a multi tool. My brother in law, the contractor bought me one, and it is life altering, I use is ALL the time. Used it yesterday to fix a fence
*on a side note if you do not have a multi tool. My brother in law, the contractor bought me one, and it is life altering, I use is ALL the time. Used it yesterday to fix a fence
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You did good! It is actually the short side you removed which is correct.
Why not just buy the battery that fits?
Where we going with this? Why do you need a Dremel to modify the wrong part?
Where we going with this? Why do you need a Dremel to modify the wrong part?
factory fit.
He was hoping I think for it to still be a white battery like mine. Do you want me to make fun of that fan? 
Don’t get Jelly on me- that’s the secret bitchin fan.
Batteries are under the rear seat, right?
Makes room for a clean(er) engine bay.
RP
Early in the build.
RP
For the record the current available BMW battery that fits correctly is the 61212353815. The length is 242mm - no cutting needed. The 61 21 2353 817 battery is 278 mm long which is too long.
