$550 for new battery?! Tell me there's anlternatives ...

[kennatom]

So my wife's 2010 X5 battery died during a cold spell here in Upstate NY. A jump-start brought 'er back to life, but the "passenger secondary restraint" light came on. We were due in to the dealer for another service anyway, asked them to take a gander at the issue while they were at it.

"You'll need a new battery."

No biggie. What's the damage?

"$550, parts & labor."

Couldn't believe he said it with a straight face. I told him to hold off on the replacement while I looked for cheaper alternatives. He said I wouldn't find any as, while the "battery registration" they have to do is a nominal part of the cost, to replace it with a cheaper battery would likely not be enough to power the car, and to find a battery that WOULD be enough to power the car, it would likely cost about as much as it would to have them do it.

When I but my car specs into known battery outlets, I get batteries over 1/2 the cost, which only leads me to believe that they are the "underpowered/cheaper" one's the dealer spoke of. Then there's the "registration" issues??

I can't seem to find a straight answer in these threads (or maybe i'm not looking hard enough?) ... Can anyone tell me if getting a new battery will really cost this much? If not, where do you recommend I buy/install? "Register"?

Thank you!