Xoutpost.com - Recommended battery for 2003 BMW X5

Hello. I am new here, so forgive me if I am screwing up with my first post:imnew:. I bought my BMW used a couple of years ago. It is a dark charcoal gray, and was in pristine condition. I really like it. It's the first luxury care I've owned. It's pretty much fully loaded for a 2003. I only wish I could get Sirius satellite radio. Everything works. Someone took very good care of this car and had scheduled maintenance and kept it very clean inside and out. Of course 3 months after buying it, I was involved in a fender bender where a jerk swerved over in front of me and slammed on his brakes at the stop light, causing me to rear end him. There is minimal cosmetic damage and I couldn't afford to have it repaired, but my insurance company paid for the other guy's car, which sustained zero damage in the minor accident which HE caused, so he got a free back hatch and bumper, etc, probably, and my insurance company, USAA, put me at fault, although I called a police officer to the scene and no tickets were issued, so I am very unhappy about that, but that's another issue, and I apologize for going off subject.

On the issue at hand, there was a Duralast Gold battery from Autozone in this beautiful SUV when I bought the car. I started having trouble with the battery off and on, until it finally had no charge left. I took it to Autozone, and luckily it was still under warranty, so they kindly let me trade it for a new one. Now, about 8 months later, this battery is apparently running down. I did have the alternator replaced just before the old battery that was in the car when I bought it went kaput. I am going to take the battery to Autozone tomorrow to have them check the charge.

I just wonder what battery any of you might suggest, and if you've used this particular battery, have you ever had problems with it? I want to make sure and replace this battery with a high-quality one, hopefully one not terribly expensive; however, I am aware that you probably can't buy a quality, reliable battery for this car without paying at least $200. If I can buy one for less, I would appreciate any suggestions! Also, if it sounds like this might be a different problem altogether that is affecting the battery, I would appreciate your advice. Thank you so much. - Patty