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When I bought my CTi in 2003, the battery was on its last legs, and I fitted the no-name cheapo battery that was in my Lancia Y10 when I bought that car, in 1997. That cheapo battery gave great service, only expiring at the end of 2010 when I tried to start the long-unstarted tractor here with it. So it gave 14 years service. I replaced it with a Bosch "Silver" S3 005 battery, convinced by the quality of Bosch products and particularly their claims of enhanced longevity. All has been fine until last week, when I somehow parked the car with the radio on. OK, mea culpa, but no worries, it is supposed to be good for the health of a battery to flatten it and then charge it. Went to start it 3 days later; dead. Jump started it, took it for a 10 mile run, which should have revived it....no. Charged it for a couple of days, and it started, just. Longer drive yesterday, with several stops....but after a couple of hours, that was it, no start. So that's it. Cheapo battery: 14 years, Bosch expensive battery: 7.5 years. That's not all. I have 2 ride on mowers here, one of which had no battery and although I've got it running, might never use it. The John Deere had a cheapo Chinese "SX" 12N24-4 battery fitted, dated 2002, which was fine in 2010 but gradually died until I replaced it in 2016. Note 14 year life span. Following my faith in quality products, this time I opted for Exide, and bought two Exide "Bike" U1-9 batteries. Unbelievably, one has failed totally already. No worries, I still had the other one, in its unopened box. Got it out, filled with the acid supplied, charged it, and....nothing. Dead. The instructions refer to a warranty, without specifying details, so living in France, I messaged Exide.fr. despite which I got a reply from Exide UK who didn't recognise the U1-9 designation (indeed I can't find it sold in the UK, yet the box is all English text!). Anyway, the warranty, if any, would be ONE year. This for a battery that cost more than a standard car battery, where 3 year warranty is normal! To cap it all, Exide's strapline is "We stand by our products". What the hell is the point of making such a statement, when very clearly, they DON'T stand by their products? Rant over, so, have I been unlucky (3 times unlucky!), or are quality batteries an expensive con, and cheap no-name batteries the best choice, today?