AIBU to refuse to change the car battery given my caring duties?

[Kardelen]

how easy is it to change car batteries?
we changed my dads one a few years back, but it was me, my husband and dad.
i remember it being very heavy, and also having a small electric shock midway.

at the moment, I have two young children im caring for, and my elderly parents, and also my husband who is unwell.
so my husband can’t help, it’s out the picture. But my dad also can’t help as he is elderly, chronic pain, breathlessness etc, but is eager for me to buy it and thinks he can do it alone.

he was gonna ask my brother, but as usual very reluctant and im the go to person. But this time I said I can’t do it, but feeling guilty.

am I being unreasonable of not wanting to do it? - only because I remember last time it was 3 of us and we struggled.

Just pay to get it done. In fact outsource as much as your finances allow. You’ve got more than enough on your plate @Kardelen.

|Your post made me smile OP. I can't fathom why you wouldnt take the car into halfords for them to replace and fit the battery.

They do the same with bulbs and windscreen wipers too. It takes them 5 minutes coz they do it all the time.

@Kardelen Just go to Halfords, buy the battery and they'll fit it for you for free. If you haven't got a Halfords near you, KwikFit will do it usually without an appointment but they will charge you, but not that much. I can't believe you and your family are agonising over this.

It is very easy to change a car battery.
However getting rid of the old battery can be a nightmare, depending on the faciilities available to you.
Use a garage or halfords etc. as they will dispose of the battery as well.

I'd open the bonnet and have a look first.

This is the type of thing we used to do ourselves in 10 mins but recently the engine bays of cars have become so complex I am loath to do it. For our smaller car (a Volvo V40) it was a case of watch a youtube video to see the process of disasembing everything over the battery and reassembling it - its a 90 minute job now with a wealth of different tools needed. Thats the 'easy' battery to get at, the other battery involves taking the front bumper off......

I can change car batteries, yes. It takes less than five minutes. The first time I did it I googled which terminal to disconnect first etc.
They weigh about 15kg which I can lift easily. The most annoying thing is disposing of the old battery, but I'd rather do this than pay someone to fit a battery.

However, if you cannot lift ~15kg, or use Google, or would have difficulty taking the old battery to the tip, then it is easy to pay someone to do it.

Caring duties or not, if you don’t know how to do it safely, pay someone to do it for you.

If your DF can afford it, tell him there’s a time and a place to start using professional services and getting the experts at Halfords to do it seems very sensible.

More often than not it’s an easy 10 min job, just look it up on YouTube to see how difficult it is for that particular car.

The problem with the likes of Halfords etc is that they rip you off massively, you’ll be paying well over the odds there.

Car batteries are heavy the ones for diesels are usually a bigger capacity and heavier. You may have to stretch to reach the clamps.
The place where you service the car will do it for you. Better to use your usual workshop.

Go to Halfords website, type in car registration, it will tell you what battery to buy, buy it and book them to come to your house and fit it next day, job done.

I can change a car battery myself, but I'd always get a garage to do it. Or Halfords at a push. You can also get mobile services that just come round to your house etc. Apart from anything, they take care of the disposal of the old one, which can be a right pain.

It might be a 10 minute job but not by the time OP has watched you tube videos, bought the correct battery and done it for the first time.
It’s good to save money but this is how carers get run into the ground, after all why waste money on cleaners, gardeners and carers when OP has a set of arms and legs.
Often a line needs to be drawn somewhere and a manual task that OP has never done before and doesn’t seem keen to do, sounds like a reasonable place to start.

For all those saying no problem, ten minutes job, be aware that more modern cars may need the computer to be told about the new battery. All part of the drive to stop DIY, I'm afraid. For the same reason I wouldn't be so confident that Halfrauds or Kwik-ripoff would know what they're doing, neither have a great track record. An independent specialist will almost certainly do a proper cheaper job.

Absolutely spot on.

I watched a video on this 10 mins ago as ex’s car battery is dead after leaving it on the drive for 6 months not driven. Looks easy, but i’d get Halfords to do it.

What is making you think it’s a problem not to do it yourself?

The AA did mine a few years ago. Honestly it wouldn’t even occur to me that changing a battery is something I could/should do myself at home!

It sounds like you have quite enough on your plate, OP. Its just one more thing to add to your already-substantial mental load. Just get a professional to do it. Dont tell your dad beforehand, in case he tries to insist or guilt trip you.

I know how to change the battery in my car. Im fit and healthy and I can do it. I dont want to, though, so I choose to pay someone to do it for me. This is not a moral failing!

Aww you’re a mean one 😂
but seriously…Halfords

Absolutely right. After three years of doing everything for DH I finally have a cleaner one morning a week. Car stuff I would also outsource.

Are you replacing the same battery as last time?

It's one of the easier car maintenance tasks but if you don't have the confidence to do it take the car to a local garage, a good one would test the old battery to make sure you need one, fit a new one and just charge for the actual battery.

I change my own, it isn’t remotely difficult (you do need to know which terminal is earthed and do them in a specific order but it is all on Youtube). However, not everyone wants to do that and plenty of places like Halford’s will change it over for you - I had them come out and replace all my tyres recently as it saved me a heap of time. Why not look into that? There are usually money off deals when you join their free auto club too @Kardelen

If your dad is worried say that when you bought it the store offered to fit it for you, no need to mention you paid them!

Yes, but you can easily find out first whether that’s required or not and make an informed decision.