I've been dealing with a sluggish battery since the weather turned cool and I think it's finally gotten to a point where it needs replacing.

Is there anything special I need to do to make sure this goes smoothly?

2000 XK8 convertible if it it makes a difference.

 

Take the old one out. Put the new one in. Reset windows and seat memory. Drive as fast as you can to break in the new battery.
Mike

 

Make very sure that you buy a vented battery. Hydrogen gas in the sealed trunk area can provide significant entertainment.

When looking at a number of cars when I purchased the current car I found more than half had non-vented batteries.

 

Thanks for the tip - I hadn't thought of that since this is the first vehicle I've ever had that had the battery in the trunk. I'll make sure it's vented. Hydrogen gas is nasty stuff in high enough concentration

 

Oh yeah, that too. My replacement came with the vent tube so I didn't give it much thought. Good idea to get a battery tender to trickle charge her if the car's a weekend toy. There is a fair amount of drain while the car sits (at least my 99 does).

 

I actually got the battery tender hooked up last weekend and it won't help the battery hold a charge either so that's what clued me in to it being the time to replace the battery.