Battery blow-up

Hi.

My Mac Book Pro 17" (2007 model) battery has just literally blown-up on me.

I contact Apple support and was informed that this is a vintage battery (greater than 5yr) and this is a safety design when the battery has reached the end of its life. They dont stock parts for vintage models.

Im going to be over £100 for a mac battery replacement.

Id call this a serious issue and quite a serious one.

Anyone any ideas on how to taker this further or am i wrong to expect my battery to last longer with exploding?

Philip