Replacing lost car keys

[Jimmy Two Times]

Hello

My sister has managed to loose keys to her Mitsubishi Grandis. Main Dealer are talking around £800 to change all locks and her home insurers are only willing to cover half of this cost less her excess.

Does she have any other options besides the Main Dealer?

She lives in Tranent, East Lothian.

Thanks in advance.

[offshorematt2]

Where the keys marked with the registration or some obvious mark that could identify the car? If not then just buy a new key for the car and get it coded to the existing immobiliser. Will prob cost £1 - 200 I'd imagine? If by some tiny chance the lost keys are found, matched to the car and the car is subsequently stolen, then the car insurance will cover it for just the excess anyway as long as you can present both your keys to it. Or am I missing something?

[dycecooper]

When the new key is coded the old key will no longer be coded but it will still fit the locks

[amccan10]

Have a wee look here:

http://www.carkeycentre.co.uk/

[GreigM]

offshorematt2 said:

Where the keys marked with the registration or some obvious mark that could identify the car? If not then just buy a new key for the car and get it coded to the existing immobiliser. Will prob cost £1 - 200 I'd imagine? If by some tiny chance the lost keys are found, matched to the car and the car is subsequently stolen, then the car insurance will cover it for just the excess anyway as long as you can present both your keys to it. Or am I missing something?

You can only do this in the presence of 1 working key - if ALL keys are lost then its a new system time I believe....possibly why the dealer didn't simply recommend a new coded key?

[Jimmy Two Times]

Thanks for your help. Having never lost car keys before, I never realised that there were locksmiths who specialise in vehicles. Carkeycentre seem to be based in and around Glasgow, but I've found someone for the Edinburgh area. Details passed onto my sister. She does have a spare key, so hopefully it will work out a lot cheaper than she intially thought.

Once again, thank you for your help.

[offshorematt2]

GreigM said:

You can only do this in the presence of 1 working key - if ALL keys are lost then its a new system time I believe....possibly why the dealer didn't simply recommend a new coded key?

I read it as one missing key but his sister was concerned about the security aspect of having an unaccounted for key...

For interest, when I lost my only key to my TT (while drunk naturally ) I bought a new blank from Audi to switch off the steering lock, towed the car to Audi and they reprogrammed the new key to the immobiliser. No original key present or required. Dunno if that is just audi though.

Sod's law someone handed in my original key to the police a few days later so I could have saved a load of effort if I'd waited. Weird bit? The key was handed in about 40miles from where I'd been that night - maybe I was drunken than I remembered

[Jimmy Two Times]

Rather sheepishly I ought to tell you that the daft bint found her keys, so no action was required. Thanks to everyone who took the time to try and help out.