Keys! Why the hell is it so expensive to get replacements?

[Horsepower27]

Ok I am sure this is a repost but I am very very angry.

I bought a Ford Transit minibus recently and travelled a long way to pick it up. Everything good, finance arranged etc just about to shake on it and sign on the dotted line when the seller tells me there is no spare key. Cue anger from me but I had gone all that way and he wouldn't budge on price so I thought to hell with it and bought it anyway.

Next time I'll be asking if there is a spare before I travel...

I know replacement keys for cars are more than getting a Yale cut for your front door but I didn't expect fking Ford to want £180, just for a key!! Not even a remote fob - £40 more for that!

£180! ridiculous.

No I know there is a chip inside the key but surely it can't cost that much to do??

Anyone know somewhere I can get one done on the cheap? Based in London and its a 2005 Ford Transit.

Can we turn this into a competition - what's the most you have ever paid for a key??!!

[SDxsi]

I didn't pay it because I didn't need it but Peugeot quoted me £340 for a new key and fob! I only wanted it because i'd lost the rubber out of both of mine and wanted a nice one

[mybrainhurts]

Why....?

[LD1Racing]

Horsepower27 said:

Can we turn this into a competition - what's the most you have ever paid for a key??!!

Didn't pay for it exactly, but had a GMK worth over $1million once. Value based on the cost of changing many thousand locks if the key was lost/stolen.

[robinh20mrv]

Aston martin key FOB (yes, just the 10p leather fob )........£95

[Mattt]

Not that it helps, but on Fords you can (or used to) code keys yourself if you already had 2 in your possession.

[W00DY]

That'll be for the coding too i presume? I paid £8 to get a new key for my mum's focus, but because she already had 2 i just coded it myself using the methods on the net in about 30 seconds. Doubt anyone other than ford is able to sort it if you only have one key though.

[MX7]

I needed a spare key for my MX5. A key from Ebay was less than £10, and the local key cutter cut and coded it for a few quid. I can't remember how much Mazda wanted, but it was stupid money.

[TheCarpetCleaner]

I overheard someone at work mention that their Mercedes spare key that they replaced was £250ish.

Shocking.

Considering you can buy a whole Android based phone for less money with many, many complicated electronic parts for less.

[V6Alfisti]

Try one of your local key shops ala Timpsons e.t.c

If I recall correctly, they normally have equipment that can read from existing keys and drop the code into a new one. Worth a try

[cs02rm0]

Dealer did the same to me when I bought my ST. He told me it would be about £100 though!

I never bothered, just hope I don't lose the one I've got.

[ZesPak]

TheCarpetCleaner said:

I overheard someone at work mention that their Mercedes spare key that they replaced was £250ish.

Shocking.

Considering you can buy a whole Android based phone for less money with many, many complicated electronic parts for less.

My parents had a early C-class about 10 years ago, she lost a key (1 of 2) and said I'll get 2 new ones (so we had 3, as there were 3 of us using the car).

The dealer didn't say how much it would cost, but it turned out it cost her 500€ for both keys!!

[jamoor]

Well stick with normal keys without the fancy immobilisers etc and see how cars get nicked :P

[TwistingMyMelon]

MX5. £2.50 form market stall, job done. Worked a treat for 3 years as main.

OP try yellow pages google, you can get it cheaper

[andrewrob]

A friend of mine has just had to pay £400 for an early 90s S class key.
Not sure if it was even a remote one, think it was just coded.

[munroman]

I had a Mk1 Laguna, which I bought cheaply from work at a good price, but it only had 1 key.

It never really bothered me until the ex dropped it down a gap in the driveway, where it landed on a ledge , teetering over the drain.

Apparently it was like Mission Impossible, with a friend carefully trying to hook it with a coathanger before it slid to its doom, luckily he managed it! ( The Laguna was blocking in 2 other cars..)

This decided us to get a new key, luckily the Laguna was recalled for something and the garage made a complete arse of sorting out a courtesy car, ex demanded compensation and settled on a discount on a new key - result, £20 vs £90.

[ZesPak]

jamoor said:

Well stick with normal keys without the fancy immobilisers etc and see how cars get nicked :P

That's not the point - the point is they are seriously overpriced.

As someone pointed out, you could get a pretty fancy telephone for that money, because their prices have to be competitive...

They do it because they can, and the prices are outrageous.

[andy43]

If it's a transit - presumably its manual locks, with a chip inside the key. Tape the key inside the steering column, so the immobiliser chip is always readable by the ecu/electronics then get 2 standard non-chip keys cut for less than a fiver. But don't tell your insurance co

[agxster]

Just did a quick Google, never tried these people before but might be worth a ring?

http://www.theautolocksmith.co.uk

And also found this on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLUE-TRANSPONDER-KEY-FOR-FOR...

Edited by agxster on Monday 26th April 10:08

[Gad-Westy]

Horsepower27 said:

Ok I am sure this is a repost but I am very very angry.

I bought a Ford Transit minibus recently and travelled a long way to pick it up. Everything good, finance arranged etc just about to shake on it and sign on the dotted line when the seller tells me there is no spare key. Cue anger from me but I had gone all that way and he wouldn't budge on price so I thought to hell with it and bought it anyway.

Next time I'll be asking if there is a spare before I travel...

I know replacement keys for cars are more than getting a Yale cut for your front door but I didn't expect fking Ford to want £180, just for a key!! Not even a remote fob - £40 more for that!

£180! ridiculous.

No I know there is a chip inside the key but surely it can't cost that much to do??

Anyone know somewhere I can get one done on the cheap? Based in London and its a 2005 Ford Transit.

Can we turn this into a competition - what's the most you have ever paid for a key??!!

Kudos for being the first person in living memory to spell ridiculous correctly on PH.

Renault wanted £160 for a new Clio key. Fark that. I bet dealers make a fortune out of replacment keys. How many times do lease companies get both keys back when cars are returned?