Replacement car key - reasonable price?

ViolaLass

I want two more keys for my Honda Jazz - still got one key, want a second and a spare.

I've been quoted £110 for two keys (cheapest local quote). Then I found http://www.carkeyhelp.co.uk/products/Honda-Jazz-transponder-key-HON66T.html

Is there a catch? Why is the local guy charging so much?

BeenThroughItAll

ViolaLass wrote: »

I want two more keys for my Honda Jazz - still got one key, want a second and a spare.

I've been quoted £110 for two keys (cheapest local quote). Then I found http://www.carkeyhelp.co.uk/products/Honda-Jazz-transponder-key-HON66T.html

Is there a catch? Why is the local guy charging so much?

That key will need cutting, and programming. Factor in those costs and 110 quid for two transponder keys is pretty good value.

Minrich

£110 is a bargain for two

Joe_Horner

The key blank will be around £3 singly @ trade and the transponder chip between about £3 and £6. If you add cutting to the basic on that site then the £6.50 becomes £13.50. So, that's £10 roughly for cutting it and posting it if they only buy 1 at a time - which they won't. And the bulk discounts on bulk key blanks are huge.

Add a transponder as well and it goes to £20.50+ depending on the transponder. So that's probably an extra couple of quid profit just for supplying (not programming) the transponder (again, assuming they buy the transponders 1 at a time, which they won't).

The local guy will almost certainly be dealing in lower volume for any given key / transponder and he'll be programming it as well (presumably). If he has proper premises then his overheads will also be a LOT higher than someone running a web distribution business from their spare room.

facade

ViolaLass wrote: »

I want two more keys for my Honda Jazz - still got one key, want a second and a spare.

I've been quoted £110 for two keys (cheapest local quote). Then I found http://www.carkeyhelp.co.uk/products/Honda-Jazz-transponder-key-HON66T.html

Is there a catch? Why is the local guy charging so much?

Did you read the first customer review?

I ordered a spare (transponder) key for my Honda Jazz (2004). It came cut, cost me £22.53 delivered, fitted perfectly and I had the transponder programmed locally for £53 - total cost £75.53

AdrianC

Are these new keys being added to the car's security system, or are they clones of existing keys?

If the latter, then remember that you cannot then remove any future lost key.

ViolaLass

AdrianC wrote: »

Are these new keys being added to the car's security system, or are they clones of existing keys?

If the latter, then remember that you cannot then remove any future lost key.

I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean.

Marktheshark

Its the new licence to print money, the machine to copy the chip is £250 and they can get the key cut at the local shop.
With the parts trade about £12 a key they are making a small fortune out of desperate people.

Aretnap

ViolaLass wrote: »

I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean.

On a modern car, if you have the keys made and programmed "properly" each key/transponder sends a unique code to the immobiliser. This is more expensive, but the advantage is that if you lose one key you can have your immobiliser reprogrammed so it won't accept that key, so you don't have to worry about someone finding it and using it to nick your car. (A particular worry if you keep your car key in a handbag which also might have ID/address details in it.

The cheap way to make new keys is simply to clone an existing one so they all have the same code. But then you can't deactivate one key without deactivating them all, since the immobiliser can't tell the difference between them.

AdrianC

Aretnap wrote: »

On a modern car, if you have the keys made and programmed "properly" each key/transponder sends a unique code to the immobiliser. This is more expensive, but the advantage is that if you lose one key you can have your immobiliser reprogrammed so it won't accept that key, so you don't have to worry about someone finding it and using it to nick your car. (A particular worry if you keep your car key in a handbag which also might have ID/address details in it.

The cheap way to make new keys is simply to clone an existing one so they all have the same code. But then you can't deactivate one key without deactivating them all, since the immobiliser can't tell the difference between them.

^ This.

You have a car. It came from new with two keys. These have the codes A and B.
You get one key cloned. There are now three keys which will start the car - with codes A, A and B.

You lose the key with code B. You have that code removed from the car's security system, so now there are two keys - A and A.

If you lose one of those keys, you are stuffed.

ViolaLass

Right, now I understand, thank you both for explaining.

I don't which the guy is doing (I'll ask). Annoyingly, I think the keys are somewhere in my house but I've been looking for three weeks and no sign.

Mark, I asked my local shop whether they could cut me a copy, they said no (even without the programming) so I'm not convinced it's as easy as you say.