People don't realise how expensive replacement/duplicate car keys are until they need to get one cut and programmed.

The days of visiting your local town centre key cutting shop or market stall and getting a car key cut for a few quid are long gone. Nowadays when you buy a used car and decide you need a second key cutting and programming you'd better be sitting down before you're told the price.

But why do car keys cost so much these days and is there anyway that you can get a new car key/remote cut for less?

Modern vehicles - those manufactured within the last 15/20 years are now considered modern- are a lot more advanced which requires that your key to contain electronics that can do everything from operating the vehicles door locks to setting or disabling its alarm and/or immobiliser. However, over the years electronic components have become a lot less expensive; remember buying a flash drive back in the day and paying £50+ for a 256KB (kiloabyte) drive? Now you can buy a 256GB (gigabyte) drive for £15 simply due to the fact that electronics are cheaper than they used to be so why haven't the cost of vehicle remotes come down?

The electronic components inside a car key are a lot more complex than those inside a flash drive so you can expect them to cost more but the prices being charged by many main dealers is extortionate and sometime upwards of £200 per key. This is simply greed on the main dealer's part, they know people will come to them first and most will pay whatever is quoted believing that only Vauxhall can cut/programme a key/remote for a Vauxhall vehicle.

Also...  Have you ever wondered why you seem to have such bad luck with every used car you buy only having one key with it? It's not bad luck at all, most people will trade in a car with 2 keys and new vehicles are sold with 2 keys,  the dealer simple loses or misplaces one (Is this on purpose? you decide) and this is one of the reasons that you should never get a car key cut/programmed at a main dealership and you always contact you local independent automotive locksmith who offers car key cutting and programming.

Whilst being less expensive from an auto locksmith car key cutting and duplication still seems to be on the costly side to a lot of people but you have to consider the locksmith overheads.

What Impacts the Cost of Replacement Car Keys?

There are numerous factors that impact the cost of cutting and programming a new car key. They include the type and complexity of the keys components, the make, model and year of the vehicle and who you choose to cut/programme the key for you.

Car keys and remotes are small complex electronic devices that can be quite expensive on their own, for example a blank key for a certain vehicle may cost the locksmith £40-£50 some are more expensive than this. The locksmith then needs to cut the key and then programme it for the vehicle. He/she of course needs to make a profit - it's a business after all - He/she also needs to recuperate the costs of cutting and programming equipment, software and licences from vehicle manufacturers so they have all the latest codes and programming routines as well as fuel costs if they are a mobile locksmith who comes out to you.

Even with all the overheads and costs the auto locksmith's car key cutting/programming fees will typically come in a good 20-40% less than what a main dealer would charge for exactly the same thing using the same blank. Couple that with the fact that an independent auto locksmith will come to you and cut/programme your new car key on your drive whilst you wait instead of your main dealer wanting you to drop off your vehicle and pick in up in a day or two it's a no brainier... Always call a local independent auto locksmith