Quote:
Originally Posted by chieftmc
My dealer quoted me $150 each key  |
I would check again. It seems like there's a lot of misinformation out there. Some people have said $300, some have said $120 for a full key and $80 for the door-opening metal shaft, etc.,. I have a feeling your dealer may have only quoted you on the fob portion, as that electronics-end of the key (labeled "radio" on the bill, as it's a mini radio-transmitter) is costing me around $150. So, technically, if you got your key wet and they had to replace that piece, it WOULD be $150... plus, of course, that $100/hour labor charge to program the new key. (It's very easy to "down-talk" a price quote when someone throws a question at you; it makes your dealership sound like a great place. But I bet if you actually lost a key and went to them you might find they "suddenly" forgot to mention the labor cost.)
I can understand the logic, I guess. If they simply re-code a new second key for you, then your original key which is floating around somewhere could be used to get into your car and start it, and if that ever happened you'd sue your dealership. So to avoid liability they re-code both the old and new key to make the lost key useless.
I miss the old days when I could go to the hardware store and get a spare key made for three bucks. Then again, the security of the new cars is that, without your specific key, the car can't be stolen since it can't even be started.
What sucks is that you don't have much of a choice. There aren't any other options for something like this, and you certainly can't risk having only one key. If you lose that key, the car becomes a paperweight until you have it towed to the dealership and broken into so they can make new keys for you...
Went on vacation to visit relatives one year and would ask my uncles & cousins "Hey, if I can start your car, can I take it for a drive?" They quickly changed their mind when they heard the engine start!!! 
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