Hi-tech auto security systems mean that replacing a lost car key can cost you more today than an entire engine overhaul did a few years ago — and that’s without even replacing any of the locks.
As a follow-up to his Kinsey report car spares survey this year, motoring journalist Malcolm Kinsey researched the cost of replacing keys that have gone AWOL and if you’re the type who tends to misplace things, you should be afraid, very afraid. Of the 27 vehicles researched only one, the Daihatsu Cuore, could be kept mobile with a simple key cut at any locksmith. The replacement cost was R12,50. Most others would cost substantially more, with the most expensive, the Volvo S40 auto, working out at R1 824 for a replacement key with the required electronic wizardry.
“Keys come in various forms” says Kinsey. “There’s the simple single key, then the key with a transponder built in. This emits a code that the vehicle’s computer system is programmed to recognise.” There are tens of millions of individual codes to make things difficult for thieves.
Other keys have built-in remote transmitters that operate the car’s central locking system and an increasing number of cars use smart cards to activate everything and have no keys at all.
In most cases, where there’s a built-in transponder and remote buttons on the key base, the customer needs to buy a blank key from the agent, costing anything up to R725. The remote-control electronic innards can cost as much and, in some cases, the car’s CPU has to be reprogrammed by the agents at further expense. The blank key then has to be cut to suit the vehicle’s locks. You can consider yourself lucky to get away with spending less than R800 to replace a single missing key, with the average being 50% higher.
Of course, if you really want to waste money, you should try losing the entire set of keys that came with your vehicle. Without any blanks or remote controls to copy, you could find yourself spending more than R6 000 and waiting for weeks while a new set is ordered from an overseas factory.