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Getting a new key for a used car.


SDG

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Surly’s help me out here.  What’s the best/cheapest way to get a spare key for a used car you bought that only came with one?  Is the dealership my only option?  
 

I have a 2012 Mini Cooper that I bought to drive around because it’s manual but my OCD keeps bugging me about a spare key...

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Are you talking key key or remote or both?

Dealer is of course the most expensive option.  Amazon and ebay have much cheaper remote options and some include a key blank and some don't.  

I am fairly certain that by 2012 all keys have to be "cut" by the dealer using the VIN, which is going to cost more than a locksmith or home depot, but if you can bring the fob with a blank, you'll save some.

Remotes usually can be programmed DIY using instructions from the manual or found online.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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I found myself in a similar situation, buying a car that came with only one key.  I bought another off ebay or amazon and spent the extra to get one with a key in it.  I wound up never getting the key cut.

But, it saved my bacon once as something happened to change the programming/setting that wouldn't let the car lock automatically with the key in it.  I stopped at a grocery store on the way back from an MTB ride and had my keys in my camelbak and got out of the car.  It beeped normally to indicate hey, dummy, keys in car.  Then it beeped again and I couldn't get back in it.  Not sure what was going on there.

Anyway, I was able to go home and get the other fob and unlock it.  I never used the metal key to open a door or the trunk except as an experiment in 8 years of ownership.

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Looks like the going rate is about $40 on amazon.  https://www.amazon.com/mini-cooper-key-fob-replacement/s?k=mini+cooper+key+fob+replacement

Not quite clear to me whether most, all, or none of those include the key blank.  Just be aware that some of the fobs/remotes will not include the key blank.

Edited by TwiceHorn
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2 hours ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

... tried and true. 

8E05512C-F5E1-47AC-A5B2-5FFC8B6008A7.jpeg

If having only one key triggers my OCD what do you think that would do?  
 

csb ~ I once drove home, only about 2-3 miles, because I remembered I left a kitchen cabinet door open and needed to shut it.  I was 10-15 minutes late for work...

 

im not major ocd or anything but little details, like the key thing, bother me enough that I want to fix them.  I bought the car knowing it had 1 key so it isn’t the end all be all.   

My only goal here is to keep the cost under the 3-400 the dealership is going to charge and I know others on surly have probably had to get new keys.  


 

 

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19 minutes ago, SDG said:

If having only one key triggers my OCD what do you think that would do?  
 

csb ~ I once drove home, only about 2-3 miles, because I remembered I left a kitchen cabinet door open and needed to shut it.  I was 10-15 minutes late for work...

Imo not major ocd or anything but little details, like the key thing, bother me enough that I want to fix them.  I bought the car knowing it had 1 key so it isn’t the end all be all.   

My only goal here is to keep the cost under the 3-400 the dealership is going to charge and I know others on surly have probably had to get new keys. 

I figured it was a solution to having only one ignition key.

However, being a whack job is a completely different topic ... good luck with that around here.

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4 minutes ago, VirginiaLonghorn said:

I figured it was a solution to having only one ignition key.

However, being a whack job is a completely different topic ... good luck with that around here.

Lol. Everyone on this site is a whack job (read the game threads).  I take pride in my wackiness being stuck at level 1 compared to most of these assholes.  

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