Open 6:00 AM to 8:30 PM · No VAT added to any job
A snapped blade is taken out of the door lock or the ignition at your vehicle, and a new key is cut and programmed when the old one cannot be used again.
Extraction is quoted per job rather than from a fixed price, because what it takes depends on where the key snapped and how much of the blade is left showing.
Tell Paul what happened
Almost every extraction that turns into an expensive job started with somebody trying to get the piece out with pliers, a screwdriver or superglue.
Pulling pushes the blade deeper and can shear the pins inside the lock. Turning the stub with the blade still in it can break the lock mechanism itself, which turns a key job into a lock job. Glue bonds the broken piece to the wafers, and once that happens the barrel has to come out and be stripped.
Extraction is quoted per job. Three things set the figure, and all three are established on the phone.
| Where the key snapped | What it usually involves | What it means for the price |
|---|---|---|
| In the ignition | The stub is gripped and drawn out with extraction tools, with the steering lock held off the blade | The most common job, and the one most often finished without removing anything |
| In a door or boot lock | The lock is approached from the keyway, and the stub is lifted clear of the wafers | Usually straightforward, and the lock is almost always saved |
| Snapped flush with no blade showing | More time with finer tools, and sometimes the barrel is removed to reach it | The dearer end of the range, because access is the whole problem |
| Snapped after somebody tried to pull it | Damaged wafers or a seized barrel, which may need a new barrel coded to your keys | This is where a key job can become an ignition job starting from £120 |
| Snapped and the only key | The piece comes out, then a new key is created from the vehicle | Extraction plus a lost key job, which starts from £135 |
Nothing is charged for guesswork. Paul tells you on the phone which of these the job looks like, and what each one means before travelling out.
An extraction runs in three stages, and all three usually happen in one visit.
Extraction tools grip the broken blade or hook its cuts and draw it straight out along the keyway, which is the line it went in on.
The lock or the ignition is then tested with a working key or a new blade, because a lock that was damaged before the key snapped will snap the next key too.
The old blade is almost never safe to reuse, so a new key is cut and programmed, and on a vehicle with no other key the whole key is created from the vehicle.
Four causes cover almost every broken key, and none of them is bad luck.
Most common
Years of use wear the cuts down and thin the metal, and the key finally fails at the thinnest point, which is usually the shoulder.
Very common
Grit and old grease make a lock stiff, the driver applies more force, and the key gives way before the lock does.
Common on older cars
A barrel with worn wafers needs wiggling and forcing to turn, which puts bending load on the blade every single time.
Avoidable
A cheap blank cut on a worn machine is softer and less accurate than the original, and it snaps far sooner.
If your key already needs force, a wiggle or a particular angle to work, it is telling you what is coming. That is the point to order a spare car key or have the barrel looked at, rather than after the blade is in two pieces.
A broken key often ends in one of these jobs.
A snapped key is extracted anywhere inside 25 miles of Wigan.
Every other town inside the radius is on the areas we cover page.
These pages cover why keys fail and what to check first.
Extraction is quoted per job rather than from a fixed price, because the figure depends on where the key snapped, how much blade is showing and whether the lock survived. No VAT is added to the quote.
Yes, in most cases the lock or the ignition is saved and only the key needs replacing. A barrel is usually only replaced when it was already worn or when somebody forced the stub before Paul arrived.
No, that is the one thing worth avoiding. Pulling or turning the stub drives it deeper and can shear the pins, which turns a key job into a lock job.
No, a glued key is weaker than it was and will snap again, usually inside the lock. The two halves are useful to Paul as a pattern, so keep them.
Yes, in nearly every case. The blade that snapped is not safe to use again, so a new key is cut and programmed on the same visit.
The piece is extracted first, then a new key is created from the vehicle, which is a lost key job starting from £135.
No, extraction is done at your vehicle. Nothing is towed and the ignition is only removed when the job genuinely needs it.
That usually points at a worn ignition barrel rather than the key, and it is the warning that comes before a break. A new barrel coded to your keys starts from £120.
Key Snapped in the Lock or Ignition?
Leave the piece where it is and call 07900 885231 with the make, model and year.