Open 6:00 AM to 8:30 PM · No VAT added to any job
A spare car key starts from £80 with no VAT, cut and programmed from your working key while you wait, wherever the vehicle is parked.
A spare is the cheapest key you will ever buy, because the same key bought after the last one is lost starts from £135 and begins with opening the vehicle.
Ask about a spare key
The price of a spare key is set by the key your vehicle uses. The price of leaving it is set by what happens when the only key goes missing.
| When you order it | What it costs | What the job involves |
|---|---|---|
| While you still have a working key | From £80 | The key is copied and programmed at your vehicle, with nothing to open and nothing to decode |
| After the only key is lost | From £135 | The vehicle is opened first, the key is created from the vehicle and the lost key is deleted |
| From a main dealer | Commonly £250 to more than £400 | The key is ordered, VAT is added and the vehicle usually has to reach the dealership |
| Keyless or smart spare | Quoted on the make | The key itself costs more to supply, and some makes need the module read on the bench |
The gap between a spare now and a replacement later is the reason this is the job Paul is asked for most often by drivers who have already been through a lost car key replacement.
A spare key is the simplest job an auto locksmith does, and it runs in three short stages at the vehicle.
The working key is read and the new blade is cut to match it, either by tracing the existing blade or by cutting to the key code held against the vehicle.
The new key is added to the immobiliser through the diagnostic socket, so the vehicle recognises it and the engine starts on it.
The new key and the original are tested on the doors, the boot and the ignition, so you leave with two keys that work rather than one that is assumed to.
Five situations come up again and again on the phone, and in each one the spare pays for itself the first time it is used.
Most common
Private sales and older trade cars often come with a single key, and the second one was lost years before you owned it.
Very common
A household where two people share a vehicle ends up passing one key back and forth, which is how keys get left in coats and bags.
High risk
A vehicle that earns money cannot sit still waiting for a key, and a spare is the difference between a lost hour and a lost day.
Worth acting on
A worn blade, a cracked case or a remote that works only at close range all point at a key nearing the end of its life.
Most expensive to replace
Smart keys cost the most to supply, so the saving from ordering one while a working key exists is the largest of any key type.
A spare is also the one job that can be added to another visit. If Paul is already at the vehicle for a lockout or an ignition, the spare is cut and programmed in the same appointment.
Three key types cover almost every vehicle on the road, and the type decides both the price and the work involved.
Give the make, the model and the year on the phone and the key type is identified before the visit, so the right blank comes out of the van.
A spare kept on the same ring as the original is not a spare, because both are lost together. The point of the second key is that it is somewhere else.
Keyless keys are worth keeping in a signal blocking pouch at home, because a relay attack works by picking up the signal from a key sitting near a wall or a window.
These jobs sit either side of a spare key.
Spare keys are cut and programmed anywhere inside 25 miles of Wigan.
Every other town inside the radius is on the areas we cover page.
Two pages go further into the detail behind a spare key.
A spare car key with Locked Out starts from £80 with no VAT. The figure depends on the key type, the make, the model and the year, and a keyless smart key is quoted on the make.
Most spare keys are cut, programmed and tested inside one visit, and the work happens while you wait at the vehicle rather than being taken away.
No, adding a spare leaves the original key exactly as it was. Keys are only deleted from the vehicle when one has been lost or stolen and you ask for it to be removed.
Yes, but that is a different job. With no working key the blade has to be created from the vehicle and the price starts from £135 rather than £80.
Yes, keyless and smart keys are supplied and programmed. They cost more than a blade key, which is why ordering one while a working key exists saves the most.
Yes, the work happens where the vehicle is parked. The key cutting machine, the blanks and the programmers all travel in the van.
No, the keys used are to the same specification the vehicle expects. The difference is the price, the wait and the fact that a dealer usually needs the vehicle brought in.
Yes, a spare is often added during a lockout or an ignition job, which saves a second visit and a second call out.
Only One Car Key Left?
A spare starts from £80 today. The same key after it is lost starts from £135.