Spare Car Keys Worthing With a Second Key Copied and Coded at Your Car

A spare car key is made while one key still works. The working key is copied, the new blade is cut to match, and the new chip is programmed so the car accepts both. It is the cheapest and quickest key job there is, because nothing has to be worked out from scratch.

With one key left, the car can be copied. With none, the key has to be cut to code and the car read, which is the lost car keys job and costs roughly twice as much.

People search for a spare key, a duplicate car key or a key copy. They are the same job, and on any car built since the mid 1990s the copy has to be programmed as well as cut.

The best time is before anything goes wrong. Four moments come up again and again.

Many used cars are sold with a single key. Nobody knows where the other one went, so the safest move is a new spare and, if the car allows it, the missing key removed from its memory at the same visit.

A key that works only some of the time, a remote with a short range or a blade that sticks is a warning. Copying it now, while it still works, avoids an all keys lost job later.

Sharing one key between two drivers is how keys get lost. A second key costs far less than a first key made after the last one goes.

A key lost far from home is the most expensive kind of lost key. A spare left safely at home can be sent or collected.

The key you have now decides what the spare involves. The registration is enough to confirm it on the call.

There are two ways to make a spare, and the difference matters if a key is ever lost. It is a question almost no one asks, so it is worth knowing before you book.

The chip data from your working key is copied into the new key. The car does not know there are two keys, because it sees the same answer from both. Cloning is quick and suits many older cars.

The new key is registered in the car memory as a key of its own, which is car key programming. Most newer cars only allow this method.

A key that was added can be removed from the car on its own if it is lost, which is a key deletion and immobiliser reset. A cloned key cannot, because the car cannot tell it from the original, so both would have to be reset. Where a car allows both, you are told which method is used.

A spare is priced by the key type, and it is the cheapest time to buy a key. These are typical UK figures for the whole job.

Auto locksmiths typically charge 40 to 100 percent less than dealerships for the same key. The price for your car is agreed in writing on the call.

Sometimes the spare you need is only the remote. A second fob can be supplied and paired to the car, which is a replacement key fob, supplied and programmed.

If the key still works but the case has split or the blade will not stay open, the electronics move into a new shell, which is a key fob repair and costs far less than a spare.

Worn buttons or a failed remote circuit are repaired rather than replaced, which is a remote car key repair.

Four things, and the job goes smoothly.

• Your working key, the one the spare is copied from.
• The V5C logbook in your name.
• Photo ID with the same name and address.
• The car, because the spare is programmed to it.

The registered keeper is the finance company or the business, so bring a letter of authority from them with your photo ID.

The VIN is on the V5C, at the bottom of the windscreen on the passenger side and on a plate inside the door frame. It confirms the key for your car.

Both can make a spare. The difference is where it happens and how long you wait.

A spare only helps if it is safe and easy to find. Three habits make the difference.

A spare hidden in the car is found by anyone who gets inside, and an insurer may refuse to pay if the car is taken with its own key.

Keys near the door are the easiest to take, and keyless keys near the door can be read through it. Keep them further inside the house.

A keyless key answers any signal that asks for it, which is how relay theft works. A pouch stops that when the spare is not in use.

Keyless and electric cars are programmed through the same diagnostic port, but the key has to be paired to the keyless system as well as the immobiliser. Newer models often need an online login to the maker before a key can be added, which is confirmed from the registration before a van is sent. A few of the newest cars can only take a new key from the dealer, and you are told if yours is one of them.

Vans follow the same process, and spares for the Transit, Sprinter and Vivaro are covered under van key replacement.

Spares are made for most cars and vans on UK roads. The make decides whether the key is cloned or added to the car.

Every spare follows the same four steps, whether it is a plain key or a keyless one.

Spare keys are made at the car across 15 towns and districts in BN11 to BN17, BN43, BN44, BN5 and RH20. Arrival times for each town are listed under areas we cover, and the whole job with or without a key is explained under car key replacement.

The questions asked most before booking a spare, from the price to cloning and where to keep it.

Have your working key and the registration ready. The key type is confirmed and the price agreed in writing before a van leaves.