What to do if your lose your key

If you have ever lost a car key you will relate to the enormous amount of stress that simple loss causes.

In the old days replacing a lost car key used to be simple. You would take the spare to your local key cutter and for about R250 you could have a copy made. These days, however, it’s a different story. Not only does the modern car key start your car, but it can also unlock the doors remotely and provides extra security thanks to transponder technology. All of this is great news until you lose or damage your keys and discover you are up for hefty replacement costs.

“Many car owners have no idea how much their keys are worth until they lose one,” said Dewald Ranft, national chairperson of the Motor Industry Workshop Association, a proud association of the Retail Motor Industry Organisation. Most people are shocked when they discover a replacement key could cost thousands of rands and, if you don’t have a spare, keep you grounded for a day or two.

Ranft said the cost of a single replacement key ranges from R2 000 to R4 500, and the price for keys for an exotic car can even be higher. A new key needs to be ordered, cut and coded, which could mean up to a full day or more off the road.

“A high price for losing something you have to carry with you on most days,” he said.

While the cost of a single replacement key is high, if you lose all the keys to your car, the cost and time off the road will increase significantly, particularly if the car’s computer has to be reset or completely replaced to match the new replacement keys.

“One could easily be quoted anything from R10 000 to more than R20 000 for work done on various models of cars,” he said.

Independent industry experts are of the opinion that increasingly complicated technology used in car accessories, including keys, maybe a sales growth area for businesses selling vehicles, but it can be a high-tech headache for car owners.

Accredited independent aftermarket workshops offer a legitimate alternative service to cut and recode modern car keys for most car models at a very competitive cost. 

“An added bonus,” said Ranft, “is they can, in most cases, assist vehicle owners immediately, which means you avoid the hassle of downtime or being without a vehicle for more than a day. Many people are simply unaware there’s an alternative should you find yourself keyless.”