Had a bit of a massive weekend (probablty evident by my lack of posting over the last few day) and I now cannot find my key. I am having to use my only spare.
FIAT have told me its £200 to get a replacement but they don't need a key to make a copy from, they order it from FIAT and then just code it to match my key.
Local locksmith have quoted £25-£75 depending on if they can do it in store, but of course its my only key so I am not sending it off.
I am just kicking myself for being so careless. I was a carribean festival yesterday so have a feeling I may have dropped it there. I haven't used my car since Friday until today so I have no idea where I may have lost it.
Any suggestions of cheaper alternatives to get a key?
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Have you looked and really looked
I lost my key the other weekend turned the house upside down looking for it spent over 2 hours looking for it
My Partner found it underneath my Itouch on my computer desk!
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I have looked every where possible. Its a bit of a gamble now, as I am not in a habbit of loosing car keys I do loose things (as oldnavy will testify) I am just a bit skint atm too investing in a new part time business venture and cash flow problems due to buying parts in cash and people paying me in cheques.
So I have no choice but to carry on with one key until I get some spare cash for a replacement or it turns up. I have looked every possible place it could be but my weekend was a bit busy as follows:-
Friday night went to a night club with my main coat, my car keys may have still been in the inside pocket (stupid thing to do).
Saturday didn't use my car as I never drive the day after a bender, but went into town had an eye test, walked round for two hours, picked up new glasses - took my jacket a few times in the opticians so may have lost them then.
Saturday night - went to another club but took my suit jacket.
Sunday - went to the carribian thing at a local park, had my main jacket and carried it round - so may have dropped it then.
Today went to find my car keys from jacket and wasn't there :(.
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its not a nice feeling though, i hope something comes up
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"Had a bit of a massive weekend .... I am having to use my only spare."
How can you be using your only spare key when you've lost it?
:-)
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Well lost my main key then :) I put spare key in the title so people knew I haven;t lost all keys, would be a completly different problem.
Both keys are identical but I took the keyring off one as it used to rattle on the plastic around the ignition lock on rough roads.
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If your local locksmith cannot do it you need to get FIAT to do it then and do it ASAP. If you were to lose this key then a replacement cannot be programmed to the car so easily and it will be more expensive.
If you've managed to lose one key so quickly, sods law says you could lose the spare one too.
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FIAT have said it would cost £200 if I loose this one, but I would need to get the car to them.
I think I have probably dropped it in the park yesterday it makes more sense than anything else. I will contact the club owner and the opticians and maybe the police but there is virtualy no chance its been found at the park.
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I don't want to worry you, but there might be someone combing the streets operating your remote near any FIAT they encounter.....
Can the dealer re-program a replacement (and your existing spare) to mitigate against it?
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"and maybe the police"
Yes, definitely tell the police you've lost your key. In fact there's a hotline - 999.
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I meant somebody may have handed it in, there was lots of police around the park yesterday so one of them may even have had it.
My car dosn't have remote locking so they would have to try the locks on every single FIAT in Manchester and there is a lot of them.
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That's more reassuring.
I assumed remote locking was de rigueur nowadays..
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AFAIK your cheapest option is a decent car locksmith who can cut and then clone the immobiliser chip in the handle.
Bellboy may have a better answer, as he knows more about FIATs than me.
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Timpsons can do it for £75, but still seems like a lot of money for a single key.
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Timpsons can do it for £75, but still seems like a lot of money for
a single key.
If you think of it as 25 pints of lager it won't seem so much:-)
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>> Timpsons can do it for £75, but still seems like a lot of money for a single key.
They may be buying their blanks from FIAT.
Have a look for a specialist car locksmith who doesn't have a franchise and shop rates to pay
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>> Timpsons can do it for £75
Does that include immobiliser (in the fob) programming?
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The big boss of Timpsons makes great play of his 'upside-down management'. This seems to involve allowing his shop staff to offer to do almost anything the customer wants and to negotiate their own price for the job.
Which would be wonderful if re-heeling a shoe or engraving a phone number on a pet tag were not at or slightly beyond the limit of most of the people who work for him. I wouldn't hand them £75 for anything, let alone trust them with the key to my car. £200 for the genuine Fiat article seems like a bargain by comparison.
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...I wouldn't hand them £75 for anything...
Agreed, I reckon Timpsons could easily be beaten on price, and probably service, by an independent locksmith.
You could try negotiating with the dealer on the basis you've not long bought a car from them.
Always assuming you bought the car locally.
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>> Timpsons can do it for £75, but still seems like a lot of money for
>> a single key.
Timpsons would probably think your computer repair charges are extortionate!
Last edited by: L'escargot on Mon 16 Aug 10 at 17:55
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It will be in the last place you look!
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We had one of the car share club cars returned and the hirer didn't leave the key in the car. he insisted he had but I searched everywhere after getting in with my swipe card. After getting the spare sent over from Leeds ,
I took the car and key, of course, to a specialist car key man in Stockport.
He sorted out and programmed a new one pretty quickly and I think it was a lot less than Timpsons, who also quoted me 75 big ones.
Might be an option Rats.
Ted
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why not buy one of those reward keyrings if you are an habitual key loser ?
or if you are a member of maplins the current offer is a free whistle key finder if you spend over 50 sovs
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Try ARC Locksmiths on Mauldeth Road West:
www.arclocksmiths.co.uk/
They've been a good locksmith when we've needed them. Replacement key for a Proton my step-son had was sorted. I can programme some makes of key for sure (e.g. Proton). So FIAT should be easy.
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Thanks for the replies. When I get some spare time I will drive down to Burnage and see if they can do it but I know my local locksmith couldn't do it as my car is two new (they can do upto to around 2001).
Ted where is this place in Stockport? If the Burnage one can't do it then I can go to Stockport as I am already on my way by then. I can then have fun getting lost in the maze that is Heaton Moor - I always get lost there when trying to find Stockport.
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Mon 16 Aug 10 at 21:14
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Got some bad news from the FIAT forum, because the code uses some kind of hash key it seems only very few locksmiths can do it and its generally a FIAT only service at £200 :(.
Its the same price if I have the key or not because they don't make a copy, they simply order a blank key on FIAT based on the VIN then program it to match my car.
If this is correct its £200 if I have the key or not, my AA membership will cover the cost of the car being towed so it seems I may as well risk it :(.
I will still phone round locksmiths though, mine is a apparantly a CODE2 system. Its a two hour labour job hence the high costs even from the dealer :(.
Edit I am a bit confused here though, as I do have a spare key so surely they can just copy the firmware on the transponder chip?
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Mon 16 Aug 10 at 21:27
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are you saying the spare key is a door opener only?
or will car start with key
why not claim on your house insurance for the loss of key
you cant clone the transponder chip its not designed like that on these later fiats
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My car starts fine with my spare key, but if I loose that, I am stranded.
Is house insurance an option I wonder? I will have to look into that :).
There is another issue here too which is something do with the finance company, I had to sign a bit of paper to say I only recieved one key as the dealer has to retain the other one, but the dealer says thats crap and always give the customer both keys.
It seems even if another lock smith can do it they still need the key card from FIAT, and guess what FIAT retains them to please UK insurance companies.
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>> If this is correct its £200 if I have the key or not, my AA
>> membership will cover the cost of the car being towed so it seems I may
>> as well risk it :(.
DO NOT risk it.
get a new key asap, sods law has it that you will loose the spare key when;
1/ your parked on double yellows (just for a second)
2/ you really need to be somewhere 10mins ago.
3/ you've just pulled a foxy lady, who is gagging for it.
4/ you're parked in front of someone else, who needs to go somewhere.
5/ your in a carpark where the AA can't get his van into.
6/ you have just collected a computer from a new client who is (was) willing to give you a BIG contract.
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Until cheques clear can't do anything. I am just avoiding using the car unless I really have to (which is still most times). So is it likely house contents insurance would cover this? I guess it is a big lesson learnt.
The night club I went to on Friday (who I know the management of) is a good bet, so is the bus. I need to contact the bus company to see if it has fallen out there. I will also contact more local police stations.
Jogging my memory it seems more likely my keys were lost on Friday night. I still have that nagging feeling I have put them down some where silly but I think its just my memory playing tricks on me.
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If you book a surgery with your local MP, he might write to the Minister for Lost Keys on your behalf who should have funds made available to rectify this problem. Then we can all stop worrying and you can go back to clubbing.
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Rattie, my daft as a brush but lovely daughter does this regularly and every single time her keys/purse/phone turn up by someone finding them and her tracking them down once she's sobered up.
I know it seems a long shot but phone everywhere you went, it's just possible someone's hanging onto them assuming the one who lost them calls.
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I already have done via Facebook :). I can't phone the club I went on Friday as it only opens on Friday and Saturdays :(.
Its my own fault for being so lazy to go out with my keys even though I knew I wouldn't need them until today.
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Lesson learned I hope, Rattle; if you'd been as careful with that first key as you're being with your spare one, you'd still have it! ;-)
Mrs. H is the Keyfinder General in our household, but she got her comeuppance this morning. After enduring several months of earache, I finally got round to putting the new set of key-hooks up on the wall on Sunday ; herself phoned me at work, couldn't find her keys, and guess where they were? ;-)
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I just need to be better organised full stop. My organisation skills are pitful. Will give it a few days in case it turns up. Reading other sites on google it seems you can buy a semi programmed key then a key engineer can code it from that, but it looks like the price will still be well over £100.
It seems its 100% certain Timpsons et al cannot do it.
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Rattle, you have my sympathy but no understanding at all about why / how you may be a bit short of cash.
“ I am just a bit skint atm……….Friday night went to a night club…..…picked up new glasses…….. Saturday night - went to another club….”
I suspect we inhabit parallel universes.
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I spent £11.50 on Friday night. I had a bus pass so free transport. £1.50 in, £2.50 per drink. OK I had three cans before I went out but I already had them in.
Saturday was more expensive but glasses were cheap (free eye test deal and two pairs for £85), Saturday night was expensive but still had change out of £40, Sunday was free as I didn't spend a penny.
Now I am skint because I buy parts for customer which may total £80 this is cash, then a customer pays me check, car loan comes out, mobile bills come out it means there is a cash flow problem.
So I am short of cash because I picked up glasses etc :).
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...and this from the man who wanted to buy a field to build on last week... :-)
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As I stated in that thread I would need a higher income for that to work but it was something to aim for :).I did not say I wanted to buy a field tomorrow.
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>> ...and this from the man who wanted to buy a field to build on last
>> week... :-)
>>
It was a cheap field with no planning permission though. I would say that Rattle needs to be more careful with car keys. A car key on it's own is easily lost.
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Learnt my lesson, I suppose in my head I always thought they were around £50 to replace a lot of money but not the end of the world. £200 will hurt. Just asked for a quote from a company in Leigh who claim on their website they can do modern FIATs and are mobile but not expecting them to be any cheaper than the dealer.
There is still a small chance it might turn up at one of the cop shops or the club I was in on Friday.
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Do call ARC locksmiths on Mauldeth Road. I am sure if they cannot help they might know someone who can. It's the Ladybarn area if you were curious. So if you were driving to Microdirect from Chorlton you probably pass it frequently.
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Yep I know where it is :) I was at that Microdirect the last time I had used my car funnily enough. Will certainly give them a ring as its always best to get recomendations. Will also get the details of Ted for the place in Stockport.
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Why not set aside an hour today to make a list of everywhere you could have lost them over the weekend, then methodically contact each one ( and the Police Station) in that area.
No point in looking at the worst case scenario until you have explored, and ruled out, all the easy options.
Let's look at this objectively, those key's are not lost, they just don't know where you are at the moment!
Pat
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Totally unrelated to your key but vaguely related to your cash flow problems... instead of paying for parts in cash, why not set up an account with Scan, for example? You still get the parts straight away but have 30 days to pay when the invoice comes in at the end of the month.
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Sorry to hear about the key, Rattle... I can't add more to whats already been said... but for future why not put up a hook somewhere that you can hang your car keys on and have a seperate house key that you use for going out 'without' the car? That way if you can get into the habit of using it you will not leave your car keys in a coat! Personally I never put my car keys in a coat pocket, they always go in my trouser pocket... coats can be left behind, trousers are a little more difficult to lose!!
Last edited by: hobby on Tue 17 Aug 10 at 10:11
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>>Personally I never put
>> my car keys in a coat pocket, they always go in my trouser pocket... coats
>> can be left behind, trousers are a little more difficult to lose!!
>>
Or get a "man bag" - very fetching :-)
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Very useful - blushes.
But I kept leaving mine behind in pubs with keys and everything else in it.
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Buying parts on credit is a very bad idea indeed for Rattle. He will still have cash flow problems, but they will relate to being able to pay his suppliers' invoices.
I am unable to comprehend somebody who lives life so close to the edge financially that an £80 bill is a problem. What if you need somthing you cannot cope without, like your glasses???? Rattle is 30. He should have savings. He lives AT HOME, yet hasn't a penny to his name. Pathetic.
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>> I am unable to comprehend somebody who lives life so close to the edge financially
>> that an £80 bill is a problem.
It may come a shock to you to learn that an unexpected £80 bill can be a real problem for many thousands of people in this country.
Granted, not many will have rushed out and bought a brand-new car....
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or know the pattern on the barmaids apron
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Until now the Panda is been cheaper to run than my ten year Corsa when you include all costs :). I've also not lost a single days work due to motoring issues :).
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Harsh words mapmaker, specially so when you're not in full possesion of all of the facts of anyone's finances.
Some of us have been there, but some obviously haven't.
Pat
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80 quid is over a weeks old age pension.
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>> Harsh words mapmaker, specially so when you're not in full possesion of all of the
>> facts of anyone's finances.
Aha, pda, normally I would agree; however we get the full dirty detail of Rattle's finances. He (tells us that he) has a thriving computer repair business. He lives at home, he never drinks during the week, etc. etc. YET he doesn't have £200 to repair his car - which is a crucial business tool.
£200 hurts almost anybody, but it shouldn't be impossible for somebody in Rattle's situation.
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>>
>> I am unable to comprehend somebody who lives life so close to the edge financially
>> that an £80 bill is a problem. What if you need somthing you cannot cope
>> without, like your glasses???? Rattle is 30. He should have savings. He lives AT HOME,
>> yet hasn't a penny to his name. Pathetic.
>>
Spent some on wine, women & gambling - he must have squandered the rest!
Lots of 30 year old people, single or married, would love to be skint................they are in negative territory with loans, HP, Gas & Electricity Credit card debt................
So maybe being skint is not that bad - the average retiree @ 65 only has less than £10K in cash when they stop qork ........the OP has nearly 40 yrs to go
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>> Lots of 30 year old people, single or married, would love to be skint................they are
>> in negative territory with loans, HP, Gas & Electricity Credit card debt................
When I lived with the folks, I had little money
When I bought my own house, I had no money
£80 is the phone bill, gas bill, council tax for the month - it seemed the more I earn the more bills I had to pay
£80 to me is the must that I have to pay my council tax, and a saturday night in with a DVD instead of "going out with the lads"
Its also a new tyre, a tank of petrol, a weeks housekeeping for my partner the days of going out and spending £80 a night out, are well and truely gone
I suspect but dont want to assume that Rattles sitauation although living at home is no different and the cost of a new key is a unfortunate but nessacry expense that will leave a gap in the months financials
Last edited by: Redviper on Tue 17 Aug 10 at 12:56
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Rattle is either a wind up merchant who cleverly includes some sort of bait in most of his posts, or he is a genuine person desperately in need of a variety of professional advice for both his financial, physical and mental health. The professions he may need to consult include accountants and doctors, but he the one he most probably needs to see urgently is a shrink. :-)
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£80 is annoying, but now some of the cheques cleared and I am mad busy I £80 will hurt, I will be angry and annoyed but it won't kill me. However its not £80 its £200 and that will hurt most people.
Due to my parents situation any spare money ends up helping them but its still cheaper than moving out and I live in a great location. I am also not 30, I am 27 (but won't be for long).
If I never drove or didn't go at weekends I would be quite rich but I would spend all day being depressed and moaning about buses that don't turn up.
With regard to house insurance we can't find the policy any where, are car keys generally includes or excluded? We haven't had to put in a claim since 1993.
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I suppose what a lot of us can't get our head round is buying a new car costing 000's and then being unable to pay a £200 bill...
Ever heard of budgeting, Rattle? Stick some money to one side every week/month to cover normal bills like servicing/consumables and also include extra for the unexpected... Used to be all the rage when I started in a bank... now its done by credit card with astronomical costs... the Old ways were by far the better, methinks!
Oh, and stay in and save the money if you haven't got it... your weekend out would have paid for the spare key if it only cost £75 as you said earlier!
Last edited by: hobby on Tue 17 Aug 10 at 14:17
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i think with all the money in the world you would still balk at 200 sovs for a key
i shop at netto because im penny wise and pound sensible
why pay 89 pence for a bag of sugar because you get a posh carrier when a different retailer gives you the same product for 59 pence
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One of the big advantage of a new car was no unexpected costs like this, it was supposed to be allow me to budget better. As for going out I do restrict myself a lot, keep being asked out tonight but I am staying in.
It is very hard to budget when my monthly income varies by over 100%. It really is boom and bust.
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its boom and bust here too
the bust is on the wall though and shes gorgeousk.................................
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>> One of the big advantage of a new car was no unexpected costs like this,
>> it was supposed to be allow me to budget better.
Whats an unexpected cost?
Do you have enough saved to pay the excess if you have an accident, Rattle? Probably about the same amount or more... How about if you were unlucky enough to have a puncture or two which ruined the tyres? Having a new car doesn't get rid of the unexpected, just reduces the bill to a few hundred rather than a few thousand, as I suppose you've now found out...
Last edited by: hobby on Tue 17 Aug 10 at 14:32
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Can we also remember this
>>> Due to my parents situation any spare money ends up helping them<<<
There's a lot who don't care tuppence for doing anything like that.
Pat
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Thats fair enough, Pat, but the this is about running a car, not his good deeds to others... Many people (like Rattle) assume that just because its a brand new car it won't have any extra costs over serivicing and the odd tyre... Sadly thats not the case...
Several of us have given sensible advice about budgeting properly, thats not critisism, just good advice... "Cutting the cloth", etc...
I suspect this is all part of the learning process for him... just wait until he becomes a home owner... then he'll get to know all about "unexpected" costs!! ;-)
Last edited by: hobby on Tue 17 Aug 10 at 14:50
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Maybe we're being a tad harsh. We were all young-ish once. Reading all the posts after mine has reminded me of the days when I was similarly short of dosh in my early twenties. I didn't have a coat for when it was cold and I rationalised that by buying a car I would save money on not buying a coat.
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Phoned round so many places this afternoon but no luck. My car insurance company will cover me if I loose my spare though, no excess they just pay 50% of the total cost. It dosn't count as a claim either they said.
Will give it another week to see if it turns up, the club I went to on Friday said they will have a good look for it on Friday when they open.
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You do realise that the cost to replace all the keys will be a lot more expensive than £200 though. And they will consider this when you renew your policy. Why not see if a local locksmith can help. If you find the key you then have two spares.
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Rattle, please never leave this forum.
I don't know if you are genuine or not - I suspect that you are genuine. However I do enjoy your posts very much indeed.
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Will pop down to the locksmiths today :).
The £200 was the same if I had any keys or not. The dealer just order a key which is the same profile as my car from FIAT, the car then needs to be programmed to match the key. I assume it is also quite easy to disable any keys such as those which are lost.
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We once mislaid the key to my wife's Seicento. Having one key, FIAT would have programmed the new key to the car using the key we still had. It was around £100 approx. We found the key though.
If we didn't have any keys then the car would have had to be programmed to new keys which would have been more.
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Lost my spare key - Redviper
