What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks
Should I avoid buying a used car that only comes with one key?
My sons have seen a number of decent FSH used cars (keyless entry and start) at reputable dealers (but not franchised) but have been put off when they find these only have one key. My take on this is that on buying, they'd have to get a franchised dealer to completely reset the system and assign two new keys to be completely secure and insurable, which I believe would be at a cost of maybe £500+ ? Am I being unreasonable and should we just give these 1 key vehicles a wide berth?
Asked on 29 April 2024 by Roarke
Answered by
David Ross
Although the ideal scenario when buying a used car is to have two factory keys, just having one key should not necessarily mean you should rule a car out. Depending on the exact model of vehicle, automotive locksmiths can provide and code duplicate keys, and in some cases deactivate any other keys, so you can be sure that the keys in your possession are the only ones that can be used with the vehicle. An automotive locksmith will also likely be able to provide this service more cheaply than a main dealer.
Similar questions
I have bought a 2015 Mercedes but have only been given one key. Is this legal?
My 3 year old 14,000 miles Volkswagen Golf (which I love) is eating through key batteries and the keys were replaced last June under warranty. It’s still happening and the batteries were replaced 3 weeks...
The remote functions on one of my keys for a 2005 Nissan X-Trail does not work. I have replaced the battery. It may be the circuit board is faulty or that it has lost its programming. How do I try to reprogram...
.jpg)
