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HJ has always warned us of the huge cost of replacing a lost red key. A friend in the trade reckons he can get a local lock specialist to produce one for about £25. Is he likely to be right, or will it not do the business?
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Sorry to be cynical. If it is only £25 and it would appear that he might make a mint compared with Fiat prices, why hasn't he just gone ahead and tried it with so little to lose?
David
PS: I should say I have no personal experience of red keys so I don't know if a faulty one can cause damage.
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I think they have master codes in for the immobiliser so there is no way he could reproduce them for £25. If lost the car has to have the immobiliser recoded at great expense. Thankfully FIAT has now stopped this practice.
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Stopped people stealing FIATs, though, if the badge didn't.
HJ
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You wont be able to clone a master key only a normal red key.This is fine if you want more spares as back up.There are some Alfa Specialists who also provide this service.
I think the £ 1200 is a bit over the top, more like £ 600 from a dealer.You could even buy a Code Unit/ECU from a breakers and swap the master key chips over to your existing key (saves changing the locks) then have more legitate spares made from that for even less.
Funny thing is Auctions often sell newer Fiat/Alfa's with "no red key" even though new models dont require them. Must put off private punters.
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Sorry, dont know where i got £ 1200 from .... its been a long day...
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