Spare car keys in Leeds

The cheapest job we do

A spare key is planned work. The car is already open, you already have a working key, and there is nothing urgent about it, so it is the least expensive way to get a second key.

Compare that with the alternative. When the only key is lost, we have to open the car, read the key code, produce a key from nothing and get the immobiliser to accept it, quite often at two in the morning on a Sunday. The same vehicle, a very different bill. That is the entire argument for doing this today rather than after something goes wrong.

Who needs one most

• Anyone who bought used and only got one key with the car, which is extremely common
• Families sharing a car, where the key goes out with whoever left first
• Trades and van drivers, because a lost van key stops the working day and the job you were booked on
• People with kids, since a key that goes in a pushchair basket or a toy box is a key you may never see again
• Dog walkers and swimmers, where the key spends its life in a locker or a coat on a hook
• Anyone whose only key is looking tired, because a spare also takes the daily wear off the original

How the visit works

1. Tell us the make, model and year and we confirm the key type and the price on the phone.
2. We come to you. Home, workplace, wherever the car is parked.
3. We cut the blade from the vehicle's key code, not by copying your worn original.
4. We program it to the car and pair the remote buttons.
5. We test both keys. Yours and the new one, so you leave with two you can rely on.

Usually under an hour, and you carry on with your day while we work.

Why a supermarket copy is not a spare

The kiosk in the shopping centre can cut a blade that opens your door. What it usually cannot do is program the transponder chip, which is the part that lets the engine run. People find this out at the worst possible moment, standing next to a car that unlocks perfectly and will not start.

A proper spare is cut and coded, with the remote paired. That is what we produce, and we test it in the car before we go. See car key cutting for how the cutting side works, and car key programming for the coding side.

Where to keep the spare

Not on the same ring as the original, which defeats the point entirely. Not in the glovebox, for the same reason. Not in a magnetic box under the arch or behind the bumper, which is the first place anyone looking to take the car will check.

Somewhere in the house away from the front door is the sensible answer, or with someone you trust nearby. If you keep it in a drawer for years, start it up occasionally so you find out about a flat fob battery at a convenient moment rather than an inconvenient one.

We come to you across Leeds

Driveways in Alwoodley and Roundhay, work car parks in Morley, station drop offs at Garforth. Anywhere in Leeds and the wider West Yorkshire area, and we will work around what time suits you rather than the other way round.

If you run several vehicles, tell us. Spares for a small fleet in one visit works out far cheaper per key.

Two keys is also a security upgrade

There is a side benefit that people miss. When you have two keys, you notice quickly if one goes missing, which gives you the option of having the missing one deleted from the car's system before anyone can use it.

With a single key you have no such option, because deleting it would leave you with no way to start your own car. Having a spare is what makes that choice available to you.

Questions about spare car keys