Dealer or locksmith for a car key: the real difference
Both can produce a key that opens the doors and starts the engine. What differs is where the work happens and what has to happen first. When you are weighing a dealer or locksmith for a car key, one question sorts it out: can the car be driven right now?
If it can, either choice works, and the rest is about your schedule. If no key works, a dealer's building becomes the obstacle, because the car has to get there somehow. A mobile locksmith turns that around by bringing the cutting machine, the key blanks and the programming equipment to the vehicle.
When a mobile locksmith is the better fit
- No working key is left. With nothing to start the car, the other path is usually a tow. We make the new key at the vehicle, in a driveway, a work lot or on the shoulder. Our page on making a key when every one is lost walks through that job.
- You want a spare while one still works. Copying a working key is a smaller job than starting from nothing, and it happens wherever the car is parked.
- The remote quit or the fob broke. A replacement fob programmed at your car pairs with the same receiver and immobilizer a dealer's fob would.
- It is late, a weekend or a holiday. We answer 24/7, whatever hours the dealer's service department keeps.
- A tow is part of the dealer plan. Paying for a tow and then the dealer often adds up to more than a mobile locksmith visit. We quote our price on the phone before the service vehicle sets out, so you can weigh the two.
When the dealer is the better call
Saying so is part of doing this honestly. These are the cases where we send people to the dealer:
- Dealer-only security access. Some late-model vehicles keep key programming behind access only the dealer holds. When your car falls in that group, we say it on the phone, before anyone drives out.
- Some late-model European vehicles. Newer models from makes such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volkswagen may need dealer-only access. Call with the exact year and model and we check before anything is scheduled.
- The trouble is not the key. If a working key and a known-good spare both fail, the fault may sit in the car's own wiring or computer. That belongs with the dealer or a mechanic, and we will tell you so rather than sell a key that will not fix it.
How each visit usually goes
At a dealer, a new key often begins at the parts counter. The key or fob may need to be ordered, and the car itself may have to be in the service area to be programmed. With no working key, that means arranging a tow first.
With us, the call covers the car's year, make and model, where it sits and what went wrong, and the price is settled before anyone heads your way. At the car, we look at your photo ID along with the vehicle's registration or title, cut the blade, program the chip and the remote, and try every key, button and lock before leaving. Should the car need more than planned, a worn ignition for example, you hear the revised price and decide before we go on.
What to check before you choose
- Look for a spare. If one still works, a copy made from it is the lighter job, and the car can still be driven.
- Notice how the car starts. A key you turn, a fobik that slides into a dash slot and a push button each call for a different key. Our guide to telling car key types apart helps you name yours.
- Gather the paperwork. Whoever makes the key will want proof the car is yours; the full list is in what you need to get a new car key.
- Ask about the missing keys. On many vehicles, keys that were lost or stolen can be removed from the car's memory, so ask for that along with the new key.
- Mention any fob you bought online. Many cannot be programmed, so we check whether yours can work with the car before promising anything.
Car keys only, across Nampa and the valley
Vehicles are the only thing we work on, with no house or business locks. We come to where the car is parked in Nampa or anywhere in Canyon and Ada counties, from Caldwell and Kuna to Boise. Call (208) 480-6980 at any hour with the year, make and model, and if yours turns out to be a dealer-only case, that is the first thing you will hear.