Spare Car Key in Mamaroneck: Get One Before You Need It

Get a spare car key made while you still have one that works. Copying a key and adding it to the car is a short, ordinary job. Making a key after the last one is gone means cutting it from nothing, programming it with no working key to start from, and sometimes finding out the car can only be done at the dealer, which can mean a tow. For an older car with a plain metal key, a spare is a quick copy. For a transponder key or a push-button smart key, the spare has to be cut and programmed to the car. Keep it somewhere safe at home, never in or on the car.

Why the last key is the expensive one

With one working key in hand, everything is easier.

• The blade can be copied from the key you have, rather than cut by code from the VIN or worked out from the locks.
• Programming has a starting point. On some cars, a new key can be added using the existing one and an onboard procedure. On many more, a diagnostic tool adds the new key while the old one is present.
• There is no rush. You choose the day. Nobody is standing in a station lot at night.

With no key at all, the car has to be opened first, the blade cut by code, and the new key programmed from scratch. On some newer cars and certain makes, an all-keys-lost job can only be done through the manufacturer. That is the version that takes longest and costs most, for a dealer and a locksmith alike.

If you are down to one key, the spare is worth doing now rather than after a bad week.

What a spare involves, by key type

Our guide to replacing a car key fob or transponder key explains each key type in detail. In short, for a spare:

• Plain metal key. A copy, cut from the key you have. Done.
• Transponder key. A blank with the right chip, cut to match, then programmed so the car recognises the chip. A hardware-store copy without the chip will open the doors and turn the ignition, but the car will not start.
• Remote head or flip key. The blade and chip are programmed as above. The lock and unlock buttons are often a second step.
• Smart key (push-button start). A new fob programmed to the car, plus the emergency blade inside it cut to match the door lock.

Bring every key you have when the spare is added. On many cars, programming re-registers every key the car will accept, and a key that is not there at the time can stop working.

Call with the make, model and year first and ask whether the car is one that can be done at your door or one for the dealer. That one question saves a wasted trip either way.

A cheap door-only copy

A plain metal copy of the blade, with no chip, cannot start a transponder car. It can still open the driver's door on cars that have a key cylinder there. Some people keep one in a wallet for exactly the day the real key ends up on the seat. It is not a spare in the full sense, but it can save a lockout.

Where never to keep a spare

The spare is only useful if it is there when you need it and nobody else finds it first.

• Not in the car. A spare in the glovebox or the door pocket is locked in with the keys. If the car is stolen, the thief has both.
• Not in a magnetic box under the wheel arch. Thieves know where to look, and the boxes fall off on potholes. A working spare in a magnetic box is a key anyone can use to drive away.
• Not on the same ring as the main key. It sounds obvious. It happens.
• Not under the doormat or in the flowerpot. If the house key is hidden with it, that is two problems.

Where to keep it

• At home, in one known place. A drawer, the same one every time, that everyone who drives the car knows about.
• Away from the front door, for smart keys. Thieves can relay the signal from a fob sitting near the front door to open and start some cars parked outside. Keep fobs further inside the house, or in a pouch that blocks the signal.
• With a second driver. If two people drive the car, each should carry their own key.
• Test it twice a year. A spare fob that sits in a drawer still has a battery, and it runs down. Try the spare, and replace the coin cell if the range has shrunk.

Spare keys in Mamaroneck

Mamaroneck cars live everywhere: driveways in Orienta near the harbour, street spots off Mamaroneck Avenue downtown, and the lot at Harbor Island Park on a summer weekend. Keys get lost in all the usual ways, and one more that comes with the water. A fob dropped off a dock, dunked in the harbour or left in a pocket through the wash often does not survive. Low parts of the village flood in heavy storms too, and a car that has sat in flood water can have more than its fob to worry about.

A spare at home turns any of that from a long day into a short one.

Mamaroneck borders Larchmont, and two of our three technicians live in Larchmont, so Orienta or Mamaroneck Avenue is barely a drive at all. If you want a Mamaroneck locksmith to make a spare before you need one, call with the car details.

A spare is part of our car key replacement service. It starts at $125, and the key type, the car and the programming decide the rest, so ask for the total before the work starts.

A spare also helps when the key you have breaks rather than goes missing. Here is what to do if a key breaks in the ignition, which ends in exactly the same advice.

Frequently asked questions

Is it cheaper to make a spare car key than to replace a lost one?

Generally, yes. Copying a working key and adding it to the car is simpler than making a key from nothing, for a dealer and a locksmith alike. Some cars can only be done at the dealer once every key is lost, which can mean a tow.

Can a hardware store copy my car key?

It can copy the metal blade. If the key has a transponder chip, the copy will open the doors but will not start the car until a key with a programmed chip is used. A full spare needs the chip programmed to the car.

Where should I keep my spare car key?

At home, in one place that every driver of the car knows, away from the front door if it is a smart key. Never in the car, under the car in a magnetic box, or on the same ring as the main key.

Do I need to bring my existing keys when a spare is made?

Yes, bring every key and fob you have. On many cars, programming a new key re-registers the full set, and a key that is not there can stop working.

Down to your last car key? Call (914) 255-6611 with the make, model and year and get the spare made now.