How to Make a Duplicate of Your Car Keys (2023)

When your car key is broken, damaged, lost, or stolen by a thief, you usually need a spare key. Most modern automobiles can be opened using a remote control key. This usually includes a mechanical key. Until about 1995, only mechanical keys were made.

Depending on what kind of car key you have, there are different regulations as to how and where you can have the car key copied and what the costs are.

However, it is always important that you can present an original key in order to have the car key duplicated, for example, in a specialist workshop or by a locksmith. Otherwise, you can also order a new car key from your authorized dealer or the manufacturer. You have to do this, especially if you have lost both car keys or do not have a spare key for another reason.

Note: If you have lost your car key or it has been stolen, you must first secure your car. You should definitely do that because this is the only way to protect yourself from theft. You should then immediately inform the police and your insurance company of the loss so that your insurance coverage remains in place. Only when this is done should you worry about having the car key duplicated.

Where can I have my car key duplicated?

The question of where you can have your car key copied depends on whether you have a modern remote control key or a mechanical car key.

Mechanical Car Key: Locksmith

A mechanical car key (without electronics) can be imitated by a normal locksmith. Locksmiths can often be found, for example, in a shopping center or in a larger supermarket.

It is then important that you have an original key with you as a template. Then the imitation usually takes less than an hour. With modern car keys, it is not possible to have them made by the locksmith, because they usually contain a chip for the electronic immobilizer and are able to open and close the car via radio.

You have to have a modern car key duplicated at your authorized dealer or in a specialist workshop.

Radio Key: Authorized Dealer or Specialist Workshop

Drivers of modern vehicles (from 1995) usually have a radio key that has modern technology. The car can thus be opened by remote control and usually also contains an electronic immobilizer. Some of the additional high-tech functions are included, such as central locking or memory with various data such as error codes or mileage.

You can only have a modern remote control key copied at a specialist workshop or your authorized dealer. Because all radio keys are individual and differ from each other.
A modern car key must therefore always be coded and taught (programmed) anew when it is copied. Imitation is therefore much more complex and usually takes a few days.

You can also apply for the new car key directly from the manufacturer. Your authorized dealer can also order a new key from the manufacturer. This is necessary, for example, if the car key cannot simply be duplicated due to the high technical requirements. It is also important if, for example, you lost both car keys at the same time and therefore cannot have the keys duplicated.

Duplicate Car Keys: Costs and Insurance

Here you can find out what costs can arise when copying the car key and which insurance company pays when.

What are the costs?

The cost of having a car key duplicated varies from place to place and from manufacturer to manufacturer. The car model can also play a role in the price of the copy. In general, it is usually cheaper to have the car key made by a locksmith than to use the services of the vehicle manufacturer, dealer, or specialist workshop.

Have a mechanical car key copied

Having a mechanical car key copied usually requires little effort. The costs are therefore usually low: copying at the locksmith usually costs between 10 and 20 dollars.

Some mechanical car keys can also contain a chip for the electronic immobilizer. Imitating them is a bit expensive: you should expect costs of around 50 dollars in this case.

Have the radio key duplicated

If you want to have a modern car key that works via radio copy, you have to reckon with relatively high costs. Because the vehicle electronics are different for each radio key and must always be reprogrammed when copying.

The cost of duplicating the car key can vary depending on the manufacturer (e.g. BMW, Mercedes, Toyota) and model. The question of where you have the car key copied (from an authorized dealer, a specialist workshop, or from the manufacturer) can also affect the price.

It is usually cheaper to have the car key duplicated at a specialist workshop than, for example, to apply for a new key from the manufacturer. But it also depends on the manufacturer: A replacement Audi key usually costs around 160 dollars, while for BMW you usually pay around 300 dollars, as a cost comparison by the online specialist magazine auto-motor-und-sport.de shows.

Important: The remaining keys (spare keys) often have to be re-encoded and reprogrammed. This is especially the case if your car key has been stolen or you have lost your car key. This incurs additional costs, usually between 30 and 50 dollars.

Cost Overview

In the following list, you will find an overview of the possible costs that can arise when copying the car key:

1. Copy a mechanical key without a chip: around 10 to 20 dollars
2. Copy a mechanical key with a chip: about 40 to 50 dollars
3. New chip: around 25 dollars
4. Have a radio key copied: around 130 to 160 dollars
5. Training the new radio key: around 30 to 50 dollars
6. Teaching with the spare key: an additional 30 to 50 dollars

Special Case: Fix broken car keys

If your car key only broke off at the tip or is otherwise damaged, you can also try to have it repaired.

If you have a mechanical car key, you can have it copied without much effort. This is usually easier and cheaper than repairing the car key. The locksmith must decide individually whether the repair is possible.

With radio keys, it always depends on the type of damage. If only the housing of the key is broken and the technology still works, a specialist workshop can repair the key without incurring high costs. Even smaller services, such as changing dead batteries, replacing the rechargeable battery or the micro button, reprogramming, or changing the cover, can be repaired without completely copying the car key. Some auto repair shops will also allow you to have broken keys repaired because the technical parts of the key are usually not damaged in such cases.

This incurs different costs: Replacing the batteries is offered for as little as one dollar. Replacing a battery (e.g., BMW keys) costs about 60 dollars. In general, however, the repair costs are usually cheaper than having the radio key completely copied.

Tip: Cut Costs

There are service providers on the Internet whose specialty is copying car keys. There, making a new car key is often cheaper. This usually requires you to enter the car's make, model, and year in the website's search. Then the company needs the ID number, which you can usually find inside the plastic cover of your car key. This is how the provider determines if they have the correct car key model for you. You can then have the radio key sent to you. That costs about 50 dollars.

You then have to have the key cut by a locksmith, which costs around 15 dollars. A specialist works the individual grooves into the metal part of the key with a key cutter (key machine). which you can use to unlock your car's lock by hand. You then have to have the car key encoded and reprogrammed by the authorized dealer or a specialist workshop.

When does the Insurance pay?

Motor vehicle liability insurance usually does not pay for copying the car keys. It only covers damage that you cause to a third party with your car. If someone else loses or damages your car key, their personal liability insurance may have to cover the damage (e.g., the cost of copying the car key). Contact the polluter's insurance company for this.

This applies to both partially comprehensive insurance and fully comprehensive insurance. The comprehensive insurance companies only pay for the new car key if the key was stolen and it was not your fault. It would be your complicity and therefore negligence, for example, if you left the car key in your open and unattended handbag.

If your car key is stolen, it is therefore very important that you inform your insurance company immediately. Otherwise, the insurance coverage for your car may also be lost.

What Documents do I Need?

If you want to have a car key copied, you need:

Your identity card

Your driver's license

Your registration document, so that the car can be assigned to you

a duplicate key for use at the locksmith's and specialist's workshops

With the documents, you can prove to your authorized dealer or other providers that you are the owner of the car. This entitles you to have the car key duplicated. You will also need the second key if your car key is stolen. Because it also has to be reprogrammed.
Depending on the effort and the provider, it can take between one and several days until you hold your new car key in your hands. It is best to ask in advance how long the imitation will take.

Take good care of your car keys!

It's very annoying when your car key actually gets lost or broken. But now you know everything you need to know about copying car keys. You can have mechanical car keys remade by a locksmith without great expense. You have to have modern radio keys for the car duplicated and reprogrammed by the authorized dealer, manufacturer, or specialist workshop. This can be expensive because it requires a lot of effort.

If you lost your car key or it was stolen, you must order a new key from the authorized dealer or manufacturer. The second key must then also be recorded.

But never forget: In the event of loss or theft, the most important thing is to inform the police and your insurance company first.