Buying a Used Car With Only One Key
A single key is normal on a used car and is not a reason to walk away — but it is a reason to negotiate, and to sort a spare before you need one.
Most privately sold used cars come with one key. It is so common that buyers stop noticing, and then discover the cost eighteen months later at the worst possible moment.
Ask before you buy
Ask directly how many keys exist and where they are. If the seller says there were two, ask what happened to the other one.
A key that is genuinely lost rather than misplaced is worth knowing about, because somebody may still have a working key to the car you are about to own. That is not a reason to walk away, but it is a reason to have the old keys cleared once it is yours.
Use it in the negotiation
A replacement key is a real cost with a real number attached, and sellers generally accept that a one-key car is worth less than a two-key one.
Getting a price from us before you make an offer gives you something concrete to point at rather than a vague sense that it will cost something. What drives the figure is set out in what car keys cost by brand.
Check the key you are getting
Press every button. Check the emergency blade on a smart key has actually been cut — plenty never were, and it is the thing that gets you into the car when the fob battery dies.
A fob that only works from very close range has a dying battery, which is trivial, but it is worth knowing before you assume the remote is fine.
Once the car is yours
Get a spare cut while the original still works. This is the cheap version of the job: with a working key in hand it is quick, and it can be done at your home or workplace.
The expensive version is the one that happens on a Sunday when the only key has gone. That comparison is the whole point of why a spare car key saves money, and the work is spare car keys.
If the history is unclear
If the car came from an auction or an import yard and you are unsure of its key history, consider having the old codes deleted at the same time.
Sorting it after the sale
Private sales around Hamilton usually hand over on a driveway with no time to think about keys. That is fine — the spare can be cut afterwards at your home or workplace.
It is worth doing in the first fortnight rather than filing under things to get around to. Any car locksmith can cut a spare far more cheaply than an emergency key, and we come to you across Hamilton and the Waikato.
It costs little on top of cutting a spare and means no key you have not seen can start it. Send the details through our quote form and we will price both together.
Common questions
Is one key a reason not to buy the car?
No, it is very common. It is a reason to factor the cost of a spare into what you offer, and to get that spare made early rather than after the original is lost.
Can you make a spare from the key I have?
Yes, and that is the cheapest way to do it. With a working key the job is quick. Generating a key with none available takes longer and costs more.
Should I delete the previous owner keys?
If you cannot account for every key that exists, it is worth doing. It erases any key you have not seen from the vehicle, and adds little to the cost when done alongside cutting a spare.
Do you come to the car yard?
Yes. We regularly meet buyers at dealerships and private sales around Hamilton and the Waikato to cut a spare before the car goes home.