Stuck in the middle of nowhere – with no car key!

You’re miles from home, you don’t know the area, it’s time to go … but you can’t find your car key. Now what?

You call Car Keys Solutions, of course. Why not take a few seconds to pop our emergency helpline number (that’s 0203 393 5669) into your phone right now – after all, it’s better to have it and not need to use it … than need it but not have it.

But if you ever do need it – wherever you may be – you can rest assured that one of our expert technicians will be with you within an hour of you calling us to help you get back on the road again.

What happens when you call Car Keys Solutions?

When you call our helpline, what we’ll need from you right away are details such as your exact location – an address and postcode would be fine, but if that’s not possible there’s a handy little app called what3words which will identify your location to within three metres of where you’re standing. Find out more about what3words and download the app to your phone here.

What happens if your key has been stolen?

First of all, you should report the theft to the police, and they’ll give you a crime number in the event that you want to make an insurance claim.

Then you call our helpline number, and we’ll sort you out.

Should you make an insurance claim for your key?

That depends on the insurance arrangements you’d previously chosen, and the amount of work that your vehicle may need in terms of lock replacement and/or reprogramming.

That’s because for some vehicle makes that can be quite labour-intensive. In the case of a 2018 Toyota Prius, for example, replacing the control units inside the car itself can take around eight hours. 

You’ll need to decide whether the cost of replacing the key and any other associated work on your vehicle is going to affect the no-claims bonus you’ve built up (not forgetting the excess, of course) so in the long run it might be that you’d be better off, financially speaking, not making a claim.

If you have to get a brand new key, will your vehicle’s door locks have to be changed?

For older vehicles which don’t require any kind of electronics in their key fobs, the answer is usually “no” – unless you think the original key has been stolen with a view to future use on your car. 

In which case it would be wise to change the locks – just in case. And there’s always the option to reconfigure the ignition barrel to make driving the car away even more difficult for the key thief.

But for more recent vehicles there’s no need to take such drastic (and potentially expensive) action: we can make sure any missing key, whether lost or stolen) won’t function any more simply by reprogramming your vehicle’s security system.

How long will it take create another key?

Whether you’re looking to get back into your vehicle, or for a second, spare key or even for a replacement for the only key you had – the one you’ve just lost – you won’t have to wait for more than an hour for one of our expert technicians to arrive, wherever you may be within a 40-mile radius of Central London.

Once our technician is with you, it’s a simple matter to duplicate an existing key, but just a bit less straightforward to create an entirely new one for you.

But because all our mobile technicians have the equipment with them and the know-how to unlock your vehicle safely and make any necessary changes to all of its programming, it’s safe to say that in 99% of cases, our customers are back on the road once again that same day.

How much will this cost?

Much depends on the make, model and age of your vehicle, but a good rule of thumb is the more upmarket your car, the more complicated its security system, and therefore the more complex the electronics inside its key fob … and so the more expensive a duplicate or replacement key is going to be – we can be talking four-figure sums here. That’s if you’re going through a main dealer, 

And of course, if you’re going through a dealership, you’ll have to get your non-functioning vehicle there in the first place, so you’ll have to factor in transport costs … and then there’s the question of how long you’ll have to wait (we’ve been quoted two weeks for a 2018 Range Rover Sport) … and how you’re going to get from point A to Point B in the interim.

It all adds up, doesn’t it?

Then again, because we come to you – whether you’re stuck at home or stranded out somewhere in an unfamiliar countryside – you don’t have to take any of those costs into account. 

And if you do happen to own a 2018 Range Rover Sport, it’s nice to know that our estimated price for a key replacement (not duplication) may look a little pricey at £595, but that’s still considerably less than the £1900.00 we were quoted by that same Land Rover dealership. 

Our same-day service means there’s absolutely no need to pay to get your Sport to that dealership, wait a fortnight and hire another car for the duration.

 

And even though we hope you don’t ever find yourself stuck in the middle of nowhere without your car key, we also hope we’ve given you some peace of mind in knowing that all you need to do is call 0203 393 5669 and we’ll have you back on the road again in no time at all.