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Spare Car Keys Oxford Car Key Duplication From £90
Down to one key? A spare copied from it costs from £90. Lose that last key first and the bill starts from £170, so a duplicate now is the cheapest insurance your car will get.
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Copied from your key
Your working key is the template, so the job is quicker and cheaper.
Laser and standard blades
Edge cut, laser cut and high security track blades cut on site.
Added, not cloned
Where possible each key is registered to the car so it can be deleted later.
Keyless spares too
Proximity fobs from £160, with tips on storing them safely.
A spare car key in Oxford costs from £90 when we copy it from your working key at your home, workplace or car park, and the job usually takes 20 to 40 minutes once we arrive. Remote and flip key duplicates start from £120, keyless smart keys from £160, and plain metal keys for older cars £35 to £55.
The reason to do it now is simple. Copying a key is a small job. Making a key after the last one is gone means decoding locks and resetting the immobiliser, which starts from £170 on our car key replacement service.
Why a spare car key costs less before you lose the last one
Many used cars change hands with just one key, and the second often goes missing in a house move or a divorce. Drivers tend to notice only when the last key is gone, and by then the cheap option has disappeared.
| Spare made now | After the last key is lost | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From £90 | From £170 |
| Blade | Copied from your key | Decoded from the door lock |
| Immobiliser | Working key used to add the new one | System reset, often needing the security PIN |
| Car usable meanwhile | Yes | No, until we arrive |
| Typical time on site | 20 to 40 minutes | 45 to 90 minutes |
The difference usually pays for the spare on its own, before you count missed work or a taxi home.
There are other good moments to sort a duplicate: when you buy a used car with one key, when a second driver joins the household, before a long trip abroad, and when a teenager starts driving. A spare kept at home also turns a locked in key from an emergency into a short walk back to the house.
Car key cutting: standard, laser and high security blades
The metal part of the key still matters, because it opens the driver’s door when the battery is flat and turns the ignition on older cars. There are three main blade styles.
Standard edge cut
Notches cut into one or both edges of a flat blade. Found on older Fords, Vauxhalls, Nissans and many vans.
Quick to cut, cheapest blade.
Laser cut or track
A wavy groove milled into the face of a thicker blade, sometimes called sidewinder. Standard on VW, Skoda, Audi, most Kia and Hyundai and many newer cars.
Needs a dedicated milling machine, which we carry.
High security profile
Internal or multi track cuts used on BMW, Mercedes and some Lexus models. Copies need exact depths.
Cut to code where possible for a factory fit.
When a key is badly worn, copying its shape copies the wear too. We prefer cutting to the original code so the spare is crisper than the key you hand us. If the old key has started to stick, see our auto locksmith page on ignition faults.
Cloning or programming: two ways to make a duplicate car key
Inside the head of the key is a transponder chip. A spare needs a chip the car will accept, and there are two ways to get one.
Cloning copies the data from your existing chip onto a new one. The car cannot tell the two apart, so the spare starts the engine without connecting to the car. Cloning is possible on a good number of older systems, and some high street kiosks offer it.
Programming adds a new, unique key to the car’s list of accepted keys through the diagnostic port. The car knows it has two separate keys. The big advantage is that if one is lost or stolen, it can be deleted while the other keeps working.
Where the car allows it, we program rather than clone, and we tell you which method was used. Remote buttons are paired separately in both cases. More on how coding works is on our car key programming page.
How we duplicate your car key at home or work
Send the registration
We confirm the blank, chip and remote that match your car, and fix the price.
We meet you at the car
Drive, street, office car park or college car park. We need to sit in the driver’s seat for coding.
Check the paperwork
V5C or lease agreement plus photo ID with a matching name.
Cut, code and test both keys
The new blade is cut, the chip added, the remote paired, and both keys tested in the doors, boot and ignition.
Bring the original key with you. We need it in the car for most coding procedures, and we hand it straight back.
Spare keyless fobs and relay theft
A spare proximity fob costs from £160 and works exactly like the original: open the door by touching the handle and start with the button. Inside each fob is a slide out emergency blade for a flat battery.
Where to keep a keyless spare
Do not hang it on a hook by the front door. Thieves can use relay equipment to pick up a keyless fob’s signal through a wall. Keep both keys in a signal blocking pouch or a metal tin away from the door, and check whether your car lets you switch keyless entry off in the settings.
For the full picture on proximity systems, including which makes we can code, see our smart key replacement guide.
Spare key notes for popular makes
Most everyday cars are straightforward to duplicate. A few points are worth knowing before you call:
- Ford spare keys: older Fiesta and Focus keys are often cloneable; newer models are added through the port.
- VW spare keys: some later Golf and Polo models need an online security check, which can add time.
- Vauxhall spare keys: Corsa and Astra flip keys are common, and spare remotes need pairing to the body control module.
- BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Lexus spares start from £220 because of the extra security and coding time.
Can a high street key cutter copy a car key?
Some high street key cutters can copy a simple blade and clone certain older chips. That can be a fair option for a car from the early 2000s. They generally cannot program a new key into the car or pair a remote, because that needs equipment connected to the vehicle itself.
If the copy cuts and turns but the engine will not start, the chip is the issue, not the blade. We can usually code that key for £55 to £95 rather than starting again. Prices for all our key work sit on the price list.
Spare car key prices
Starting prices for a duplicate made from your working key, including VAT, cutting, coding and testing.
| Service | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical key (no chip) | £35 to £55 | Older cars without an immobiliser |
| Spare transponder key | From £90 | Blade cut and chip coded to the car |
| Spare remote or flip key | From £120 | Chip coded and buttons paired |
| Spare keyless smart key | From £160 | Proximity entry and start with emergency blade |
| BMW Mercedes Audi and Lexus | From £220 | Priced by model and year |
| Coding a key you already have cut | £55 to £95 | Programming only |
Prices include VAT and labour. Parts are listed separately. See the full Oxford locksmith price list.
