Specialist vehicle key work, start to finish

If you still have one working key, this is the easiest time to sort a spare. The vehicle can be identified, the right key supplied and the programming carried out as a planned appointment rather than an emergency.

Keys fail in more ways than people expect: lost entirely, snapped, water-damaged, worn past the point of turning, or electronically dead so the car no longer responds. We replace all of them.

All-keys-lost work is a specialist job, and it is a routine part of what we do. It takes longer than a planned spare and the procedure varies between vehicles, but for most cars and vans it can be completed where the vehicle is.

A key is only useful once the vehicle accepts it. Programming is the process of introducing a compatible key to your car's immobiliser and body systems so it unlocks, starts and behaves like the original.

If your car unlocks as you approach and starts with a button, you have a smart or proximity key. These are the most capable keys on the road and the most particular about compatibility.

A van is a workplace. When its only key goes missing, the cost is rarely just the key — it is the day, the jobs booked in and the tools sitting inside a locked vehicle.

A lockout is a different problem from a lost key. The key still exists and still works — it is simply on the wrong side of the glass. That usually makes it a shorter job.