I know, I know, red keys, blue keys blah blah blah, but heres a new one (I think).

Right, you may have read my other thread, but still trying to find a way round.

I have one RED key for my ,98 Punto. A relatively local locksmith has said he can come out to my car and make two new BLUE keys for it by taking the chips out of two old BLUE's and putting them in to two newly cut, not fiat, but repro BLUE keys, then programme them to my ECU with the red, as if they were new BLUE fiat keys.

Has anyone tried this before, or heard of it? Will it work? He is only charging £60.00 job done, whereas Fiat overall works out to £170.00.

Am I saving money or could it be costly in the long run?

What's the lifespan of chips?

Any information gladly received, as dead broke as my last car stolen and insurance paid pittance so had to fork out for new Fiat which is costing me an arm & leg so far with unkowns hidden problems, keys being the most hassle.

Cheers me dears

aslong as you have red key thats ok, however £170 for 2 keys Surely its not that much for 2 original blank mk1 punto keys. I reckon £40 max! You can programme them yourselves in seconds with red key.

Yep, fraid so, Fiat dealers Palmers in Watford charge £54.00 per new blue key, then I'd need them cut @ £4.00 each, then back to Palmers to have them programmed, (as they said I shouldn't try myself) for another £57.00. So actually just over £170.00 all told!

programming them yourself is easy ( I dont even charge for it!) and there is a guide here anyway....a blank panda/GP key is £40 so £54 is too much,try elsewhere. Do you really need new keys?

Hi there, yes, I only have Red and apparently you shouldn't use it all time, only to programme the 2 Blues then you should use them. Using the REd all the time scrambles the ECU so I've been told, so my Punto living on borrowed time I think.

When the Blanks from Fiat are ordered and sold to me (I'm going to ring round to try and get a better price), do they come coded, or literally blank, as apperently they both need to be coded, but a different code to each other, and the red, to enable the Red key to programme them?

If they arrive literally Blank, would it be Fiat dealers that adds the codes? Is that why I wouldn't be able to "programme" myself?

What I was thinking of doing is finding the cheapest Fiat dealer then asking them to post them to me as the further from London I go will most likely be cheaper, then I'll get them cut and programme myself, but obviously only if my fears and questions above can be answered.

I am aware that I would need them cut to my red to fit the ignition.

Very confused???

Update -
I rang round a fair few Fiat dealers from London to Essex and a few more. All quoted around £55.00 for a Blue key, so x 2 = £110.00, then I would need them cut myself £8.00, then need to go back and have them programmed £27.00 per key = £54.00. So all told £172.00

So today locksmith blokey is sending someone out to me (only because when I went to his shop Saturday the young lad didin't know what to do) to cut and programme 2 fake Blue fiat keys for me for £60.00.:slayer:

I'll keep you posted as to how it goes - keep your fingers crossed for me, i'm a little worried as not much ever runs smoothly for me.

Most timpsons will do the key cut and reprogramme for 25 quid, There is one in the sainsburys where i work and thats what they said it was when i asked. anything else and its a rip off

Snow Ball said:

Has anyone tried this before

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yes, more than once.

Snow Ball said:

Will it work?

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yes, as long as your red key is working.

Snow Ball said:

He is only charging £60.00 job done, whereas Fiat overall works out to £170.00.

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timpsons could save you a tenner, but you would need to let them borrow a couple of blue keys from a mk1 punto, bravo, brava, marea or cinq to copy the key codes to your new keys.

Snow Ball said:

What's the lifespan of chips?

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significantly longer than you will live

Oakey Dokey - Red Key, 2 new Blue Keys

Just had locksmith visit, he transfered 2 old fiat chips from Blue keys to 2 new not fiat casings, then, after about 3 attempts, managed to programme them into my Punto using my master Red key. Job done (hopefully). He charged £60, plus I tipped him a fiver, so £65 all told.

I rang Timpsons over the weekend when I was in Essex as don't have one here in Middlesex. They said that because my car was between 1994 and 2000, a fitter would have to come out to my car and take the ECU system off to programme 2 new blues into my system, which would cost around £276 quid!!!!

Anyway, friendly, helpfull Locksmith blokey's details, in case anyone around my area of Middlesex needs the same or similar:-:slayer:

STEVE @
GREENFORD SECURITY SERVICES
107 GREENFORD AVENUE,
HANWELL
W7
0208 578 7995

That's one of my new (to me) Punto problems sorted (I hope), now onto the next............I'll be back - no doubt

Snow Ball said:

I rang Timpsons over the weekend when I was in Essex as don't have one here in Middlesex. They said that because my car was between 1994 and 2000, a fitter would have to come out to my car and take the ECU system off to programme 2 new blues into my system, which would cost around £276 quid!!!!

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no i meant you do that bit yourself using the red key (takes literally 1 minute).
all timpsons do is make the blue keys for you.

no matter, you got it done at a reasonable price.