how important is that RED key?

[Anonymous]

i ask because recently i notice a surge of seller without the red master key

although noticeably the signs are avoid at all costs

surely there is a way around it??

i was told to knock of up to £500 of the cost of the car if it did not hav a red key

i think the cost mustve gone down by that time and by the age of the car etc.

can anothe be obtained from elsehwere except fiat themsleves?

 

[Anonymous]

I answered this question just the other day, you can get the ecu done so it no longer needs the red key code, it was around £175.

Add on the aggrevation of having no car for as long as it takes to get the ECU plus the possibility of being stranded somewere when it goes.

Divide by the likelyhood of ever needing it/ your willingness to take chances.

 

[patrick]

Have had three fiats in the family, two never needed the red key to be used, one did, and as luck would have it, that was the only car with no red key.....cost £500 to fix

 

[Stuart]

Lots of people try to say it's not important.
The fact is that without the Red Key your Bravo/a is handicapped.
It came with one, so should still have the Red Key for its lifetime, simple as that.

The Owners Manual states the importance of it, so what sort of owner sells the car without it?

Probably why you see so many really cheap Bravo/a's is that most of them are without the Red Key. Don't pay much unless you get all Keys and Codes too
!

 

[ronako]

Red Key.

I bought my Bravo 1.4sx without a red key.I've had six cars from the same person over the last 15 yrs or so,O.K. so he deals in s/hand cars,but he's someone I know well,I don't go and ask him what he's got, I tell him I've got XXX amount to pay and I'll be quite happy with what ever he gets me. I'm not the fussy type and I'm easy to please, I'll probably say I'd like e/w, s/roof p/s, etc and leave it at that. This time he came up with the Bravo, I'd never heard of them, but I'm chuffed to bits with it!But to get back to the red key, after reading about it on this forum I went back and queried it. He said don't worry about it we can round it its not neccessary! thats good enough for me, he's never let me down yet!

ronako

 

[Insomnia]

I've had Bravo/as for about 3 years now, never needed the red key.

Current Mileage: 125,000 miles

 

[RR]

I have had Fiats since 1993 and never needed a red key.

I got my first Alfa in 2000 and didn't need the red key until last Summer. Without it, the bill would have been £600 or so more.

The moral of the story is - it's only ever impaortant to have it when it's needed. So, knowing Fiat/Alfa electrics, I wouldn't touch one without the red key.

 

[jimmy]

No code.

I have the red key for my bravo but no code. If the red key is needed will I be in the s*** as I don't have the code?

 

[jimmy]

I also wanted to ask:

I have the standard tape player in my bravo, can I replace it without knowing the code?

Thanks guys.

 

[Ian]

The Code is just for the radio, I'm sure, so why you'll need that, I don't know?

- Yes you can replace the head unit without the code.