General £270 for a key - are they MAD?????????

[RobinPJ]

OK so I picked up Snowdrop (1.2L Lounge) on Saturday and the wife and kids love her - the kids preferring the back seats to the alternative of a drab Mercedes ML interior. I have to say I do too - so chuckable and damned good fun. I spent most of the weekend just looking at her.

After getting the dealer to have the car cleaned again (not sure the word "again" is strictly necessary in that sentence, so crappy was the effort first time round) everything went off smoothly.

Wife is finding it hard to get a comfy driving position for her right leg but I'm sure we'll get there (any tips?) and it is annoying that the Blue & Me won't read texts off an iPhone. And there is a fair bit of road/tyre noise but then I am used to about 7 tons of sound-deadening material in the Panzerwagen so that is probably not a fair criticism.

But for me the biggest gripe is only getting one "proper" plipper key. I innocently phoned the parts department to see if I'd treat us to a second one, expecting the damage to be maybe £75, only to be told it is £270. That is bonkers.

Anyway, thank you to all those who have helped me get this far - plenty more to come I'm sure.

 

[Eklipze3k]

Even those of us with 10 year old cars using the code2 system with just a standard key (non remote) are expected to pay £100+ for a properly coded key, the price of security ...

 

[RobinPJ]

Yes, apparently even the second key you get that looks like an "ordinary" key with a rubberised grip has electronic gubbins in it and costs £220.

 

[306maxi]

But for me the biggest gripe is only getting one "proper" plipper key. I innocently phoned the parts department to see if I'd treat us to a second one, expecting the damage to be maybe £75, only to be told it is £270. That is bonkers.

They can be had for a lot cheaper I'll say that but you're looking around £150 just for the key at least.....

You have to ask yourself "do I really need 2 remote keys" though? I mean how often will you be driving the car at the same time? never! Sure it would be nice to have 2 keys but in the year we've had our car I've only once or twice needed to use the spare key.

 

[RobinPJ]

You've obviously never been caught trying to get into my wife's handbag.

 

[poggy]

When I drive the 500, which is very rare I find the road noise is pretty bad. I did get a price on a sound deadening kit, but it was £200+ and would probably take 4 or 5 hours to fit. It's easier to turn the volume up on the radio.

 

[Lloyd71]

When I drive the 500, which is very rare I find the road noise is pretty bad. I did get a price on a sound deadening kit, but it was £200+ and would probably take 4 or 5 hours to fit. It's easier to turn the volume up on the radio.

The difference is though, that sound deadening can be done yourself for much cheaper, but the keys need proper coding etc. that can only be done by Fiat, hence the price.

 

[poggy]

That was just for the kit of bit's, fitting was extra !!.

I thought it would £70-80 tops.

 

[T14086]

programming takes few minutes so IMO 1/2 hour labour plus £15 for code = £45 + key (£130-45 odd). That certainly does not add up to £270.

Dealerships, unable to correctly sort reoccuring faults (dash trim, breather hoses, water pumps etc) poor warranty duration and key prices are just 4 reasons i'd never buy a new Fiat. Some folk demand a second remote before the sign the paperwork

 

[RobinPJ]

Some folk demand a second remote before the sign the paperwork

Some folk (i.e., me) stupidly assumed I'd get three as standard.

 

[T14086]

Some folk (i.e., me) stupidly assumed I'd get three as standard.

Your quite right and you used to get 2 keys plus a door (no chip inside) key but obviously cost cutting put paid to this.

 

[jrkitching]

I have a third door key for my 500 but only because one of the original keys had a faulty transponder & had to be replaced under warranty! The dealer brought an examiner into the car park & did the reprogramming there while I waited - took him no more than 60 seconds.

What probably took the dealer more time was emailing Bristol for the electronic code they needed to do the reprogramming. A requirement of the UK insurance industry I believe as the handbook says this code should be given to the new owner when the car is delivered.

No code is apparently needed for the mechanical part as the dealers only need the chassis number to order the keys.

Whatever the reason, it's a ludicrous price for a spare key which probably costs very little to produce.

 

[306maxi]

Whatever the reason, it's a ludicrous price for a spare key which probably costs very little to produce.

I suspect the price the OP was given was for a fully programmed key.

 

[jrkitching]

I suspect the price the OP was given was for a fully programmed key.

I'm sure it was. It's still a ridiculous price to have to pay for a spare key which costs far, far less to manufacture and takes seconds to program.

I wonder what the equivalent cost of a key for other modern cars would be?

 

[dave]

I wonder what the equivalent cost of a key for other modern cars would be?

they are all about the same, everyone moans about it but don't realise having keys that are main dealer only and a high price makes insurance price lower as its harder for crooks to go get a key for your car to pinch it with

 

[306maxi]

I'm sure it was. It's still a ridiculous price to have to pay for a spare key which costs far, far less to manufacture and takes seconds to program.

I wonder what the equivalent cost of a key for other modern cars would be?

Welcome to the world of businesses making a profit

I agree that the price they've been offered is rather inflated, but these sort of things aren't cheap, that's all I can say.

 

[Murano16v]

Pleasantly surprised to get to proper remotes in the shape of the front grill with my new Mito - sorry I've gone and mentioned it again

 

[306maxi]

Pleasantly surprised to get to proper remotes in the shape of the front grill with my new Mito - sorry I've gone and mentioned it again

This is a FIAT forum Get off here with your Alfa branded Fiat!!!!!

 

[Murano16v]

This is a FIAT forum Get off here with your Alfa branded Fiat!!!!!

I know, but the Alfa forum is actually quite boring.

 

[Ulpian]

For £270 you can buy a whole computer, with a powerful chip and all the other gubbins combined.

For a key only!!!!!!!??????

Someone's got a captive market here and is exploiting it to the full.