FastFreddy2 282 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 Forget you left your remote key fob for your car hidden in the microwave oven while you were out the night before, and 'cook' the fob along with your breakfast in the morning..... I cried a lot today ...... And yes, £200, for a new (2014) SEAT remote key. Plus a 10 working day/2 week wait for it to be shipped from Spain. Lots and lots of crying..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heels 27 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 You still have the spare set? We all do silly things like that from time to time. I had a spare set for my car. Thinking that I might misplace my first set I put my spare set in a metal safety box. Thinking my Dad would need to find them If I was locked out my car I put them by my alarm clock. Thinking that I might knock them into the bin I moved them again. Now I think I gave them to my Dad to put in a safe place. Neither my Dad and I know where these keys are now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastFreddy2 282 Report post Posted January 21, 2015 (edited) Neither my Dad and I know where these keys are now. I've done the same thing myself many times. Put something in a place -so safe- even I wouldn't think to look there! My car from Kia came with two identical 'blippers'. Mrs Freddy got two keys with her old car, but not the new SEAT. It came with a 'blipper', and one plain key with transponder. No transponder reply from the key, no running engine. (I think the transponder allows the immobiliser to be switched off, or stops it kicking in.) Not only did I cook the transponder, but the blipper doesn't work either. One of the people I rang for help said; "If the transponder doesn't work, the key is garbage." So a replacement is required. The car can be used with the plain key, but no remote locking function is available. Historically, VW/SEAT keys could be partially disassembled. The 'blipper' could be separated from the actual key, for replacement or repair. The new SEAT key, not only has a slightly different design, it's actually been made to ENSURE it can't be repaired or disassembled. Consequently, any new key HAS to come from the factory in Spain. I paid for that today, £145. And now I have to wait 2 weeks for it to arrive. When it does arrive, I have to book the car and the new key in for the programming; that will cost another £56. On some of the 'support' bulletin boards, main dealers are nicknamed or referred to as "stealers". In this instance I would agree. £200 for a replacement is taking the proverbial micky. The actual key is cut by computer, along with thousands of other keys, so will cost pennies. The older blippers are available new -at retail- somewhere between £27 and £37, and the expensive bit is the unprogrammed transponder. (Which is coded once and locked.) Programming takes seconds with the right software and suitable connector. There's a lot of 'fat' in an item that could be retailed for around £40, but costs people £200. Hence me feeling like I'm having my trousers taken down.... Edited January 21, 2015 by FastFreddy2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Puffer 258 Report post Posted January 22, 2015 I sympathise, Freddy. Replacement keys are a total rip-off, especially if bought from main dealer or manufacturer. (Not the sort of 'high-yield' activity that appeals to me!) Some keys can however be cloned and/or reprogrammed from a readily available blank and the chips can be bought quite cheaply (if you know the right type!). My wife wasted money on a second key for her former Corsa; key was bought from a specialist garage for around £130 and worked, but set-off the alarm when used! And this was after paying main dealer £25 for the car's key code (never provided by seller of car). The garage refused to acknowledge any fault (apart from on the car!) and we then went to a mobile car locksmith (regularly used by our nearest garage) and he provided and reprogrammed a secondhand key for £50, which worked perfectly. My wife then bought a used BMW with only one key (get the picture?). Keys for these cars can only be supplied through main dealer so cost about £150 all-in. But the new style of key without a blade used by BMW and many others is allegedly open to illicit cloning, enabling car to be stolen. If crooks can get what amounts to a usable key simply, why can't the legit owner? It's just as well that my wife has little interest in shoes - her remaining pocket-money would scarcely run to anything more than Primark flipflops. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastFreddy2 282 Report post Posted January 23, 2015 (edited) It's just as well that my wife has little interest in shoes - her remaining pocket-money would scarcely run to anything more than Primark flipflops. And talk about kick-a-man-while-he's down ...... Broke a tooth yesterday (Wednesday) eating a peanut-butter sandwich. (I know .... what do I have for teeth, white chocolate?) So at the dentist this morning for emergency repair - if possible. After 30 minutes of poking around, debate and sob story about microwaving car keys, I have a choice of (i) £50 for filling with risk of heavily filled tooth cracking again and being lost altogether, or (ii) £219 NHS crown, or (iii) £450 private crown. At the moment, I have asked for the £219 crown. Earlier in the week I might have invested in the £450 jobbie because the repair is to a tooth I've already had £600 worth of root canal work done (privately) and since I don't have any form of insurance cover for these events, I have to make the pennies count. A good number of people I know (poor people like me) wouldn't spend over £800 on one tooth, so why have I? About 2 years ago, (or was it three) I had a sick wisdom tooth pulled rather than spend money having the root filled. I was told, the tooth touched nothing, so contributed very little to masticating food. Saving £600 was appealing. Since the tooth was removed, I don't think there's been a single second I've thought it was a good decision (in hindsight). It's left a gap in my mouth I'm quite unhappy with and the tooth next to the gap (now) feels like it's larger than it was before, as the tooth line no longer blends in with my jaw as it used to. Lesson learned? Edited January 23, 2015 by FastFreddy2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Heels 27 Report post Posted January 23, 2015 Keys for new cars are expensive for what there are..Cars these days are more reliable and for car dealers to make a profit, car spares can be more expensive. Some time ago I owned a 1996 Ford Escort, only owned it for about 2 months when the key failed and it needed to be replaced. It cost around £100 to be replaced. and the local Ford dealer was able to fix it in a morning. It was replaced under warrenty. My work mate had his BMW stolen from outside house. They used a cloned key card. I think the moral of this story, Don't put keys in microwaves., Don't put keys in such a safe place that you can;t find them and don't buy cars with out a spare key. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastFreddy2 282 Report post Posted January 25, 2015 They say trouble comes in 3's? Mrs Freddy had identified No.3 at the end of last week, so significant, I can't remember what it was, meaning it must have been a bit trivial.... So, microwaved keys, broken tooth, and today (Sunday), I got a gash in my hand so bad I should have visited A+E ..... While helping a family member to move, I had the luck to find a sharp edge on a large glass door that was part of a double wardrobe. The door was so heavy, it took three of us to move it safely. ("Safely" meaning as to not drop it or bash it against a wall.) My hand wasn't cut by glass, but by a metal trim. Imagine griping a Stanley blade with some force, and you have some idea of the cut depth. It was dressed, and dressed quite well too I might add, but Steri-strips and a pressure bandage would not stop the bleeding. Two hours later and back at home, I removed the dressings and blood still poured from the cut. I suspect I could have nicked a vein though palms are not a likely place for a vein? A further two hours of continued pressure and no movement allowed some of the cut to stay closed, (blood is glue if you don't know) but one end of the cut still had blood leaking as soon as the pressure pad was removed. I took a chance, and with some help from the queezy Mrs Freddy, got the cut closed but had to use a whole pack of Steri-strip to do it! Immediately over the strips I used a sterile non-stick vented plastic covered pad, then folded about 5 pieces of kitchen roll into a thick pad, that I've then used for a pressure bandage, My palm has been fairly tightly wrapped with a stretch gauze that should help to keep the wound closed. I've seen less bloody/deep cuts stitched with thread, but the prospect of a 5 hour wait for 3 or 4 stitches has led me to try the DIY route first. The cut has been sterilised twice, (the clean with surgical spirit wasn't nice) so I'm hoping the risk of infection is small. Though the 'luck' I've had this week ..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastFreddy2 282 Report post Posted February 4, 2015 (edited) The new key is due this week, hopefully by the time I've written this, the garage will have rung back with news on the keys arrival. The first part of the new tooth has been done. For the first time ever, the dentist (lovely man) hurt me while preparing the tooth for a crown. He did offer to re-fill the tooth, but on his advice I went for the £219 solution, which is metal crown. Usually I would have a white one, but there just isn't room. The grandson calls them 'gangster teeth' because they are made of gold, (and very strong). Luckily for me I have plenty of bone under the broken tooth, so a crown was possible after all. The difficulty was in pushing back (cutting) the gum to expose the base of the tooth. Brushing my teeth wasn't easy for a couple of days either because the gum was healing. The cut on my hand has healed for the most part. The Steri-strips kept the cut so well closed, there is hardly a mark to be seen. The actual cut is drying out and cracking slightly. I will need to keep this moisturised I suppose to keep the skin there supple. Even though the wound has closed, it still 'stings' when I stretch my hand out. I guess this is the inside of the cut still repairing things like nerve endings. It's nice to not worry about getting my hand wet, a problem that has been a bit frustrating some days. Garage has rung me back .... New key arrived (didn't say when) but car can't be booked in for reprogramming until 16th Feb. I asked if I should have booked the reprogramming job in when I ordered the key? No, I was told, as we don't like to book the car in until the key arrives to be sure the key is available for programming. So it'll be a month we've had the car with no blipper (remote). A bit of a hardship for Mrs Freddy who currently has to open the car in the mornings, in the dark. So, had my trousers taken down on price, and again on service. Worse, the fella on the phone says; We need your old blipper to reprogramme too. I said no-one has mentioned to me it could be reprogrammed? 'Been doing it 20 years' says he ..... So I could have saved myself the replacement cost? says I. 'Possibly', says he ... I currently have steam coming out of my ears .... Edited February 5, 2015 by FastFreddy2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
