We will be closed on July 4th in Observance of Independence Day!
Tom Fornshell (aka Dr. Service) Answers the Question:
Can I Get a Cheap Key for My VW Online (or anywhere else)?
The simple answer: Likely, no.
The longer answer: Everyone wants to save money or find a good deal. Without getting into the debate about buying local and supporting your community, it seems everyone is looking for a deal. Even I, a guy born before cell phones, the internet, computers, and even color TV; use the world wide web to find a good product at a fair price… or great price.
Warning: do not try this with a replacement key for your Volkswagen. Keys for your VW need to be programmed to your car both to enable the security for starting and for programming the buttons to lock and open locks. We have never, not one time, been able to program a key someone bought online for their Volkswagen. It is a waste of your money. This is one area where the good deal is simply not a deal.
The problem is each key must have an electronic ”handshake” with your car before your car will allow the vehicle to run with that specific key. The only way for us to do that programming is to bounce the key off VW’s server in Germany. If the key is not listed in the server, we cannot program the car to accept the key’s handshake. VW will not change that. The entire reason is security. You don’t want someone to be able to make a key for your car and drive away with it. Germans take this responsibility very seriously (at least I know the VW and BMW people do). They make it mostly entirely impossible to bypass their security.
Within the last 45 days we have had two VW’s towed to us because someone hired a locksmith to make a key for them and program it for their car. The immobilizers in the instrument clusters were fried due to the programming trickery a “key guy” did to their car. The rather expensive instrument clusters had to be replaced. There is no doubt a locksmith type person out there is taking great exception to this article, and maybe someone can reprogram an older Volkswagen for a key to work… maybe. But experience tells me otherwise.
Save your money, time, and irritation. Get your key from a VW dealer even if it isn’t us. It will save you in the long run.
Stay safe and happy motoring.
Tom Fornshell
Service & Parts Manager
