EXTORTIONATE Car key replacement.
 

I had my work bag stolen today,unfortunately my car key was in it.(I know, big mistake.) luckily I have a policy to replace it. I have to deliver the car to the main stealers, (God bless the RAC who are charging me £11.25 because I’m outside the 10 mile maximum.) who don’t care how you get it there,because apparently they don’t come to you with a laptop you go to them with your 2 ton immobile car,immobilised and alarmed.
Anyhow the price for the key,MY03 S60, is £429.25!!!!!!!!!
When I asked how they justify that no explanation was forthcoming,the lad on the phone sounded embarrassed and he apologised.
So fair warning folks DONT LOSE YOUR KEYS.

I assume that this is because you need to have the old stolen key disabled too.

That said it’s still an awful lot of money

Highway robbery, disingenuous and alienating to the general Volvo buyer IMHO.

Is the key fob a technological tour de force, is the key coding very time consuming and challenging, requiring the most complex of computers to complete........ Probably not.


P

They do seem to go out of their way to put you off buying another one and I certainly wouldn't. Presumably enough new ones go out the door on lease etc, so that doesn't really matter.

I only have one key so I add key insurance from the RAC for £15, you get recovery to the garage and the key cost covered.

That sounds perfectly normal

The key is the security and access to your expensive car.
Replacing a lost key is not a trivial affair and needs to be kept tightly controlled for reasons of security
This is why only the authorised dealer can do it, and only when online to the main Volvo mainframe in the mothership
Additionally, they should be checking your credentials to ensure that you are the actual vehicle owner and not a thief.

I find the price charged reasonable for what you are getting.
Whilst the hardware alone may only cost 50 GBP or so, the effort put in by Volvo to ensure that the vehicle is secure and the technology is properly secured and that the key issuers are properly trained and authorised and to keep such support in place for around 20 years is what adds up the rest of the costs.

Yes, you can still expect to get replacement keys for your car 20+ years after it was manufactured. In fact, you are asking for a replacement key for a 13 year old car. And it was entirely possible and easy to get.
Have you ever thought about the logistics involved in maintaining global support for 20+ years? It is not trivial.

So all of the above should encourage you to keep all your keys in a safe place. As these are the keys to, for many people, the 2nd most expensive asset they own.
And for a lot of people, the most expensive asset they own.

That’s one of the funniest posts I have read.

In the uk criminals buy hardware for a hand full of pounds which they then use to steal these high security vehicles.

The last key i had done was £240 i think , had to wait a couple of days for it 6 year back .

Try ringing a few other dealers?

Did you only have one key? Is the cost to enter the car reprogram they system replace all the lock barrels etc? Or just cut and enable a new key?

Very different scenarios

Just guessing, that outrageous cost may have to do with the fact the cost was covered by the insurance. If you would've paid from your pockets, I think it would have been half that.