Guess Who Just Spent $372.75!
 

Me!

My door key cylinder broke - it was just spinning away in there :( I ordered a new one ($180 installed - tumblers cut). But here's the catch - it takes 5-10 days to get in from Germany :eek:

So, needing to lock my doors until the new cylinder gets in.... I had to buy a master key fob ($120). I got a used one (in somewhat beaten condition - but it works) so I can now lock/unlock my doors. Problem: Used Key chip wasn't working with the car's immobilizer....

So, now I have half a master key (just the fob - no actual key). The other half of the key was ordered (an extra $50)...

$180 for Key Cylinder
$170 for Master Key Fob (key blade cut, new chip, used fob everything programmed)
$22.75 tax
$372.75 Total

But, a new master key, cut and programmed from the stealership = ~$350 all by itself :eek:

Woo! At the very least, maintenance costs has been pretty good otherwise - nothing has really broken (despite a few things being broken).

All that money just for a key repair? Holy smoke!

It better be the nicest, best-feeling locking mechanism on the planet for that kind of coinage.

That's the joy of owning a VW...

Hey, that's German engineering!

A new VW...

:(

Ouch...

Only half of it :p The other half went into a key - ya, it's expensive - but having the immobilizer is nice (buying an expensive key is much cheaper than replacing the entire car :p)

Meh, I'm only slightly unhappy (I've been telling myself to lube the lock for many of weeks :/). The only other maintenance I've had in the past 2 years (other than oil and tires) was the accessory belt, drain plug (pan is stripped - replaced with over sized drain plug bolt) - and that's about it. I did recover the headliner and old route 66 knocked out my headlights though...

I do think it's kinda stupid that the key cylinder of all things would break. I looked at the price of similar year cylinders for other cars - and I don't feel too bad about the price considering it's not within my personal capabilities to custom cut tumblers to match my key...

Ouch. I'm glad you're only slightly unhappy.

I had a mechanic who would lube his car every year. *Every* moving part got the appropriate lube. Even the glove box hinge. On the key cylinders, he would blast them out with WD40. Not just a squirt, but a complete flushing to get out the metal shavings/dust. Now you've got me thinking, when's the last time I lubed my car?

I lucked out on my wife's Taurus key recently. She only had one key when I married her. It's about $40 for the key, plus another $40 - 60 for programming at dealer. For self programming, most Taurii need two working keys. But for two model years, the Taurus only needs one working key to program a new one. So, $15 for a key on eBay, $3 to get it cut at Ace, and a few minutes programming it myself, and we now have a spare key. (And I don't have to borrow her 3Lb key chain to drive her car :))

Keys are a surprising PIA.

My passenger side lock doesn't work, I can pull the key out of the ignition when the car is on, and I only have one key and it's getting worn by the day. Sometimes I can feel the driver side door hesitate to unlock since it's so worn.

I should probably take care of that...I'm sure my ghetto American rig will be cheaper, but this thread isn't very motivating...:D

- LostCause

VW keys are tough
Always keep the Valet key (I've been told)
you can get the key cut at many locksmiths with internal cutters, and then you can re-program the key using a procedure (found on vortex) and the Valet key.
That's how I made my spare key . . .

I lubed my locks not too long ago :D mmm, marvel mystery oil.. good stuff. good for hinges and the like. low speed bearings too.