Mechanical key replacement- cheapest way?

buy the blank on e-bay and have a locksmith cut it for you

 

Laser cut is a misnomer. Any locksmith can copy the key. I bought a blank on ebay and had it copied at a kiosk in the mall.

 

Search for "FREE PRE-CUT EMERGENCY KEY for LEXUS and TOYOTA TRUNK or DOOR KEYS" on eBay. You just have to take some pictures of your key and they will send you a cut key.

 

Well, it has to be a locksmith with the side-milling machine ... maybe 'most all of them have it now. It isn't cut with lasers ... "LASER" is the trade name of that line of machines. It uses a spinning cutter bit.

Entertaining to watch one in action. It can copy a key, but it isn't just a mechanical follower flopping over the old key while it cuts the new one, like the things that used to be in every hardware store. It's computerized, of course, and it sends the milling head out with a probe attachment and traces out the whole old key, then retracts, grabs a cutter bit, and mills out the new one.

-Chap

 

Thanks, Chap. Very informative.

 

I wound up finding a locksmith on eBay that offers a mail service: you mail his shop a blank and either a photo of the key or the key code (obtained from a stamp on the actually door lock mechanism) and he'll cut a copy. Free return shipping, total came to $25.

I will circle back to let everyone know the quality of the cut key.

As for the key fob, I purchased an OEM used one off eBay and programmed it using Techstream no problem.

 

Do you have to take the door apart to read that stamp? When I bought my car used, "Certified" from a dealer, they told me they didn't have the original key code because the previous owner lost it. I thought the dealer should have that code on file.

How could a blank from eBay have been "used"?

 

Please do and the eBay link.