So your second key still cost $532.24, ouch. $300 seems like a lot for a half hour of work, even these days.
At least when the non-replaceable (but some do) battery dies in your original key you'll still be set
Photography by Tim Suddard
It’s nice to always have a second key, right? What if you lose the first? What if you have a second driver?
Our 2011 BMW 328i sedan only came with a single fob but, as negotiated with the seller, a second fob soon arrived after we got home.
His cost was about $230, and he did not mark up the fob. While that was a very nice gesture on his part, the key inside the fob opened the door but nothing else. The fob needed to be programmed.
We went to our local dealer, Fields BMW of Daytona. They started the conversation with a $250 diagnostic fee–and if anything was wrong, the price would go up. Or we could buy a new fob from them for more than $500–plus programming.
We don’t play these dealer games and sought another answer. Our buddy Rennie Bryant, who runs Redline Bimmer Performance, assured us there was a better way. If we could get the car to his South Florida shop, he had a guy.
We happened to be heading that way soon after, so we drove the E90 and brought the second fob. His guy happened to be sick that day and turned us on to another guy, The Lockout Locksmith.
For $300 and about half an hour of work, he had us all set and properly programmed.
The morals of this story:
So your second key still cost $532.24, ouch. $300 seems like a lot for a half hour of work, even these days.
At least when the non-replaceable (but some do) battery dies in your original key you'll still be set
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