Duplicate car keys in Rockville, MD
The cheapest car key you will ever buy is the spare cut while the original still works. Once the last key is lost, the same piece of metal and plastic becomes a far bigger job.
A duplicate is not about today — today the key works. It is about the morning the key does not turn up, when a spare in a drawer is the difference between a small delay and a stranded car.
What duplicating covers
Plain metal blades for older vehicles. Transponder keys, cloned directly where the chip allows it or programmed to the car where it does not. Remote and flip keys. Proximity fobs for push-button cars.
Two things are true whatever the key type. First, proof of ownership comes before any key is made: registration or title, plus photo ID. No exceptions — it is the same check that stops anyone else ordering a "duplicate" of your car. Second, some very new models are dealer-only for now, because the manufacturer has not opened key programming to independent locksmiths. If yours is one of them, you hear that on the phone, not after a wasted visit.
How the visit goes
- You call with the year, make and model, and describe the key — plain blade, remote, or push-button fob.
- We quote the job, and tell you then and there if your model is one we cannot yet program.
- At the car, documents first: registration or title, and photo ID.
- The blade is cut by code rather than traced from the worn original, and the chip is cloned or the new key programmed to the vehicle.
- Both keys are tested before we leave — the new spare, and your original, because a careless programming step can drop a key the car used to know.
What we bring
- Blanks, cases and fobs for the makes common on Maryland roads
- A cloning rig for transponder chips that allow a direct copy
- Programming equipment for the keys that have to be introduced to the car instead
- A code-cutting machine, so the spare gets factory cuts, not a photocopy of ten years of wear
When to call straight away
Call when you are down to one key. One key is one bad pocket away from a full replacement, which costs more and strands the car while it happens. It is also worth booking ahead of anything that splits the household from the car — a new driver in the family, or a trip that leaves the car parked at the airport.
After the spare is cut
Keep it anywhere but the car — a spare in the glovebox is a gift to whoever breaks the window. If the original you just copied is cracked or taped, car key repair will make it worth keeping. And if you are reading this after the last key has already gone, that is a replacement, not a duplicate: booked through car key replacement in working hours, or as an emergency lost car keys callout if the car is stranded tonight.
Other things we handle on the same visit
One call usually covers more than one of these.
Tell us which door it is
One phone call, about a minute. You will know what the job involves and what it costs before a locksmith sets off.