Car Key Replacement: getting ready

You bought the car privately and it came with a single key on a shoelace. Every time it leaves your hand you notice, and you would like a second one made before the first goes missing.

Worth answering before the call

What is the year, make and model, and can you read the VIN from the windshield or the permit? Do you have photo identification and the vehicle permit with you? Has the car's battery been flat or disconnected recently?

What should I have ready when I call?

The year, make and model, and the VIN if you can read it through the windshield or from the permit. Whether any working key exists. Whether the car starts with a turned key or a push button, and what buttons the old fob had. Where the car is parked and whether it is locked. Your photo identification and the vehicle permit, or lease or fleet paperwork. With those, the right parts are in the van on the first trip.

Does programming a new key affect the keys I already have?

Adding a key leaves the existing keys in place; the car simply learns one more. The exception is a deliberate all-keys-lost reset or an erase you ask for, which clears every stored key and then registers only the ones you present. For that reason the locksmith asks you to bring every key you own to the visit, so each one can be re-registered and tested rather than left behind and forgotten by the car.