Lost All Your Car Keys? What to Do in the First Hour

You've checked every pocket twice and emptied your bag onto the bonnet. The car key is gone, and so is the spare, because the spare has been "somewhere in the house" since you bought the car. Losing all your car keys feels like a disaster. It's a very fixable one, and the first hour makes a real difference to how quickly and cheaply you get back on the road.

Here's the order we'd suggest, from Affordable Car Key, the mobile auto locksmith that handles all-keys-lost jobs across Croydon and South London.

Minutes 0 to 10: make sure they're really lost

Retrace the last ten minutes before you noticed. Then look through the car windows. The ignition, the footwell, the cupholder and the boot (if you loaded shopping) are where "lost" keys turn up most often. If you can see them inside a locked car, this isn't a lost key at all. It's a car lockout, which is quicker to sort out and costs less, because nothing needs cutting or coding.

Ring the last shop, gym or café you visited. If you came by bus, Tube or train, TfL's lost property service takes reports for anything left on the network. Keys handed in tend to surface within a day or two, so log them even if you go ahead with a replacement.

If you think the keys were stolen

Stolen car keys are a different situation from lost ones, because whoever has them may know where the car is. If the keys were on the same ring as your house keys, or with anything showing your address, treat it as a security problem for your home as well.

• If the car is being taken right now, call 999.
• Otherwise report the theft to the police on 101 or online, and note the crime reference number. Your insurer will ask for it.
• Ask for the old keys to be deleted from the car's immobiliser when the new one is programmed. Once they're deleted, the stolen key can't start the engine, even if it still opens a door on older models with a mechanical lock.

Check your insurance before you pay anyone

Many car insurance policies include key cover, sometimes called "keys and locks" cover, either as standard or as an add-on you may have ticked years ago. Some home insurance policies and packaged bank accounts include it too. Look in your policy documents or app for three things: whether lost keys are covered, how much the excess is, and whether you have to use the insurer's approved supplier or can claim back a locksmith's invoice. A five-minute call to the insurer now can save an argument later.

Find your V5C logbook and photo ID

Any reputable auto locksmith will ask for proof that the car is yours before making a key from scratch. That's a good sign, not a hassle. The standard proof is the V5C registration certificate in your name, plus photo ID such as a driving licence with a matching address.

• Car on finance or lease? The finance agreement and your ID usually work.
• Company car? A letter or email from the fleet manager helps.
• V5C locked inside the car? Say so when you call. It's common, and it can usually be checked once the door is open.

You don't need to tow the car to a dealer

Making a key when you have nothing to copy is called "all keys lost" in the trade. A main dealer normally needs the car at their workshop, which means a recovery truck, and the key itself often has to be ordered from the manufacturer. We explain the trade-offs in our guide to main dealer vs auto locksmith.

A mobile auto locksmith does the whole job at the car. We read the cut pattern from the door lock with a decoder tool and cut a new blade on a key machine in the van. Then we connect to the diagnostic (OBD) port and program a new transponder or remote into the immobiliser, deleting the lost keys at the same time. It's the same process described in how car key programming works, done from nothing rather than from a working key.

A small number of very new models still need a key supplied through the dealer. Give us the registration when you call and we'll tell you straight away whether yours is one of them.

What to tell the locksmith when you call

• The registration number, plus the make, model and year
• The type of key: plain blade, flip key or push-button start
• Exactly where the car is, with a postcode, and whether it's in an underground or height-restricted car park
• Whether you have the V5C and ID with you
• Whether the car is locked

With that, we can give you a price on the phone before anyone sets off, with no call-out fee. Across Croydon we're usually with you in 15 to 30 minutes.

Get a spare made while we're there

Most cars leave the factory with two keys, and a lot of drivers spend years on one without thinking about it. Copying a second key from a working one is much quicker, and costs less, than starting from nothing again. If you've just been through all-keys-lost once, a spare car key cut in the same visit is the cheapest insurance you'll buy. Keep it somewhere you'll remember that isn't the same bag or the same hook.

Lost every key and need the car today? Call 07400 007588 and we'll take it from there. Full details are on our car key replacement page.