My old friend Ken Waterford rang me yesterday. Ken and Lynee and their two boys, Wylie and Carl, farm wheat on an 810ha property near Come By Chance (pop: 187 when Ken rang) in northern NSW. "John, Wylie is in more trouble than a three-legged frog in a snake pit."
"He lost both keys to our 2013 Hilux and I had to put it on a tabletop and send it 350km to the Toyota dealer in Dubbo. Then the mechanics had to pull the locks out of the door, pull out the dashboard, put in a new computer and put a new lock on the steering column. And it cost me $2440 without the cost of getting it there."
I told Ken that for the same price he could buy a very clean 1984 4x4 Hilux with only 320,000km on the clock.
The bottom line is, expect to pay an average of $700 for a new key. But it's also clear some dealers think new car owners are entitled to only one key.