Surf Keys

A surf key — also called a beach key, water key or valet key — is a mechanical key cut to your car's door lock with no electronics inside. No transponder chip, no battery, no remote buttons, no circuit board.

It does one job: it opens the door. Put it in the ignition and the car will crank but never fire, because the immobiliser can't find a chip to talk to.

Every year we replace keys that went into the surf in a boardshorts pocket. Salt water and a modern smart key are a short, expensive relationship — the board corrodes, the buttons die, and you're up for a full replacement plus programming.

A surf key has nothing in it to damage. Take it in the water, bury it in the sand, drop it on the rocks. Rinse it under a tap afterwards and it keeps working.

The same logic covers swimmers, runners, mountain bikers, dog walkers, boaties and anyone at the gym — anywhere you want to leave the car and not carry a $400 fob.

Because a surf key can't drive the car away, plenty of people hide one on the vehicle: a magnetic box inside the chassis rail, a combination lockbox on the towbar or a wheel, or simply tucked somewhere only they know.

Be honest with yourself about the trade-off. A surf key still opens the car. Someone who finds it can get into the cabin, even though they can't start the engine. So:

• Don't hide it inside the cabin or in the wheel arch where everyone looks
• Use a proper combination lockbox rather than a magnet if you can
• Don't leave a wallet, phone or house keys in the car
• Never store your registration papers with your home address inside

Used sensibly it's a very good system. Used carelessly it's an unlocked car.

Almost all of them. If your car has a physical keyhole in the driver's door, we can cut a blade for it.

Two cases worth knowing about:

• Push-start and keyless cars — these usually have no visible keyhole, but there's an emergency blade hidden inside the fob and a keyhole under a cap on the driver's door handle. We cut a match to that blade.
• A small number of late models — a few manufacturers have moved to door locks that check for a chip. We'll tell you on the phone if yours is one of them.

Bring your existing key or the car itself and we'll confirm in a minute.

This is the cheapest key we cut, by a wide margin. There's no chip to buy and no programming time — most of the cost of a normal key replacement is exactly those two things.

Cutting takes a few minutes at the workshop. If you're passing Holland Park West you can usually wait for it.

Get one cut before the trip, not after the key is at the bottom of the surf.