Finally got one of these keys off e-bay. Appears genuine article, even if sent direct from Poland. Had to pay a little over the going odds, as appeared to be the last two button one on there.

Got the key cut by Timpsons for a fiver. Then coded to the central locking by entering into ignition and using the instructions supplied with the key.

What surprised me was that the key will start the engine, which was a shock as it isn't coded for the immobliser. Only thing is it shows a key symbol on the dash board. Anybody know what this means, presume that it has something to do with not being coded for the immobliser.

Has anybody on here bought one of the blank flip keys that you see on e-bay all the time?

Reason I ask is that I got my '03 Octy vRS about a month ago and it only came with one flip key. I was going to ask a Skoda dealer for a price on a non-flip remote key' date=' like my misses has on her Fabia, but I still think if I buy one of these flip keys off e-bay it would be cheaper.

Has anybody been to a dealer with a blank key already and asked them to cut and code it? How much do they tend to charge? and are they alright about doing it to a key that you are giving them?[/quote']

The dealer can't cut them unless he has a reader and laser cutter. Most if not all dealers get them directly from Skoda or key specialists

Wish I'd spotted these. My used Octy vRS only came with one battered flip key as well. Called my stealer who told me that theye didn't do non-flip keys (surprised - the ex girlf's polo came with a nifty little plastic spare...). Quoted and paid cost of a new flip of about

I bought one of these flip keys as a replacement for my '02 Fabia TDi, cost £25.

Had to get the 4 digit PIN code from my dealer - Platinum Skoda in Bath - who called me back within a couple of hours with the code - and (big bonus) no charge (thanks Jack).

They needed to know the immobilizer code which can be read using VAG-COM, along with your chassis number and original delivery date.

Had the key cut at a local keysmith in town for a fiver.

It then took all of five minutes to programme the keys using VAG-COM and worked fine first time.

Total cost thirty quid - a good bit less than it what would of cost at the dealer.

I believe you'll need a registered version of VAG-COM and the correct cable(~ £20 from ebay again) to hook it up. But thats a no brainer and is well worth having for all the other stuff it can do (particularly fault reports etc.).

Check out http://www.fabia-vrs.com/key-code.htm for more info on the programming (big thanks to Stu ).

My dad used the guy who can cut you one for