Feirstein Posted March 30, 2011 Report Share Posted March 30, 2011 (edited) We were down to one key for our 2007 Edge. I ordered a new key with remote functions off of ebay for $35 and had my locksmith cut the new key. I then needed to have the key programmed. Every Ford dealer I called told me it would take over an hour of labor and would cost between $70 and $120. After discussing this with my locksmith he informed me he had just sold a programing device to a local used car dealer. This guy used a device to pull the code directly from the car's computer and programmed the new key for $40.00. I carefully timed the work and it took about 12 min. I have reached the conclusion that the Ford service departments I spoke to were not telling the truth and found a nich where they can overcharge with impunity. Of course, my local BMW dealers would not even think of programming a key that they did not sell. Edited March 30, 2011 by Feirstein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baum Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Personally i would find another locksmith that has the programmer and drive to them. i would think that if you go to them it would be a little cheaper. the down fall with only having 1 key is that you need the programmer to program the other keys. most dealers dont break down to the 1/4 hour or anything so they just charge you an hour of labor. from what i have heard is most dealer will charge about 75-100 for a cut and programmed key. since you didnt buy the key from them they will charge a little more on the labor. that is how all shops are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricRN Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 I know this is old, however you can program the new key yourself. I think it's I'm the manual. Or just search the Internet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 I know this is old, however you can program the new key yourself. I think it's I'm the manual. Or just search the Internet. Not if you only have one key like the OP said. You need 2 working keys to program another one yourself - this keeps the valet from making a 2nd key. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nextime Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Yes it is sad that Ford wants to rip people off for a simple key program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Yes it is sad that Ford wants to rip people off for a simple key program. Ford doesn't make a dime from programming keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nextime Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 OK MY BAD I WORDED IT WRONG. Thanks for always going above and beyond to point out any mistakes Anybody makes, we are not all perfect! The Ford Dealers! With out the Ford dealers Ford makes nothing so in turn Ford does make money because the Dealers buy the keys from Ford also. The Dealers close up and Ford Motor Company shuts down, either way Ford is making some profit of the programming even though it is a key sale. Ford doesn't make a dime from programming keys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJFW8 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 OK MY BAD I WORDED IT WRONG. Thanks for always going above and beyond to point out any mistakes Anybody makes, we are not all perfect! The Ford Dealers! With out the Ford dealers Ford makes nothing so in turn Ford does make money because the Dealers buy the keys from Ford also. The Dealers close up and Ford Motor Company shuts down, either way Ford is making some profit of the programming even though it is a key sale. My dealer has never charged for key programming...including my after-market flip key. It takes 2 minutes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 OK MY BAD I WORDED IT WRONG. Thanks for always going above and beyond to point out any mistakes Anybody makes, we are not all perfect! The Ford Dealers! With out the Ford dealers Ford makes nothing so in turn Ford does make money because the Dealers buy the keys from Ford also. The Dealers close up and Ford Motor Company shuts down, either way Ford is making some profit of the programming even though it is a key sale. I think it's important to point out that dealers are not Ford and vice versa and that there are state laws that limit what Ford can do with regards to dealers. I don't think it's fair to blame Ford when a dealer screws up or does something bad because Ford has no recourse in most cases. Having a bad dealer should not reflect badly on Ford, although it might affect your individual buying preference if there isn't another Ford dealer nearby. The worst example is when a customer has a problem and the dealer attempts to repair the problem unsuccessfully several times. The customer blames Ford for making such a problematic vehicle and their customer satisfaction and quality scores take a hit when in fact a competent dealer would have fixed the problem easily the first time and the customer would have been happy. I'm just pointing out that whether the dealer charges you for programming a new key or not is totally up to the dealer and Ford has nothing to do with it. Put the blame where it belongs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baum Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 My dealer has never charged for key programming...including my after-market flip key. It takes 2 minutes! It its only a 2 second job if you have 2 original factory keys. turn the first key on for 5 seconds turn it off, do the same with the second, now do the same with the new key. and your done. This is how ford keys have been programmed for years. now some of the newer ones (2010 or newer) have the key programming options turned off in the sjb so the programmer is the only way to program them. now if you only have 1 key yhey need to use a programmer. it still is only a 10 to 20 minute job with the programmer. but a dealer has to make money too. Just like im sure you place of employment charges who they need to to pay you and make some money a dealer need to charge for their techs time and so the dealer makes some money. dealers have "set" rates for some things. say they are a tune up. according to their books its a 4 hour job. now if the tech get it completes in 2.5-3 hours then he can move onto the next job. at some shops a good tech can do 10-15 hours of "book time" in an 8 hour day. not to mention the average employer that pays someone 25.00per hour really needs to chage atleast 40-50per hour to break even once all the business overhead is paid for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal3thousand Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 It its only a 2 second job if you have 2 original factory keys. turn the first key on for 5 seconds turn it off, do the same with the second, now do the same with the new key. and your done. This is how ford keys have been programmed for years. now some of the newer ones (2010 or newer) have the key programming options turned off in the sjb so the programmer is the only way to program them. now if you only have 1 key yhey need to use a programmer. it still is only a 10 to 20 minute job with the programmer. but a dealer has to make money too. Just like im sure you place of employment charges who they need to to pay you and make some money a dealer need to charge for their techs time and so the dealer makes some money. dealers have "set" rates for some things. say they are a tune up. according to their books its a 4 hour job. now if the tech get it completes in 2.5-3 hours then he can move onto the next job. at some shops a good tech can do 10-15 hours of "book time" in an 8 hour day. not to mention the average employer that pays someone 25.00per hour really needs to chage atleast 40-50per hour to break even once all the business overhead is paid for. Smart post... thanks for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dornsedge Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 My dealership only charged me $40 to cut the keys and activate keys and remote starter, and it only took him 10min. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordGuru Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 We were down to one key for our 2007 Edge. I ordered a new key with remote functions off of ebay for $35 and had my locksmith cut the new key. I then needed to have the key programmed. Every Ford dealer I called told me it would take over an hour of labor and would cost between $70 and $120. After discussing this with my locksmith he informed me he had just sold a programing device to a local used car dealer. This guy used a device to pull the code directly from the car's computer and programmed the new key for $40.00. I carefully timed the work and it took about 12 min. I have reached the conclusion that the Ford service departments I spoke to were not telling the truth and found a nich where they can overcharge with impunity. Of course, my local BMW dealers would not even think of programming a key that they did not sell. that 1 hour charge is a flat fee that most all dealerships impose just for hooking up an IDS. you can bitch about the cost all you want, but until you've looked at an expense sheet from a dealership service department you cant even begin to grasp what it costs us just to turn the lights on and provide you with fresh coffee and in my dealerships waiting room fresh doughnuts every morning. each IDS setup runs between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars per unit. the smallest dealerships have at least 3 units. and contrary to popular belief Ford pays for NOTHING you see at a dealership. now, in regards to the amount of time it takes to program a key, the only way it would take 12 minutes to program a key is if you drove your car into the service bay, input all info to generate a repair order, complete the FREE 99 point inspection that all Ford dealerships provide to you at no charge which also gives you a free estimate (on inspection items) that alot of places charge for, check OASIS for any open recalls, top off all fluids FREE of charge, take your existing key to parts and stand in line with up to 30 other technicians, who are working 10 or more hours a day to provide a quality service of which they'll probably only be paid for roughly 4 hours of that 10, and wait to have the key cut for FREE, then begin the 600 second time out to enter PATS functions on IDS just to program a key for you. maybe those of you who think you know everything about dealerships being a rip off will take heed to what i posted here. We work our asses off daily for next to nothing to make sure you have a good vehicle and a machine that will keep you and your family safe. we don't do it for money, cuz there damn sure aint that much in it. we do it because we take pride in our work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingo Posted March 9, 2012 Report Share Posted March 9, 2012 It's important to acknowledge that everyone, even the dealership personnel, have bills to pay and families to feed. Ford already undercuts the labor on warranty claims. For example, the new mft update takes 45 minutes to an hour, and ford pays the dealership less than a third of an hour labor for doing it. With things like this, you're not paying them for what they do. You're paying them for doing what you can't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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