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Lurch77
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
Green Bay, WI

Lurch77 to AgentxOrange

Premium Member

to AgentxOrange

Re: valet key for a 2011 chevy express work van.

That's why they get the name Stealership. Granted there are some things their service departments are good for, but price is generally not one of them. Shocks for my 2001 Grand Cherokee were about $125 each at my dealer. I found out that the shocks are essentially Gabriel Guardian shocks, which sell for about $20 at any auto parts shop.

FuriousG
join:2002-08-21
Kenora, ON

FuriousG

Member

Service department has zero to do with Parts department...two completely different entities.
Aside from that, as Mattmag said yes they are that "expensive"...35$ for an ignition key falls way way to the cheap side. If it were just a blank, metal shank key 2$ would cover it, but the only keys a dealer parts dep would have on hand would be factory replacements, and an 11 Express would have security transponder chip inside the head of the key (which would need to be learned)

As far as the parts counter, there may be a couple guys around that know their vehicles, but the majority are like any other joe blow working their 9-5 and will give you what the parts catalog gives them, regardless if it's what you actually want.

FiReSTaRT
Premium Member
join:2010-02-26
Canada

FiReSTaRT

Premium Member

AFAIK Valet key allows you to unlock the cabin and start the vehicle but not access the cargo areas. If it's a chip key, that would add to the price. Otherwise, just to open the cabin, you can get away with generic blanks

Lurch77
Premium Member
join:2001-11-22
Green Bay, WI

Lurch77 to FuriousG

Premium Member

to FuriousG
When I bought my jeep I needed an extra chip key made. Dealer wanted almost $100 per key. A local locksmith did it for about $25, and the keys have worked fine for 9 years now. I suppose if a guy wanted the Chrysler logo on the key head like the OEM key does it might be worth another $75.