Car Key Replacement in Nashville, TN

Proving the car is yours

A replacement key starts the car, so have proof of ownership on hand before you book, along with photo ID. The registration is the usual proof. If the papers are in the car, say so in your request. If the car is registered to an employer or a relative, have the registered owner's details ready too.

Tennessee's Division of Consumer Affairs, in the Attorney General's Office, mediates consumer complaints, most easily filed through its online form. Get the full cost in writing before work starts, and keep the estimate and invoice.

Where the car is parked

A lost key often means the car cannot be moved, so where it sits shapes the job.

• Paid spaces. In the Central Parking District, along West End Avenue and around Vanderbilt Hospital, the Department of Transportation's pay stations put a clock on the car. After a session runs out the car must leave the zone for half an hour, and a car with no key cannot do that on its own. Note when the session ends, and see car lockout for the extension limits and for a key that is inside rather than lost.
• Garages. Name the structure, then the level, row and space, and say whether a visitor needs a pass or an escort to reach the car.
• Home curbs. At a townhouse, converted house or apartment building, give the address, the side of the street, and what is parked around the car.

What to have ready

• The VIN. It appears on the registration and on a plate at the base of the windshield on the driver's side.
• The year, make, model and trim, and whether the car uses a turn key, a remote-head key or push-button start.
• Any key or fob that still works. Copying from a working key is usually simpler than starting with none.
• Photo ID that matches the name on the registration or title.

Remote functions may need key fob programming after the key is cut.