Thanks to all fo you on a prior thread, i am trading in my 997 for a 2009 or greater DB9. I found one that i like that i am doing a PPI now. The dealer does not have the crystal key. Only the cheap plastic one. Would that be a deal breaker for you? I am reading that it is not easy or cheap to get a replacement one. Any advice would be useful! I will obviously negotiate the cost of the car because of this, but i would really want a glass key (I think).

Meantime, i will come back with further questions i am sure once the PPI is complete.

 

No not a deal breaker just buy one. Not cheap but if the car is good thats more important. if its a dealer negotiate the key in the price. send some pics when you buy the car

 

Not a deal breaker but they are expensive. The car should also have an emergency key which is used to open it in case battery fails, it isn't very expensive but sometimes they forget to include it. You find a manual?

 

No manual sadly. But a triple black volante with under 30k miles. 2009. 47kish. PPI is Wednesday.

 

Cool, that's a lot of car for the money.

 

I've never used my crystal key in 3 years... sits in a drawer... have two plastic ones...

 

Don't leave the dealership without TWO programed and working keys.

 

Thanks. The problem is that it is not an Aston Martin dealer. It is an Indy exotic car dealer.

 

I wouldn't be too concerned about the key as there are alternatives. Google or Facebook search astonmartinkeyrepair and see what they can do for you. Also look for a spare crystal key on ebay or astonmartinbits and then find an independent mechanic with AMDS computer or dealership to reprogram.

I'm not sure about the DB9 but my Vantage remote was really a volvo remote and I had the Volvo "guts" swapped into a new ASton Martin remote case.

 

When I bought my 09 Vantage a few years back I only got 1 plastic key from an Exotic Car Dealer, first trip was to my closes AM Dealer and order 1 x Plastic Key and 1 x Metal Emergency Key, they were less then $400 Cdn and well worth it as my battery went dead and it was the only way into the car.

 

You'll want two keys, if at least for backup. You'll end up wanting the crystal key too, as it's incredible and the plastic one is junk. The feeling of pushing the crystal key into the dock like Superman in the Fortress of Solitude is irreplaceable.

Converting a plastic to a glass is easy. Just buy a crystal fob from Astonmartinbits and then put the guts from the plastic into the glass. The circuit board and battery are of course easy, but you also will need to cut out the little black RF block that's glued inside. Gluing that into the glass will enable it to your vehicle.

For the secondary key, I already had a glass primary, so I upgraded the plastic as above. Maybe you just buy a new crystal as the primary. For any crystal key that you'll carry, I recommend the leather sheath from ambits too. You don't want to drop it.

 

I always use my crystal Key, the plastic one is garbage and the ****ty rubber buttons get the thing stuck in the key hole sometimes, and if you use the plastic key a lot, your rubber will wear off and look like complete crap as well

 

Exactly, you need 2 keys and the spare metal emergency key if the battery fails. Dealer only item $300+. Even if you get 2 black keys you can buy a glass one of the bay and switch the internals.

 

I only use the Crystal Key and you definitely need one! They're going for around $1400 from the dealer. Maybe your selling dealer can meet you half way on ordering a new one? Make sure to get the metal emergency key too. Not sure how much those are from the dealer. Does the car have the umbrella, pen, and owner's manual?

 

Inspection came back with a super clean mechanical bill of health. The car recently had plugs replaced, as well as coil, filters, and had done a differential service. The convertible top failed to close and they fixed that easily with hydrolic fluid top up. Aside from the 1 key issue, there is no pen or umbrella. I can live without those i guess. The only remaining issue is that the NAV does not pop open and the wood dash cover over the NAV has a crack line running through it. I dont care about the NAV not working, but the crack will bother me. Im still researching how to handle these issues, and will look at alternative cars in the meantime. Whatya guys think?