High Cost of SmartKeys for Mercedes

[Ron Johnstone]

I searched "Manufacturers, Suppliers, Exporters & Importers from the world's largest online B2B marketplace-Alibaba.com" and they have suppliers that will bulk sell blank Mercedes smartkeys for very little money (a few dollars) and they also have suppliers to sell the equipment to program them. Just search mercedes smartkey and then later add the word programmer .

This is not my area of expertise so I bow to those who fully understand it, but it would appear that somebody could make a pile of money selling programmed keys if they had the smarts to do it. I would be glad to buy a new smartkey from a reputable outfit such as Peach Parts.

Frankly, I wish my 350 was equipped with a simple steel key system where a new one could be cut at the local locksmith for a few dollars. Anyone have a retrofit?

[Zulfiqar]

I have been to other countries and seen such programming of these cheap keys. The most raw method is pretty brutal as it encompasses removing the two processors in the EIS and reading the data off of them.

the more upscale systems use a special key with goes into the EIS reciever and pulls data from there. (saw in UK)

In european countries mercedes benz are like fords and chevys, you get all sorts of customers, e.g. white van owners to taxi drivers to garbage truck companies - such look for lower cost solutions. In the USA mercedes benz are sold as elite cars only and the market for such keys is not quite there.

if you ask abt why elite? - thats the reason you dont see mercedes benz branded garbage trucks in the USA, regular benz customers wont like that.

[MAVA]

PM Deplore on the W210 forum on Benzworld. He can set you strait on a solution.

Best of luck,

Martin

[97 SL320]

Originally Posted by Zulfiqar

if you ask abt why elite? - thats the reason you dont see mercedes benz branded garbage trucks in the USA, regular benz customers wont like that.

I don't quite buy that.

In the 70's and 80's Mercedes trucks were sold through USA Freightliner dealerships. When MB bought Freightliner in 83 or so they quit branding trucks as MB because Freightliner was a known Anerican brand. MB later bought the heavy truck division of Ford renaming it Sterling ( now discontinued ) and at some point also bought the Western Star brand and FUSO from Mitsubishi. MB owns lots of country specific name plates around the world.

Sprinter vans are either marked Freightliner or MB and MB just came out with a new smaller van that starts out at $ 26,000.