How did they mess up the original? It doesn't go anywhere near the cutting wheel on my machine...someone would have to REALLY not know what they're doing!
The dealer or a locksmith will often be able to code-cut it as well, which is better than copying a worn original. A nearby dealer cut my father a key for his Outback by code on an Ilco blank for a few bucks.
Definitely go to a real locksmith or dealer. Department stores usually don't have very well-calibrated machines...good enough for a cheap-o Kwikset lock that the average person would have on their front door, but not too much else. A few months ago, someone where I work took a bunch of blanks and various original keys to one of the buildings to a hardware store to have duplicates cut. They ended up with about 90% of them not working because they cut everything a little too deep...they had a locksmith do it the next day and they all worked beautifully. Bit of a shame...they burned through a whole bunch of restricted blanks which, while not expensive, they had to jump through hoops to order them.
The dealer or a locksmith will often be able to code-cut it as well, which is better than copying a worn original. A nearby dealer cut my father a key for his Outback by code on an Ilco blank for a few bucks.
Definitely go to a real locksmith or dealer. Department stores usually don't have very well-calibrated machines...good enough for a cheap-o Kwikset lock that the average person would have on their front door, but not too much else. A few months ago, someone where I work took a bunch of blanks and various original keys to one of the buildings to a hardware store to have duplicates cut. They ended up with about 90% of them not working because they cut everything a little too deep...they had a locksmith do it the next day and they all worked beautifully. Bit of a shame...they burned through a whole bunch of restricted blanks which, while not expensive, they had to jump through hoops to order them.
