Seasonal · Summer 2026
Heading to the lake? Get a spare car key before you leave Winnipeg.
Leo · RAXO Locksmiths
Published June 21, 2026 · Pre-tax. Manitoba RST + GST = 12%.
The cheapest day to make a spare car key is any day you still have a working one. A spare in Winnipeg starts at $90+ (transponder) or $180+ for a push-to-start Smart Key — cut and programmed in your driveway. Lose your only key out at the lake in July and it turns into an all-keys-lost job from $280+, usually far from home and without your car.
Summer is exactly when that gap bites: long highway drives, gravel cottage roads, beaches and boat launches, and used cars that changed hands with a single key. Make the spare before you head out — I come to you across Winnipeg and out to the lakes and towns within about 150 km.
TL;DR · make it now
A spare now vs. all-keys-lost later.
Each price is pre-tax, mobile, on-site at your vehicle. "+" means "starts at" — the exact number comes by text before I dispatch.
While you have a working key
Make a spare
Quick because you still have a key. I program a fresh one to your vehicle as an additional working key.
After your last key is gone
Lost all keys (AKL)
Every working copy is gone — and if it happens on a trip, you are stuck wherever you parked. Needs ownership verification (photo ID matched to registration or insurance).
Full numbers on the pricing page, and the deeper cost breakdown is in how much a car key costs in Winnipeg. Ready now? Here's the spare car key page.
Why summer is the moment for a spare.
The same lost key is a small problem at home and a big one two hours up the highway. Here's what changes once the weather turns and everyone heads out of the city.
You're far from home
A key that fails or goes missing at the cottage isn't a 20-minute fix — it's a tow back toward the city and a lost day of your trip. A spare in the glovebox (or with the other driver) skips the whole thing.
Lakes, sand, and boats eat keys
Keys get dropped off a dock, left in a boat, buried in beach sand, or locked in a hot trunk. It happens far more in July than in January — and a backup means it's an annoyance, not the end of the weekend.
Two drivers, one car
Road trips and cabin weekends usually mean people sharing a vehicle. A second key means nobody's stranded at the dock waiting for whoever has "the key."
Used-car season
A lot of vehicles change hands in spring and summer — and plenty come with just one key. That's the moment to make a backup, while the one key you have still works.
Just bought a used car? Count the keys.
Before the first long trip, check how many working keys came with it. If the answer is one, that single key is now a single point of failure — and the day it's lost, you're into an all-keys-lost job ($280+) instead of a quick spare.
With one working key in hand, a spare is straightforward: I match a fresh key or fob to your exact year, make, and model, cut it, and program it to your vehicle as an additional working key — most makes on the road, on-site, with the price texted to you first. Text me the year, make, and model and I'll confirm yours.
Where I'll meet you this summer.
I'm a mobile automotive locksmith — I come to your driveway, the lot, or the cabin. Beyond Winnipeg, I cover a lot of the surrounding area, roughly 150 km out, to the lakes, towns, and villages people actually drive to in summer:
- →The Interlake: Selkirk, Gimli, Stonewall, Lockport, and up toward the lake. (There's a dedicated Selkirk & Interlake page.)
- →East to the lakes: Beausejour and out toward Lake of the Woods / Kenora for the cottage crowd.
- →All of Winnipeg and the surrounding municipalities, of course.
How travel works, plainly: inside the Perimeter, travel is typically included. Past it, a travel addition can apply — sized by distance and quoted in the text before I head out. One number that includes the drive, no meter, no surprise on arrival. The full map is on the service area page — text me where you'll be and I'll confirm.
How I quote
Number first. Then work.
- ✓Written quote by text before I dispatch. The number you see is the number you pay (pre-tax), travel included.
- ✓Most makes on the road. Send your year, make, and model and I'll confirm yours before I come.
- ✓I come to you. Driveway, lot, or cabin — across Winnipeg and out to about 150 km.
- ✓Pay after it works. I cut and program the spare, you check it starts the car — then you pay me on the spot. Never up front.
RAXO Locksmiths · 204-599-5117