Car keys dropped down drain

[Nominative]

AIBU to ask for ideas on this? DSis has dropped her car keys down a drain - she could see them stuck in the mud but too far down to reach them. Sod's law, she's looked everywhere for the spare and can't find it. She's been quoted £600 by an auto locksmith to replace the keys (apparently it would be less if she could wait, but she can't really) and is going to try the manufacturers. She was told that even if she could retrieve the dropped key it almost certainly wouldn't work again - it's the remote electronic type. Does anyone have any experience of whether that's correct? Or have any ideas about any cheaper way to resolve the problem?

Magnet on string to retrieve them and clean off.
I managed to machine wash a car key and it still worked so I wouldn't rule out them working just yet!

That is one of my nightmares.
Sorry that's not helpful

Unbend a wire coat hanger and use the hook to grab the key. I dropped mine in a puddle and it still worked.

Yep, coat hanger or litter picker depending on how wide the grate is.

She would be silly not to try and get them because they might not work. They might be fine.

Heavy, but it should be possible to lift the grate up and reach in to get them. I haven't done it for years but I know it's possible.

Tools may be required, like a bottle jack or a trolly jack. Cheaper than a replacement.

Duct tape some poles or sticks together, duct tape a coat hanger onto the end and hook them out

If it's just mud they should be fine

This was many years ago but a person I met got the council to retrieve her keys when she dropped them down a drain. It would be good news story for the council. Or you could ask your local councillor to help/intervene, might get a better result this way.

Is there any metal on the key or just the plastic fob. If there is metal then get one of these from Amazon.

ive bought a set of keys for 2 different cars recently and I was charged £250 for a pair (programmed to the car), I got a recommendation from my local garage.

a wooden pole with those half hooks screwed into one end of the pole and hook the keys on it ?

Can you phone whoever maintains them as in local council and ask them to open it?

I would absolutely get them out first, do you know any plumbers or builders - they may have tools to open the drain, but a coat hanger may well do it.

This happened in an episode of Peppa Pig, but I can't remember how they resolved it in the end.

Mr Bull dug up the road and fished them out 😂

I've DH machine-washed a car key, which came apart. Some bits turned up in the rubber door seal, the rest in the tumble dryer. We put it back together and it was fine.
It's worth fishing it out the drain, if you can.

Contact the local council. My dh works in waste management and the amount of times people have dropped phones and keys into bins. Maybe water/sewer dept do the same.

I have one of these and it’s great. I find all sorts of uses for it. Great for retrieving things, but also put the bird feeder and Christmas decorations up and down with it

These

I did this after dropping the kids at school. The caretaker came out to the street, took the grate off and had to lay on the road with a litter picker stretched his arm as far as he could to pincer the keys. Life saver.

I highly recommend trying to get them out.

I also don't recommend trying to contact anyone at the manufacturer. They won't have anything for you, as you'll need a local dealer to programme the new ones. £600 is expensive, but you're looking at hundreds for a replacement.

It’s a classic episode! OP is your sister Mummy Pig??

OP I'd always have 3 car keys. One master key and two spares. Use a spare. If you lose it getting a new one when you've already got a master and a spare is fairly cheap. Getting a new one when you've only got the master key costs significantly more. Getting a new key when you've got none is Megabucks.

I'd fish it out of the drain somehow too. You'd never know if it might work if you don't try. It's also the quickest way of obtaining a key, if it turns out it does work.

the fire brigade got my keys out of a drain!
it was a long time ago and
I don’t know how I contacted them
but they were brilliant!

Thanks so much, everyone. I've passed on the suggestions to DSis. One problem is that she wasn't anywhere near home so will have to organise help semi-remotely, though I can always give her a lift back to where it is if necessary.