I bought 2
complete key fobs off alibaba for $9 ea.
I also got an older Vagtacho cable for $20.
The hardest part was getting the key cut. It's just a simple milling process, but I called a few different places that only replied with "we can get you the remote, cut it, and program it for $160." Right, but I already have the remote and I know how to program it myself. How much just to cut it?
They just repeat their answer:
"We can get you the remote, cut it, and program it for $160"
They don't want to just cut it for you because that's the cheapest part.
My local Ace hardware actually does replacement transponder remotes. Their price was $200 for a new remote for my car - key, cut, program. They said they would just do the cutting for $25, BUT "we can't guarantee the key won't be damaged in the process if you bring the key. If we supply the key, we do guarantee it will be cut properly".
LOL okay guys... I was almost willing to give up and risk the $25.
I ended up buying my own key copy milling machine for $130. It's just a Chinese clone type of deal (like all the other stuff I bought) but I enjoyed getting excited about it and actually doing my own copies!
The issue was that I was going from a valet key to a regular key, and I wasn't sure how different they are. At first, I thought the difference was in the flare of the tip, but then I realized it's mostly in the thickness of the keyblade.
My physical trace© is not perfect, especially as some vendors (TuneMyEuro.com and etc) claim to cut the key perfectly via a stored profile database, but I got it to work everywhere - door, ignition, glovebox, and hatch!
Then I programmed it and the key fob works perfectly!
So my costs were:
$9 key
$20 cable
Whatever your cost is for cutting the key. In my situation, I paid $130 for my own cutter. But I've already cut 2 keys, and have ordered about 8 more between my 3 VAGs and any others I might buy. I later found HU66-specific key cutters for $45. Oof!
I also plan to buy a GoPro and record a Youtube video of the entire process - start to finish - about how to get replacement keys. Let me know if you think there might be a demand.