So the spare has disapeared!

The dealers are quoting the best part of $600 to replace

I am getting conflicting info regarding the replacement of the FOB,

Some are claiming that only the manual key is VIN specific and any remote can be coded to open/start the car, others say you can code to open the car but not start it, yet others say you HAVE to get a new FOB specific to the VIN for it to work after coding by the dealer. I see many second-hand FOB's on that well known auction site so it is tempting to buy one however I dont want to wast my time/money if it cant be made to work.

Has anyone her had experience using a second-hand FOB and ACTUALLY making it work?

cant say i have had to replace a complete key and remote yet... i have broken the keyring bit at the bottom of a remote once and had to replace the remote part in order to get the keyring piece. it cost me around $100 for the remote bit and they programmed it for nothing while i waited - takes all of 1 minute to do.
when they ordered the remote they only asked what car it was for... dont know if they went as far as needing the VIN to order the remote but i am of the understanding that the remote is only specific to the range of car - # of buttons etc... its the key that would require a VIN.

there is some info over on http://www.watercooled.org.au  if you wanna research it more.... a few forum members there have had similar issues.
hth

keep up hope and keep looking as I had a probl and someone posted u could program later ones yourself...but mine was 96 mod Seat