Radio Code Locked

MR NINE

I recently bought a car and the radio is stuck in safe mode. The dealer I bought the car off doesn't know the code and is being very unhelpful in general. I went to a Seat dealership and they said I could book an appointment and they would unlock the radio for €50. This seems fairly extortionate to me, I was just wondering is there another option or is this just the going rate for getting a radio unlocked?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. I'll more than likely just pay the 50 quid but I figured I'd consult the boards community first to see if I'm being ripped off. They also quoted me €170 to get a spare key made.

colm_mcm

Can you tell us what actual stereo is in the car, the model of car, what year the car is, and the actual message that is coming up on the stereo.

MR NINE

Seat Cordoba 05. When I turn on the radio the word safe appears on the display.

colm_mcm

Does the display say anything else, like a number or anything?

Is there a model name on the stereo, is it tape or cd

iamthemanwork

If the model ----written on front face ---is Aura , Brisa or Alana you will not be able to get code from the serial number. My advise is to find someone in your area who can decode car stereos. The cost of decode is about half of what garage is asking and code supplied is guaranteed to work.

MR NINE

It's an Alana radio. When I turn it on the word safe appears on the display, nothing else. I haven't found any way of getting past it, but having googled it I know there is a procedure to get past it at which point you can enter the code. However, since I don't have the code it's not much use to me.

Are you saying there is no point going to the seat dealer with an Alana radio or there's no point going to an independent decoder with an Alana radio?

How would I go about finding a local decoder?

Thanks for the replies by the way guys, I appreciate the help.

iamthemanwork

The Alana is a very good radio and certainly worth putting back in order. Ask at a local garage as to where they get their radios repaired / decoded.

MR NINE

Just to provide an update on this, I went to the dealer and they took the radio out, got the code but couldn't do anything with it. They said they'd get back to me in a day or two but its been nearly two weeks now. No idea what to do next, anyone got any suggestions?

biko

Ring the dealer again and ask why they hasn't got back to you.