Figure you guys can point me towards a reputable vendor. From what I can tell, one doesn't have to buy a $250 key from the stealer - they can buy one for $30 - $50, have it cut, and program it themselves.

Is that accurate?

Also, can you point me towards a good source to purchase the key?

 

your somewhat correct but slightly off, i just had a second key made today

theres no way to program a smart key to a nissan without a special computer, you can't watch a youtube video and figure it out, so heres what i did

i got a OEM smart key with and uncut key off eBay it was $45
but be careful to match the numbers on the back of the key to your original key

now call a few local locksmiths and tell them what your trying to do get some pricing and make sure they have the right equipment to program, i got it done for $45

so in total it was $90 instead of $285 at nissan