I also believe it depends on how glued the original case is......

My first case was hardly glued at all and the insides where easily removed using the instructions on this forum including the snap ring pliers.

The second case was a completely different story - it was entirely glued which was stronger than the seams themselves.

So, it was impossible to split the case and required the cutting away of the plastic that holds the circuit board in place.

This was done very carefully, and once removed, the board showed no visual signs of damage, it still become inoperable however.

Unfortunate there doesn't appear to be a way to predict whether a case is heavily glued until you take the first step of opening the top with the snap ring pliers.

However, I'm still happy to trade two very beaten up cases with their broken key rings for one brand-new looking key fob.

There's people out there that may be able to repair the circuit board for much less than the $700+ than a dealer or Needswings charges.