Topic: stolen keys

[21Rouge]

What trouble  .

While now out of town with our family (son's hockey tournament) my wife's purse was stolen while we were at a team dinner at a restaurant.

*Everything* was in there i.e. phone, cc, IDs, home, car keys etc. Being out of town has made it more difficult to do all the cancellations. She had made an official police report with the local police. We are still out of town and cant easily get back home as the tournament is still on going. I guess what I am most concerned about is the loss of car and home keys with many references to our home addy (4 hours away by car). (The second car is in the driveway unattended. We have contacted a next door neighbour just to keep a more watchful eye till we return tomorrow)

What is the usual procedure in such a situation i.e. can/should one change locks for a car?? 

[airbalancer]

I would not worry about changing the locks

[initial_D]

That is a very bad situation to be in.

You can call the dealership service department about changing locks in a car, and a good local locksmith as well.

[vdk]

sorry to hear about your troubles . . I reckon a dealership can take care of you well . . keyless entry has to be reprogrammed locks changed and immobilizer reprogrammed for the new set of keys.. Depending on your car ,.. Keys are not exactly cheap..

[CyberNick]

It would make sense to me that insurance for car and house should cover the costs of replacing the locks, keys, immobilizer chips, etc., because it would be a lot less then if those keys end up being misused by the thieves.

[barrie1]

I would suggest having your neabours park their car or vehilce behind the one in your driveway while you are away and get the repairs done at your local dealership when you get home. It will be a bit of a pain but worth it to do under these circumstancs I think. Sorry to hear of your problem as I realize just how much of a bummer that can be to have to go thru. 

[21Rouge]

I would suggest having your neabours park their car or vehilce behind the one in your driveway while you are away

Great idea Barrie. He had emailed me that he would do this.

[21Rouge]

It would make sense to me that insurance for car and house should cover the costs of replacing the locks, keys, immobilizer chips, etc., because it would be a lot less then if those keys end up being misused by the thieves.

Probably true.

But this would mean of course making a claim. We try to avoid this (making a claim) unless a disaster has occurred.

[airbalancer]

if you bought a used car, would you change the locks?

[Squishy]

if you bought a used car, would you change the locks?

Except the previous owner generally does not know where you live.

[articsteve]

It would make sense to me that insurance for car and house should cover the costs of replacing the locks, keys, immobilizer chips, etc., because it would be a lot less then if those keys end up being misused by the thieves.

Probably true.

But this would mean of course making a claim. We try to avoid this (making a claim) unless a disaster has occurred.

re-keying locks on house is no biggie and will cost less than home insurance deductible and a must do, IMO.

Even without knowing what kind of cars you have it's really expensive to do a complete re-keying job on a vehicle.  Car insurance will not pay for this.  Cheapest thing you can do is install a car alarm.

[21Rouge]

Just an update:

We got home tonight and there was a message from Salvation Army that they were in possession of two wallets in my wife's name.

As best we can tell by phone it seems that all major ID documents i.e. driver's license, car ownership and car insurance papers and OHIP cards are recovered.

But the purse with keys in it were not found.

Given that the documents are now separated from the car keys I may not re key the car but as a precaution will re key the two house doors.

[Brigitte]

Betcha they just dumped the purse.  I would guess that these types of thieves are looking for cash and maybe credit cards, not car keys -- much less for a car that's parked a four-hour drive away.  Just my opinion, of course.

[21Rouge]

Betcha they just dumped the purse.  I would guess that these types of thieves are looking for cash and maybe credit cards, not car keys -- much less for a car that's parked a four-hour drive away.  Just my opinion, of course.

And the CC were still in the wallets. And I agree re the car 'issue'.

But we still need to replace the car keys and the fobs only because we dont have any extras. 

[Trainman]

Betcha they just dumped the purse.  I would guess that these types of thieves are looking for cash and maybe credit cards, not car keys -- much less for a car that's parked a four-hour drive away.  Just my opinion, of course.

And the CC were still in the wallets. And I agree re the car 'issue'.

But we still need to replace the car keys and the fobs only because we dont have any extras. 

Sorry to hear about this, a real pain for sure.

I would get the house locks re-keyed.  Won't be too bad unless you have Medeco type locks (they kind that are very hard to pick) then there will be a hefty charge, don't ask how I know 

As for the car (was there only keys for the one vehicle?  or both?) get the dealer to re-set the codes for the fobs and immobilizer (if installed) when you get the new ones.  This will make it a bit harder for those keys/fobs to be used.  Remember to do both cars if both sets of keys were taken.

[barrie1]

Sounds like they were more interested in the cash and possibly finding the vehicle in the parking lot where you were at for them to just dump the purse with all the ID in it. I would suggest just having the outside door locks changed as that should not be too expensive by a independent locksmith. I have taken locks out for repair and it never seems to be all that expensive to have them rebuilt or redialed to a different code at all. The small folbs are what is cost the most and you can have them dialled into a different code by the dealer which is quick for them to do. Hope this helps and glad to hear that some of the stuf has been recovered. 

[safristi]

..so has yer HOUSE been burglarized...yer 2nd Car stolen........................ RELAX and enjoy 2009.................................worry makes the banks/insurance/psycholo/psychiatrist GO around.........and the MARKET TOO..............(new Year happy) arrange these words into a sentient sentence.................

[21Rouge]

It would make sense to me that insurance for car and house should cover the costs of replacing the locks, keys, immobilizer chips, etc., because it would be a lot less then if those keys end up being misused by the thieves.

re-keying locks on house is no biggie and will cost less than home insurance deductible and a must do, IMO.

Even without knowing what kind of cars you have it's really expensive to do a complete re-keying job on a vehicle.  Car insurance will not pay for this.  Cheapest thing you can do is install a car alarm.

Just got off the phone with GM and insurance company.

The dealership says it will cost approx. $700! per car for replacing access locks and ignition and reprogramming etc.
As Steve indicate the insurance company will not pay for rekeying but only for the replacement of the actual lost keys and fob subject to the deductible  . In contrast they will pay for rekeying the home with *no* deductible up to $1000. Crazy.

[articsteve]

In contrast they will pay for rekeying the home with *no* deductible up to $1000

That's interesting info. 

[barrie1]

Go the independent route on the locks as it will be a lot cheaper in the long run. then ever useing the dealership no matter what makes you drive. It should be a lot cheaper just to have them altered and buy the remotes seperately from the dealership.