cust ; "I need some new keys. Lost them and the car’s locked up at home."
Shop ; "ok, I need proof of ownership"
c ; "proof of ownership is inside the car"
s ; "Well, bring it to me and we’ll cut some up and program them."
c; "But the car’s locked and I need some keys to get in …to get the proof of ownership."
s; "Then you’ll have to tow it in"
c; "Tow truck driver wants proof of ownership too."
s; " have him slim-jim it to get in."
c; “He won’t break in without proof of ownership either.”
Car’s locked and keys lost or inside.
Need proof of ownership to get keys.
Need keys to get at proof of ownership.
Something new for all of us.
Copy and retain these proofs for future use
"a friend of mine called that the Cadillac 8-6-4-0 system"
Hey!
That’s my line!
When I was driving for a limo company, circa 1983, at first I thought that the other drivers were being very…courteous…by allowing me–the newbie–to take the Fleetwood limo with the V-8-6-4 engine. I rapidly discovered that the car was essentially undriveable unless it was warmed up for at least 20 minutes–IN THE SUMMER!
And, even with warming it up, you never knew when you floored the gas pedal whether it would respond as a V-8, or as a 6 cylinder, or a 4 cylinder, or if it would simply stall–which was particularly interesting on entrance ramps to I-78.
In reality, the veteran drivers simply did not want to have to deal with the totally buggy and crappy V-8-6-4 system, which–belatedly–I discovered that they had nicknamed the V-8-6-4-ZERO system.
@"ken green" , I usually have a copy of the vehicle registration in my file cabinet as well as my car. I would think most others do too.
I did talk to a friend who drives such a car. He’s had it for 3 years and got the message once to change batteries. I asked him about the spare, and he has it safely in the house. Has not changed that battery yet. It would be a sad day that he needs the spare and the battery is dead.
I saw a report from a Car & Driver columnist about the time he arrived home with a Mercedes test vehicle, and before he shut it off, his wife was beside the car “Don’t shut it off, I’ve got some errands to run.” He got out of the car she hopped in and took off, and he went inside the house not thinking much about it. Later, he got a call from his very exasperated wife. Since that was the only vehicle they had at the time, he had to ride his bike about ten miles to the store where the car was stranded. Of course, as far as his wife was concerned, it was HIS FAULT!!!
When I bought my current car, the dealer took pains to remind me to take care of the keys, as they are VERY EXPENSIVE to replace.
IMHO,its a bridge to far ,kinda like that ill fated seat belt interlock,for pitys sake just give us two double sided keys for the car.
(I’m not a Luddite,but enough is a enough)-Kevin
A little off the original purpose of the discussion, and I’m not exactly a renaissance man, but I LIKE the simple satisfaction of putting a key into an ignition lock and twisting it to start my car. I used to smoke cigarettes and sometimes miss the mechanics of just lighting one. It’s kind of like that when I drive a car with a start/stop button.
…and that is why I carry my insurance card and registration in my wallet instead of in the car. I also keep a hard copy of the title in a safe at home.