WWYD, DH lost wallet with ID and one car key!!!

[Pennstater]

Hi,

DH is on a trip 2 states away. He lost his wallet with his driver's license (has our address obviously) and one single car key.

His car is at home now.

So whomever finds it has our address (2 states away) and a car key!!

I'm seeing it's like $600 or so to re-key the car!! Yikes, what would you do?

We do not park the car in the garage, it's in the driveway.

[joshmamabear]

do you have AAA membership cards? here's what I read,

This service is only provided under your AAA membership if a key that operates or provides access to the vehicle is lost or broken. Classic members receive up to $50 worth of locksmith services, Plus or Plus RV receive up to $100, and Premier members receive up to $150. You can check out what your membership offers here. Hope this helps!

if you're insured by AAA, then you're likely to have at least the classic membership card. Check it out.

If there's CCs/DCs on his wallet, make sure to notify the bank that issued the DCs and the CC company to cancel the card asap. AFAIK, it is a lot easier to deal with CC companies compared to banks for lost debit cards but make sure to do it asap. I'm not sure it varies per state but when DD lost her purse with her DC, she was required to file a police report aside from reporting lost DC to her bank.

Good luck!

[PurrMinn]

What year is the car? Most newer cars have a microchip built into the key - in order for the key to work in the ignition, the cut of the key needs to match the pins in the ignition AND the microchip needs to be correctly programmed to match the car. On most makes and models you can reprogram the microchips in the keys yourself, but you need to have at least 2 keys that are correctly programmed already. You can usually just search online, type in the make and model of vehicle and "key reprogramming" or something like that to find out how to do it. You need to reprogram all of the keys and key fobs for that vehicle at the same time. It's kind of funny - when I did it on my car I had to do this sequence of turning the key in the ignition, locking the doors, unlocking the doors, opening the doors, etc.

If you only have 1 key that is already programmed, you can have new key cut at a dealership, but they can be a little pricey for a key - usually $20-60 depending on the car. Then the keys would need to be reprogrammed together at a dealership, I'm not sure how much this would cost though - would likely take less than 20 minutes, so shouldn't be too bad. They just basically reset the computer chip in your car and the keys and then do the reprogramming.

So if your car does have the keys with the microchip in them and you reprogram them yourself or have it done somewhere, the car and keys will be reset with a new "code" so the lost key will turn in the ignition, but will not be able to start the car because the car will no longer recognize it.

Now if you have an older vehicle that does not have the microchip, then there are a few things to consider. First, does it have one key that works for both the doors and the ignition, or one key that works on the doors and a different key for ignition? If it uses separate keys then I wouldn't be too concerned about the lost one. Another thing that most people are not aware of is that for the majority of older vehicles there really aren't that many different keys cuts out there. My father used to work for a company that designed locks for cars and back then (80s/90s) if you had a key for a certain make, you had a fairly decent chance of it working on another vehicle made by the same company - just easier cost wise for a company to make 30 different lock sets than 3,000. Also, if the key does look like it's from an older vehicle and a sketchy character did find it, they would hopefully think twice about traveling 2 states to try to steal the car, not knowing exactly what year and model it is and what condition it is in.

[Pennstater]

it's a 2010. We have in our house one working key. So you are saying buy one more, then have then reprogrammed? i would love to pay just $60. I think I will call the dealer tomorrow morning. Already cancelled the cc, did not think to cancel the debit card, they don't know the pin, do i really have to cancel it?

No AAA, we cancelled it and went with roadside assis. from State Farm for approx. $5 a year. Hey, maybe they cover something!? Also, I think the new car came with 2 years free roadside also, I'd better get reading!

[PurrMinn]

it's a 2010. We have in our house one working key. So you are saying buy one more, then have then reprogrammed? i would love to pay just $60. I think I will call the dealer tomorrow morning. Already cancelled the cc, did not think to cancel the debit card, they don't know the pin, do i really have to cancel it?

No AAA, we cancelled it and went with roadside assis. from State Farm for approx. $5 a year. Hey, maybe they cover something!? Also, I think the new car came with 2 years free roadside also, I'd better get reading!

Yes, it should definitely work then! It's a very common thing, I do recommend calling the dealership and they should be able to help you out. If you have a Ford, call a Ford dealership, Chevy = Chevy, etc. (other dealerships might not have the correct equipment to do it on a different make). When I bought my car it only had 1 key and 1 key fob with it, so in my offer to purchase I included that I wanted the dealership to provide me with a new key and reprogram everything for me. All they do is cut a new key to match your existing one and then reprogram all of them together. I later got another key fob so I reprogrammed them all myself at that time.

[PurrMinn]

Also, about your debit card, it may be wise to cancel it - I have a debit card that is tied to my checking account and I never have used my pin with it. I always choose credit when I swipe it at the store/gas station and they don't ask for the pin.

[434Teresa]

yep and not all places even ask for the pin number some just ask for the zip code or the last 4 numbers on the card. I would canceal that like now..

I dont knw anything about the programmed car keys. I would be worried about that tho..

[Pennstater]

Sooo happy about the car key!!! thank you!

I guess it's better safe than sorry with the debit. Our is not a check card/credit, only works with the pin, but I guess I'll call and cancel as well.